Thanks for the shout out. I can’t tell you how thrilled to have met you–and my other “Savvy Sisters” through social media. Like Jamie says, connecting with people through social media is an art and a science, but it really can lead to amazing results.

Here’s another success story: Earlier this year, I connected with a woman at an online event, and through LinkedIn, and we both realized that we used to work for the same company. Coincidentally, this woman lives in Australia, and I’m in Michigan, but we saw that we knew many of the same people. Long story short, we started trading emails and learned that we have many similarities, including where we are with our respective freelance business. We became fast friends, and I even met her for dinner a couple of weeks when she was in town. She’s one of those people who is a sounding board to me, and I am so grateful for her friendship.

Your new website and blog are fantatsic. I look forward to reading more!

Michele

Sorry I took so long to respond: I forgot that I had to log in and “approve” the comments. (Good thing — I intercepted some spam.)

Both of you are right — it’s not the tools per se, that matter, but how you work your network, make connections and collaborate.

And I look forward to continuing to be active with your blog!

As part of the Savvy team, I can attest to the power of using social tools to build “real” relationships that extend beyond the environments of twitter, LinkedIn, or any other platform. I think that the “beyond” part is critical. Too often, people and companies look at social media as an end in itself, but I think it’s more accurate to look at it as an end to a means.

Social tools are powerful for sharing knowledge and making connections, but – you’re dead on – you need to know what to do with those connections. One of the most important things you can do is figure out how to build upon them outside of tweets and status updates. Making the transition from “acquaintance” to “customer,” or “collaborator” requires a deeper engagement.

Building a solid network is critical, but knowing how to leverage that network is even more important. Connecting the dots and pushing the conversation to the next level is both an art and a science.

So glad we’ve had the opportunity to make your acquaintance through social media. Looking forward to the opportunities that await around the next corner.

Best,
Jamie

Like you, I’m continually amazed and pleasantly surprised by the connections I’ve made via social media/networking. I only started giving serious attention to Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogging earlier this year, yet have already made great new connections (you and my savvy “sisters”, to name a few). I’ve even landed new business by interacting, striking up conversations, and sharing useful information. The experience has transformed my outlook and has me curious to find out what new relationships lie in wait around the corner.

Looking forward to more insightful comments from you on our blog. You add tremendous value to the conversation!

Best,
Stephanie