With the creation of telephone party lines in the late 1800’s, Switchboard operators were the conversation connectors. When a call was received, a light would illuminate to alert the the operator to an incoming caller. The operator would converse with the caller to determine where they would like to be connected to.
How much progress have we really made? We still enjoy good conversations and sometimes we need someone to connect us with others who are interested in engaging dialogue. We’re not looking for idle chit-chat. What does it look like to peek inside the digital switchboard of a Social Connector? We are looking for advice on buying products, insight to future business ventures, or for personal development and direction. We are Social Connectors in a digital switchboard era.
Digital Consoles of a Social Connector
- Blippr “Well, you’re right, it is funny. But, blippr is much more than just a trendy set of letters. It’s a really easy way to discover, talk about, and organize great apps, books, games, movies, and music. We figure that hey, why not make it easy to talk about and then find even more great stuff to talk about?” Blippr.com
- American Express Open Forum “See why small businesses have the power to reengineer our economy and how OPEN Forum has tools that can help them.” OpenForum.com
- Mashable: HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on Twitter “Twitter has roughly 6 million users and is projected to grow to 18.1 million users by 2010. With all those people, the chances for networking are endless and connecting with new people can lead to career opportunities, so it is essential that your personal brand exists on the service.” Mashable.com
Social networking sites have become the personal operated switchboard exchange panels for the 2010 individual. A recent article shows that more people share links to resources on Facebook rather than through sending an email. Links shared on Facebook not only benefit the friend to friend connections but to others who see the shared link.
Digital Circuits of a Social Connector
- AddtoAny “According to AddToAny, Facebook now dominates sharing, with 24 percent of shares from the widget consisting of users posting items to the social network.” Mashable.com
- StumbleUpon “Using a combination of human opinions and machine learning to immediately deliver relevant content, StumbleUpon presents only web sites that have been suggested by other like-minded Stumblers.” StumbleUpon.com
- FriendFeed “Read and share however you want — from your email, your phone or even from Facebook. Publish your FriendFeed to your website or blog, or to services you already use, like Twitter.” FriendFeed.com
Have the social norms of sharing links and recommending our friends and colleagues allowed us to tap into an altruistic thread deeply embedded within our social DNA? I realize my question may seem all too idealistic to the realist and social media pessimists, nevertheless I claim my stake in the optimist camp. Social Connectors look for opportunities for sharing and introductions.
Digital Frequencies of a Social Connector
- Mr. Tweet “To get found by people who would be interested in what you do, there is no better way than to get MrTweet recommendations from your fans!” MrTweet.com
- Twellow “Twellow is a directory of public Twitter accounts, with hundreds of categories and search features to help you find people who matter to you.” Twellow.com
- Plaxo “It’s a dashboard for seeing what the people you know are creating and sharing all over the open web. You can hook your Pulse account up to all the places where you create or share stuff (your blog, Flickr, Twitter, Yelp, and more than 30 other sites).” Plaxo.com
Are you a Social Connector? Are you building social capital to fund the new entrepreneurs, innovators and catalysts of tomorrow? This is the tribe to which I belong. We have built upon the adage “Its not what you know, but who you know” and re-branded it to say, “It’s what you know and who you share it with.” That is how to define someone who is a Social Connector.” We think in terms of personal vitalization, social equity, and global collaboration.
By the way, if you liked what I have shared with you, I hope you will share it with someone else. Don’t just send them the link, tell them why you are sending it to them because that’s what Social Connectors do.
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