Minding the Boundaries of Social Networking

It happened again. In a small town, it’s really not that difficult to network, and network appropriately. Heck, in a large town it’s not that difficult. So much depends on showing up, introducing yourself, and not being a creep.

Sometimes people get overly excited. Sometimes they stray into aggressiveness. Often, this is accompanied by a big leap over a boundary. Let’s review the basics:

1. Dating sites are for dating. Dates are for getting to know one another for a romantic purpose. Dates are not for business connections, marketing help, free business advice, etc.
2. LinkedIn, and other business social networks and groups are for business networking. Don’t flirt with people on LinkedIn.
3. Facebook is for friends and could be for business or dating, depending on how you roll. But it’s NOT for strangers. Don’t confuse being a stranger with being someone’s friend. Don’t confuse a friend of a friend with anything other than a stranger, unless you have some other frame of reference for them. Not all people are good people.

Another creepy incidence I’ve encountered, and forgive me, I’m not being sexist but I’ve truly only had men do this: guys complaining about their wives or girlfriends in a business setting.

HEY GUYS: don’t do this. Not only does it make you look bad, but it appears that you’re fishing for some kind of attention from the females in the room. Because you are. Stop it.