cepted sources touting the benefits of online networking, I decided to follow their plan and see what benefit, if any, my association with such sites might yield for my business.

I began this quest, of sorts, full of hope and eager to explore all the many facets of social networking. I was determined to learn all I could from the more experienced business owners I expected to encounter and offer my own experiences and expertise in return. I figured that if I helped other aspiring entrepreneurs and, in the process, increased traffic to my website, then I would have succeeded in my endeavor and created a win-win situat

Remember the good old days when businessmen and women would conduct business in person, often with a handshake? When I sold real estate in New England only a couple years ago, local businessmen and women would get together once a month to share ideas and network through a community-wide program called Business After Hours. These meet and greet opportunities were very effective and beneficial for all participants. I happen to know for a fact that many homes were bought and sold via the interaction of various Realtors at these meetings.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you choose to look at it, we live in an electronic age where old fashioned, fact-to-face exchanges of ideas have been replaced with chat rooms and forums in cyberspace. With the advent of the Internet, we can now communicate effortlessly with people all over the globe and have instant access to all kinds of information 24/7. With all these great advances in technology, why are violence, intolerance and detachment increasing? Statistically, we live in a more transient society. Gone are the days when a person is born, lives, works and dies in the same general area. Neighbors seldom take the time anymore to get to know each other. Why bother when homeowners move (on average) every five years or less? Add to that our insatiable need for instant gratification, and it’s no wonder that we have short attention spans and even shorter tempers. Regardless of our personal opinions about technological advances in The Information Age, it appears that the Internet is here to stay.

So, as business owners (and as people), we must learn to adapt to changing methods in order to survive. In that enterprising spirit, I have spent a fair amount of time researching new business practices and ideas in an effort to drive more traffic to my website and, hopefully, increase business. Of course, the Internet is rife with articles and advice on how to accomplish just that. Some of that advice is pretty sound, backed by years of practical application. Some of it is a bit more subjective and tentative. Nevertheless, I made a conscious decision to keep an open mind and seek out new and progressive ways to accomplish my goal.

One idea that surfaced consistently on the web was the notion that participating in online networking sites and forums, both social and business, is a good way to meet other likeminded people and increase interest in my business. After reading several articles from recognized and generally accepted sources touting the benefits of online networking, I decided to follow their plan and see what benefit, if any, my association with such sites might yield for my business.

I began this quest, of sorts, full of hope and eager to explore all the many facets of social networking. I was determined to learn all I could from the more experienced business owners I expected to encounter and offer my own experiences and expertise in return. I figured that if I helped other aspiring entrepreneurs and, in the process, increased traffic to my website, then I would have succeeded in my endeavor and created a win-win situat

an electronic age where old fashioned, fact-to-face exchanges of ideas have been replaced with chat rooms and forums in cyberspace. With the advent of the Internet, we can now communicate effortlessly with people all over the globe and have instant access to all kinds of information 24/7. With all these great advances in technology, why are violence, intolerance and detachment increasing? Statistically, we live in a more transient society. Gone are the days when a person is born, lives, works and dies in the same general area. Neighbors seldom take the time anymore to get to know each other. Why bother when homeowners move (on average) every five years or less? Add to that our insatiable need for instant gratification, and it’s no wonder that we have short attention spans and even shorter tempers. Regardless of our personal opinions about technological advances in The Information Age, it appears that the Internet is here to stay.

So, as business owners (and as people), we must learn to adapt to changing methods in order to survive. In that enterprising spirit, I have spent a fair amount of time researching new business practices and ideas in an effort to drive more traffic to my website and, hopefully, increase business. Of course, the Internet is rife with articles and advice on how to accomplish just that. Some of that advice is pretty sound, backed by years of practical application. Some of it is a bit more subjective and tentative. Nevertheless, I made a conscious decision to keep an open mind and seek out new and progressive ways to accomplish my goal.

One idea that surfaced consistently on the web was the notion that participating in online networking sites and forums, both social and business, is a good way to meet other likeminded people and increase interest in my business. After reading several articles from recognized and generally accepted sources touting the benefits of online networking, I decided to follow their plan and see what benefit, if any, my association with such sites might yield for my business.

I began this quest, of sorts, full of hope and eager to explore all the many facets of social networking. I was determined to learn all I could from the more experienced business owners I expected to encounter and offer my own experiences and expertise in return. I figured that if I helped other aspiring entrepreneurs and, in the process, increased traffic to my website, then I would have succeeded in my endeavor and created a win-win situat

e (on average) every five years or less? Add to that our insatiable need for instant gratification, and it’s no wonder that we have short attention spans and even shorter tempers. Regardless of our personal opinions about technological advances in The Information Age, it appears that the Internet is here to stay.

