I recently blogged about Twitter, and it’s benefits to a business. But along the same avenue of life being the same thing online as offline, I made a list of things to help you choose friends – whether these friends are likely to meet you for coffee or not.
1. Choose Friends with Similar Interests. If you want your business to be heard, online and in print, you are going to need to associate with people like you. People like being with people they like (believe it or not).
2. Abandon Friends Who Talk Negatively. If a friend runs you down, don’t call them again. If they mock your business, hang up. If they enjoy talking about events that make you sick, quit following them. I just unfollowed someone who posted a link labelled ‘Man throws baby out of car’. WHY would I click that?
3. Talk Positively to Your Friends. Sarcasm and bitterness may work in real comedy, but in conversation and friendships they can be wearing. Complimenting a colleague should not be considered a come-on, no matter which gender is on which side. I promise, that if you like my suit and say so, I won’t expect dinner.
4. Write Like You Would Talk. I don’t mean, like, ya know, er… *cough* relax your, erm, language. Ya know. If you aren’t going to say it in person, don’t post it online – in forums, via email, in blog comments or anywhere else.
5. Be Of One Mind. My conscience may not have talked to my subsconscience in a while, and my pre-frontal cortex may take the odd vacation, but I am the same person online as I am in person. Call me Nick or Nicholas. I have a sense of humour. I detest gossip, fear mongering, Laodicean coffee and country music. And so does the guy you’ll find on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, this blog, other blogs and everywhere else.
6. Are Ee Ess Pea Ee Sea Tea. Treat others as you wish to be treated, and your business online will prosper. You will attract people to your website, blog and other online spaces because they discover you are who you say you are. If someone looks you up from a URL on a brochure or business card, they will discover you are consistent.
So look your best online and in print. And not just with great looking graphics, but also with who you are.
Timely and wise advice, Nickypoo (you mentioned ‘Nick’ and ‘Nicholaus’, but not ‘Nickypoo’). I haven’t yet started to Tweet, and to be honest, I don’t see the time-invested vs. business-generated working in my favor. The nice thing about professional networking sites that are designed for that purpose alone (LinkedIn, for example) is that it’s a ‘hit and run’ strategy: log on, network, then leave. Tweeting seems to require on-going involvement, and I don’t have that kind of time. Am I missing something?
True. Personally, I like the fake company of Twitter. It’s like having the TV on. It’s not company, but it kills the background silence. I tend to see Twitter as a personality rather than a billboard, much like blogging.
Nice Advice Nick! How about treating virtual friend virtually?
Well, I prefer to see all people as people, whether I online communicate with them through Twitter, Email or otherwise. It’s all about consistency.