The More [people] You Know!

The idea is simple; the more people you know, the more benefits/opportunities you will have. That is why we make friends in the first place right? Haha, kidding...

Knowing people - especially the right people - is kind of a big deal. If you have a "guy" for everything (a car guy, a shoe guy, a ticket guy, a computer guy, etc.) you are pretty well off. It may be hard for some people to acquire these "guys" though...and that is where social networking comes into play...

As it is stated in pretty much every presentation/blog, Facebook broadens your social network. You can meet people from all over the damn place. If you like cars, there's an interest group or twelve for you. If you like to drink, there are plenty of parties to check maybe to. Most of all though, you can make friends - or at least acquaintance - fairly easy. Just send them a message or a friend request, and let it snowball from there. Once you are on speaking terms, their resources become yours.

The article The Benefits of Facebook "Friends" has an article that I can really relate to in it:

For individuals, social capital allows a person to draw on resources from other members of the networks to which he or she belongs. These resources can take the form of useful information, personal relationships, or the capacity to organize groups (Paxton, 1999). Access to individuals outside one's close circle provides access to non-redundant information, resulting in benefits such as employment connections (Granovetter, 1973). Moreover, social capital researchers have found that various forms of social capital, including ties with friends and neighbors, are related to indices of psychological well-being, such as self esteem and satisfaction with life (Bargh & McKenna, 2004; Helliwell & Putnam, 2004).

Some personal experiences:

• I met a friend online through a car club online. That guy introduced me to some more guys, who introduced me to even more guys. Now I have friends that know all types of cars (muscle, Japanese, euro, etc.), so if I need help with anything that has to do with those, I have someone to call. Through that particular group, I met a guy who works at T-mobile. He hooked me up with a free Blackberry.

• I am friends with a local DJ, and after checking out his friends page on myspace (years ago) I became a fan of their music. He introduced me to them at a show, and we have been hanging out ever since. I got my other DJ friend a gig with them, and he is now a part of their group and they perform every week or so all over the city.

I don't want to sound like I am bragging, but it really pays off to be social. I have always heard the term, "It's not what you know, its who you know" and have actually benefited from it for most of my life. The job I have now I got because I had friends that worked there...and every job I have had in the past as well.

On top of all that, you meet some really awesome people, and form some really great friendships. People that I consider some of my best friends, I have met through social networking. Without it, I probably would have never met them, and who knows where I would be now...

Facebook also makes it easy to maintain your relationships, and communicate with everyone in a timely manner whether it be a simple wall post or a 5 minute chat. Of course there are going to be those people that you aren't really close to, that you may see in passing or just dont really get a lot of face to face time with, but online you can keep a connection with them.

The way the world is going, it seems like having connections with people can benefit you more than a degree will. So I guess the point I am getting at here is, don't take people for granted and give everyone a chance. You never know how they could benefit you - or how you could benefit them. Whether it be a hookup on a sweet phone, or just someone to talk to... who knows, maybe one day you will end up in their wedding line or something.