Anonymous
Posted November 6, 2005
David Teton is CEO of Nitron Advisors, a research firm which provides hedge funds and other private equity funds with access to industry experts. Scott Allen is a consultant on online relationship management. This book serves two valuable purposes: it is a management overview of how digital relationships are a viable supplement to traditional communication methods. The second objective is a practical guide to using this new tool. PRACTICAL As an example of their practical orientation, I tend to use one or two passwords for all my digital relationships. It is easier for me to remember but there is a cost. I increase my exposure to identity theft. The authors provide an easy way to use unique passwords for different registrations I complete. Instead of providing a specific word, they provide a clever conceptual framework that is easy to remember and can apply to any digital password chosen. Buy the book if you want to learn the secret. They also provide concrete ways of managing E-Mail deluge. CONCEPTUAL I will talk about online dating and then tie it into business development. Online dating is now a mainstream way of linking interested people together. Did you know that online dating is the largest legal segment of the U.S. online content industry, with 29% of all paid content spending in 2003? 20% of all European internet users use online dating sites each month. Match.com lists over 5% of the entire U.S. adult population on its website. The authors argue that face-to-face methods for meeting people are inefficient: (1) you have geographical limits on the people you get to meet (2) you are locked into meeting people connected with your immediate social networks and (3) physical appearance has a disproportionate influence in the relationship. With online dating, you get a chance to meet people outside your functional, industry, or geographic communities. It is also possible to get to know the person¿s thoughts and values before seeing how the person looks. It is also possible to double check the person¿s story prior to a physical meeting. A Canadian study on dating found that people had as many uncomfortable experiences with online dating as with traditional methods of meeting. Author David Teten and his wife met through an online dating service. Face-to-face meetings are costly and time consuming. Digital relationships are inexpensive and time efficient. As search and transaction costs are reduced, volume of social contact increases. Whether your interest is romance or business development, quantity of initial relationships can sometimes be of more value than quality of initial relationships. Get the quantity first and then mine for quality. FOR SENIOR EXECUTIVES AND BOARD MEMBERS In the ¿real world¿ middle management acts as intermediaries for the eyes and ears of decision makers. The digital world allows for some ¿disintermediation¿ of these secondary sources of information so that decision makers can make their own judgments with their own eyes and ears. Pentagon Generals and Presidents can jump over the chain of command and watch the battle in real time. Board members can jump over the chain of command and observe customer reaction by tapping into contact databases, blogs, and virtual communities. They can form their own conclusions independent of what they are told and even independent of their own limited face-to-face social networks. Presidents should not be selecting bombing targets. And Board members should not be making conclusions based on reading a blog. But this information acts as a useful check & balance on what information is being distilled/cleansed prior to being sent.
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Posted August 16, 2005
I have now finished poring over each of the 30 chapters of 'The Virtual Handshake,' and am ready to offer my thoughts and enthusiastic recommendation. The Virtual Handshake - Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online is a treasure trove of practical advice on how best to use the rapidly proliferating assortment of social networking tools. I consider myself a reasonably informed networker and yet I found helpful information in each section of the book. Let me share just one story of how the book has had an immediate impact on me. Like many of us, I find e-mail to be a two-edged sword. I love the way that it enables me to stay in continuous contact with family, friends and business colleagues around the world. On the other hand, even with new Spam filters, the volume of incoming e-mail has long been daunting and overwhelming. Even after deleting Spam and obvious junk, I still have often found myself awash in a sea of e-mails that need to be answered in some fashion. Chapter 14 - Manage The E-mail Deluge - offered me the first workable system for handling the avalanche of e-mails in my In Box. For the first time in years, I now have an empty In Box and a sensible plan for handling the backlog of correspondence that needs to be attended to. This nugget alone makes the book worth the purchase price. Teten and Allen share their wisdom in the following major categories: Building Relationships Face-to Face and Virtually Social Software You Are the Virtual You The Seven Keys to a World-Class Network Turning Theory into Action: Online Networks in Your Job, Career, and Life At the end of the day, the greatest value of this book for me is that it provides both a theoretical grid for understanding the tools of social networking, and practical wisdom for mastering those tools rather than running the danger of being mastered and overwhelmed by them. I will keep this volume handy on the shelf above my desk - as a reference handbook for solving the problems and challenges that arise in the world of online networking. This book comes with my strong endorsement and gratitude for rescuing me from the flood of unanswered e-mails!
