"Network Solutions - Small business conversations and working together for small business success" - 3 new articles
Maintaining Relationships With Pokes, Pings, Winks, Drive-bys and TwitterBack when I worked for a big company on a sprawling campus, I used to make it a point to stop by the offices (well, usually cubicles) of friends and other people with whom I’d worked before. I almost never pre-scheduled these little drive-bys in advance, instead just relying on a simple calculus: I’d stick my head in, and if they weren’t busy, on the phone, or otherwise waving me off, I’d stop and chitchat for a bit, find out what was going on, gripe and get griped to, then leave. If they were busy, I’d just wave and move on, and maybe try to catch them on the return trip. I can’t be positive, but I don’t think I annoyed too many people with my drive-bys. A lot of times, people were surprised that someone would actually, physically, visit (some folks were very head-down, e-mail and IM-only types) — especially someone who they weren’t actively working with at the time. So what’s the point of this story, other than to show that I was (am) a big slacker? It was all about maintaining relationships within my professional social network. And not in a coldly-calculating, Machiavellian career-advancement kind of way: These were people whom I was friendly with, yet who weren’t necessarily my “friends,” but with whom I’d worked before and might work again. And it was often pretty useful, not just for gossip-swapping purposes: You could get a sense of how other groups worked, what challenges they faced, who was doing what; all stuff that you can’t really get from a status report (even if you’d see another groups status report, which generally, you wouldn’t.) Now take that idea and expand it, using modern social media and online communication tools, as well as the concept of ambient intimacy. It’s not that big of a stretch — using pings, pokes, winks, and general status updates are low-cost ways (in terms of attention and interruption, not money) to seed conversations that have no set agenda, but are still valuable for maintaining relationships. Truth to be told, though, for these purposes, I still prefer one-on-one communications like IMs, direct messages, and other targeted conversations over social broadcasts. They’re a lot warmer than just shotgun-blasting status messages out to your entire network, even if it’s just a one word “’sup?”, harassing a friend with a silly quote, or sticking an earworm in their head. (I also think privacy, or at least semi-privacy, leads to more candor and thus more valuable — or at least more interesting — conversations.) Also, 1-to-1 drive-bys of this sort online probably work better for personal relationships — you should be more judicious in the business context, and not bother people unless you have a valid (and not just plausible) reason to say hi. At least with my in-person office drivebys, I was physically in the neighborhood, which wasn’t just a pretext — it was the truth. If you want to be cynical about it, you could say that you’re just keeping lines of conversation open and primed, so that they’re available for when you need to use them for something substantive. One likes to think you can spot that kind of ulterior motive, though. Do you do anything to maintain your online relationships? Are you the cold, calculating sort with calendar and stopwatch; a social spammer; or something in between? Leave a comment. And if you’re one of the folks I used do drive-bys on, also leave a comment and let me know how you felt about them. Even if they bugged you. I can take it. My GTD Plan for the next Six Months
Now granted, there are few things that are unachievable like #100 - “Work and like is ecstasy, bliss and pure joy” and quite subjective like #93 - “I am surrounded by people as productive as me” so getting the perfect score will not be there but I believe I can get to the “Jedi” status. So my task is to take that score of 32 as close to 100 over the next month and see how things improve. Here are some things beyond my four principles that I must accomplish to get a great score by September when I do the test again. - Create Better Tracking Lists - Incorporate more physical things like an Inbox and the Tickler System - Schedule Weekly Status/GTD Prep Time on Monday morning 9-11am - Review GTD Book again for some key planning concepts (pages 56, 192, 196) - Get my email inbox in better order - Find a GTD Mentor to review what I am doing so I don’t fall into bad habits. See you at the end of September to mark my improvements and hopefully new lessons learned. Photo Credit: iStockPhoto The New Network Solutions - Brand Preview Today 6/29
Change is here and today on Monday June 29, 2009 we would love for you to be a part of our sneak preview. We are overhauling our brand and this not just a cosmetic change. We have heard loud and clear what you want and we are aligning our offerings to your needs regardless of what stage you are in the business life cycle. Change We Have Been Waiting For We've evolved the website structure and navigation to provide a more logical flow of information and a more customized experience so users can find what they are looking for. We've also reorganized and simplified our offerings to meet the specific needs of the customer. OK, So how can I participate in this sneak preview of the new website and offer my feedback? You can head there RIGHT NOW to see the preview. Share your thoughts and get a SPECIAL OFFER as a “Thank You” for your feedback In exchange for taking the time out of your day to offer your thoughts on how we are doing and input on how we can make the experience better, we will send you a coupon for a $35 credit towards the purchase of Network Solutions products and services, while supplies last*. So head on RIGHT NOW. We look forward to hearing from you. More Recent Articles |
As you know I just had my six month GTD review and looking at the next six months things hopefully will be smoother and will get even more efficient. In preparation to increase my GTD success I went through this awesome checklist 
Network Solutions is listening. Listening to our customers. Listening to YOU.
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Keep a civil tongue.