So, as business owners (and as people), we must learn to adapt to changing methods in order to survive. In that enterprising spirit, I have spent a fair amount of time researching new business practices and ideas in an effort to drive more traffic to my website and, hopefully, increase business. Of course, the Internet is rife with articles and advice on how to accomplish just that. Some of that advice is pretty sound, backed by years of practical application. Some of it is a bit more subjective and tentative. Nevertheless, I made a conscious decision to keep an open mind and seek out new and progressive ways to accomplish my goal.

One idea that surfaced consistently on the web was the notion that participating in online networking sites and forums, both social and business, is a good way to meet other likeminded people and increase interest in my business. After reading several articles from recognized and generally accepted sources touting the benefits of online networking, I decided to follow their plan and see what benefit, if any, my association with such sites might yield for my business.

I began this quest, of sorts, full of hope and eager to explore all the many facets of social networking. I was determined to learn all I could from the more experienced business owners I expected to encounter and offer my own experiences and expertise in return. I figured that if I helped other aspiring entrepreneurs and, in the process, increased traffic to my website, then I would have succeeded in my endeavor and created a win-win situat

he Internet is rife with articles and advice on how to accomplish just that. Some of that advice is pretty sound, backed by years of practical application. Some of it is a bit more subjective and tentative. Nevertheless, I made a conscious decision to keep an open mind and seek out new and progressive ways to accomplish my goal.

One idea that surfaced consistently on the web was the notion that participating in online networking sites and forums, both social and business, is a good way to meet other likeminded people and increase interest in my business. After reading several articles from recognized and generally accepted sources touting the benefits of online networking, I decided to follow their plan and see what benefit, if any, my association with such sites might yield for my business.

I began this quest, of sorts, full of hope and eager to explore all the many facets of social networking. I was determined to learn all I could from the more experienced business owners I expected to encounter and offer my own experiences and expertise in return. I figured that if I helped other aspiring entrepreneurs and, in the process, increased traffic to my website, then I would have succeeded in my endeavor and created a win-win situat

cepted sources touting the benefits of online networking, I decided to follow their plan and see what benefit, if any, my association with such sites might yield for my business.

I began this quest, of sorts, full of hope and eager to explore all the many facets of social networking. I was determined to learn all I could from the more experienced business owners I expected to encounter and offer my own experiences and expertise in return. I figured that if I helped other aspiring entrepreneurs and, in the process, increased traffic to my website, then I would have succeeded in my endeavor and created a win-win situation all around. I spent the last 10 months or so participating in no less than seven of the “recommended” websites and forums. I’ve poured through thousands of pages of opinions, jokes, discussions, debates and information. Of course, I actively shared my own views, ideas, advice and information and invited others to critique my website and my work. After all, that was the whole purpose, right? I did, indeed, “meet” a lot of different people and exchange thoughts and ideas on various topics. While some of these exchanges have been interesting and, at times, entertaining, the real issue is whether or not they have increased traffic to my website, added to my client list or provided me with invaluable information that I could not obtain elsewhere. The answer is a resolute NO.

Instead, my mission to improve my business quickly degraded into a social experiment that reminded me of my college psychology and ethics classes. All the usual suspects made their appearances, time after time, on every single website and forum. In fact, the pattern was eerily distinct and consistent. In each case, some of the long-time members took on an authoritative role and never hesitated to let others, especially newbies, know they were just plain wrong. The topic of discussion didn’t really matter. These old hats had been there, done that and bought the T-shirt. They know it all and feel it’s their duty to set you straight. Some even went so far as to redefine ideals or terms to prove a point or demonstrate their perceived intellectual prowess. Oddly, many of the other members, though seemingly no less intelligent, acquiesced to the viewpoints of these individuals. In fact, they often offered their adulation in exchange for some trivial acknowledgement or validation. I found it interesting, and yet a bit sad, that several of the “know-it-all” individuals obviously spent a great deal of time perusing the forums and posting numerous daily commentaries about how to run a successful business instead of actually running their businesses. I wondered if other people picked up on that fact at all. Naturally, each of the websites had at least one troll – the generally disagreeable person who seems to delight in starting arguments just for the sake of the argument. I watched more than one discussion thread deteriorate into heated interactions complete with name-calling. What a wonderfully productive and mature way to spend valuable time, right?

I watched the dynamic of these sites unfold in very