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Posted October 7, 2005
Online social networking tools give you the power to expand and manage your network with an efficiency and effectiveness that were virtually unheard of even a decade ago. It¿s no longer who you know but who you know online that counts when closing deals, making a career move or organizing a local charity function. The authors of The Virtual Handshake ¿Teten a CEO and online networker extraordinaire Allen an entrepreneur¿tell their story from hard-earned personal experience and research that spanned over 300 sources. Settling into my career, I was ¿taught¿ the old school methods for networking. Glad handing and card flashing at evening mixers where all you could do was hope to meet someone with whom you could connect. Not to mention that most networking events seemed tailor made for extroverts only! As a bona-fide introvert, these methods did nothing for me. Nothing until I found the Internet opening up my world of networking. According to Teten and Allen, online networking is proving to be a highly effective means for growing, cultivating and managing personal networks many times larger than most of us ever dreamed possible. Getting started is simple, or so say the authors. Most of you reading this probably have anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred contacts just sitting in your computer, on your PDA or, gasp¿the old Rolodex on your desk. The trick is to get those people out of your Rolodex and into the online network tools scene where you can really flex your networking muscle. According to Teten and Allen, getting started with online networking isn¿t the challenge you might think it is. In fact, 84 percent of us have already used the Internet to contact or get information from an online group, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The authors have even put together a ten-step action plan to get started with online social networking. Here are six of the ten steps: 1. Write down your goals and how a virtual relationship could help you achieve it. 2. Analyze your current network. 3. Make the mundane sublime. Common office productivity tools combined with e-mail and the Internet are very powerful 4. Become and information sponge (and send that information to people you know). 5. Master your email. 6. Share your knowledge wealth with your network. The book is not all how-to and action item lists, however. Teten and Allen understand that networking is about altruism, sharing, doing what is in another¿s best interest and giving of yourself to the network. Speaking from my own personal experience, they¿re on to something there. In networking, you must give to receive. Whether or not you choose to participate in online social networking, it will impact us all in some way. It¿s just as likely that your next client comes from within a salesperson¿s online social network as it is that someone is using Google right now to learn more about you in hopes of expanding their network. The Virtual Handshake is a resource for anyone trying to build a professional or personal network both online and offline.
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More About This Textbook
Overview
"Online social networks such as LinkedIn, blogs, and Meetup have enjoyed phenomenal growth in the past year. They are among many new social software tools in an arsenal that also includes virtual communities, social network sites, and much more. The Virtual Handshake is the roadmap to a dynamic (and lucrative) online arena that is fast becoming the crucial relationship-building environment for serious professionals.
Filled with clear, real-life examples, The Virtual Handshake shows readers how to:
• attract business in online networks
• meet more relevant senior people
• start and promote a blog
• analyze and value their social network
• use web conferencing and discussion forums to build awareness
• manage their contact databases
• ensure privacy and safety
For professionals whose businesses rely on a constant flow of new opportunities and contacts, The Virtual Handshake is a practical and vital resource."
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
“This comprehensive book is a smart addition to any company bookshelf.”
-HSBWorkingKnowledge.com
Woman Engineer
"...a practical and vital resource."Product Details
Related Subjects
Meet the Author
DAVID TETEN (New York, NY) is CEO of Nitron Advisors, an independent research firm which uses social software to help institutional investors gain access to frontline industry experts. He is a former investment banker and strategy consultant, and speaks frequently at conferences and at universities such as Wharton, Columbia Business School, Yale, and Princeton. SCOTT ALLEN (Austin, TX) is a 20-year veteran entrepreneur and IT executive who has implemented solutions for clients such as IBM and Amazon. He is the Entrepreneurs Guide on About.com and has offered training programs with LinkedIn, Ryze, and others.
Table of Contents
"Preface
Foreword by Andrew "Flip" Filipowski
Part I. Building Relationships Face to Face and Virtually
Chapter 1 — Who do you know?
Chapter 2 — The Seven Keys to a Powerful Network
Chapter 3 — Face-to-Face vs. Virtual Communications
Part II. Social Software
Chapter 4 — Introduction to Social Software
Chapter 5 — Building Your Virtual Home
Chapter 6 — Email Lists
Chapter 7 — Relating in Real-Time
Chapter 8 — Virtual Communities
Chapter 9 — Web Logs (Blogs)
Chapter 10 — Social Visibility Software
Chapter 11 — Virtual Becoming Reality
Chapter 12 — The Future of Social Software
Part III. Appearance Is Reality: You Are the Virtual You
Chapter 13 — Netiquette
Chapter 14 — Manage the Email Deluge
Chapter 15 — The Virtual You
Chapter 16 — Privacy, Safety, and Other Concerns
Part IV. The Seven Keys to a World-Class Network
Chapter 17 — Build Your Character
Chapter 18 — Increase Your Competence
Chapter 19 — Build the Relevance Level of Your Network
Chapter 20 — Build Strong Ties
Chapter 21 — Increase the Level and Quality of Information
Chapter 22 — Grow the Number of People in Your Network
Chapter 23 — Increase the Diversity of Your Network
Part V. Using Online Networks in Your Job, Career, and Life
Chapter 24 — Ten Simple Steps to Radically Improve Your Network Online
Chapter 25 — Finding a Job
Chapter 26 — Marketing
Chapter 27 — Sales
Chapter 28 — Business Development
Chapter 29 — Volunteering
Appendix A: The Network Valuation FormulaSM
Appendix B: How to Use This Book to Grow Your Network
Glossary
Index"