|
The next time you're posting photos from your birthday party on your Facebook page, updating your MySpace profile, or checking to see whether a colleague has signed up on LinkedIn, take a second look.
You may view these networking tools as entertainment, but they could also serve to expand your professional web of contacts in a concrete way.
While young adults between 18 and 24 account for 75 percent of online adults who have a profile on a social networking Web site, another generation of adults are joining the mix.
By the Numbers
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project's December 2008 survey, 57 percent of online adults ages 35-44 have a profile on a social network; 19 percent of online adults between ages 45-54 have a profile; and 10 percent of 55-64 year olds who are online have one.
In addition, a May 2008 Tracking Survey by Pew indicated 28 percent of these adults use their online social networks to "make new business and professional contacts" or promote themselves and their work.
Social networking is a snowballing trend. In February 2005, Pew asked adult Internet users whether they had visited an online social network "yesterday," and 2 percent answered in the affirmative. When Pew posed the same question in the December 2008 survey, 19 percent of online adults said "yes."
Still, relative newcomers to regular Internet use may find social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace counterintuitive and ask, "how is connecting with people in cyberspace going to enhance my professional image?
Getting Together
Scharmaine Lawson-Baker, DNP, FNP-BC, president and chief executive officer of Advanced Clinical Consultants LLC in New Orleans, finds these types of Web sites a useful way to network with other nurse practitioners across the country.
"I use all the social networking sites as a means to connect with other professionals," Lawson-Baker explained. She said while she tries to use Facebook more for social contacts and LinkedIn to connect with other nurse practitioners and business contacts, it's nearly impossible to keep the two realms completely apart.
"It would be nice to keep them separate, but with Facebook I have a mix of professional and social contacts. What I find interesting is most NP students and other NP colleagues contact me through Facebook," she noted.
That said, Lawson-Baker enjoys features on Facebook that enable her to send an instant message if she wants to answer a quick question while online, or to send a private e-mail to an individual.
For users like Lawson-Baker who interact with professional and personal contacts on the same Web site, other privacy features are available to maintain your comfort level or professional boundaries.
For instance, you may want to post photos from your grandson's birthday on your Facebook profile for friends and family to view, but you also are able to prevent professional contacts from seeing those same pictures.
Meet & Greet
If you decide to embrace the networking advantages of the Internet, there's no need to limit yourself to searching for individuals. You might also expand your professional circle by seeking out Web sites for specialty organizations you already belong to or those you have an interest in.
"These sites are great way to network with other NPs across the country," Lawson-Baker said. "I often refer NPs to the Nurse Practitioner Business Owner site where they can network with other NP business owners."
In fact, Lawson-Baker met Barbara Phillips, MN, NP, In fact, Lawson-Baker met Barbara Phillips, MN, NP, on the Nurse Practitioner Business Owner Web site and now collaborates on a project with her.
"I was able to meet [Phillips] through the Internet, and we have shared several private practice ideas, as well as formed an NP Master Mind group where leading and national NPs can share their practice 'secrets' and success strategies," she explained. "I can learn from others, and they can learn from me."
In addition, many organizations have their own social networking profiles, which enable you to join an online group of like-minded professionals.
On Guard
While social networking Web sites can be convenient ways to grow or maintain professional connections, some common-sense rules still apply. Lawson-Baker suggests considering what personal information you choose to make available to the wide world of the Internet.
"I would not include personal information such as a cell phone or home address," Lawson-Baker said. "I would include a [business] Web site, e-mail, work address and phone, but nothing else. After all, it is still a public forum and you are dealing with strangers."
Barbara Mercer is senior associate editor at ADVANCE.
|