There's been a hell of a lot of talk about the business value of networking in the past few years. That prompted the publication of numerous books and the creation of online services aimed at facilitating "networking".
All this is fine except that "networking" is first and foremost about people, not systems, about relations, not parodies of relations. I don't believe in tools that are supposed to facilitate contacts between people who don't know each other, have not met once, but are supposed to be willing to "network" and transact just because they are registered in some online tool which established 2nd, 3rd... degree ties between them. It is better to have a small network of people who really know you and who you really know rather than a large online virtual network of people who have never seen your face, nor heard the sound of your voice. Again business is about people, not systems. Will we end up solely relying on databases, online systems, avatars and agents impersonating people?
Indeed, Alex.
ReplyDeleteThe more i experience those tools the more i share your feeling about it.
max headroom warned me not to trust you.
ReplyDeleteseriously, all of your past posts share one common taste: the need for humanity. i tried myself this don quichotte's route once... hopefully you will manage better than me.
your friend,
r.
YES roberto humanity is central to remarkable endeavours. I am no fan of the Wall-Street way and yes I do place people at the center of every single project / action / initiative / thought / plan... It is the single most important factor of success when handled with respect and fair thoughness...
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I think I understand what you mean when mentioning this splendid hero called Don Quichotte. I had my share of tough times and at least part of the trouble came from failing to have detached involvement when it came to people. I have done quite some work on that theme, doing interesting introspection and finding surprising and undescribable "stuff" within...
Don't know if I'll do "better", I'll just do it my way all the way.
Take care,
a.