There is no "social networking for business"

I've had a few people ask me to blog on "social networking for business."

Thought about this for a while and my answer is: It doesn't exist. There is just plain and simple social networking.

A bit extreme, perhaps, but business ultimately comes down to relationships with other people and whether you like them or not.

I guess I don't think it is possible (and perhaps not desirable) to think anymore of a "business" life and a "personal" life.  It is all one.

Now, you may not care that my grandparents died or that my infant daughter got up at 3am, but that's part of who I am. And that's fine.

When I blog about that, you can skip over it, but when you see my Twitter updates, connect to me on Facebook or LinkedIn or add my Tumblr feed or connect in Plaxo, you'll start to see the whole person.

You can decide if I am the type of person with whom you want to do business.

You may not like my political views.

You may think I spend too much time online.

But, you may also find some of my del.icio.us links fascinating and my Shared Items/Articles to be very informative and helpful.

And, even though you aren't interested in the fact that my kids are sick, it may tell you that I am a sensitive guy (maybe) and like to reflect on things.That may consciously (or subconsciously) be of value to you.

Or, if you look at my Amazon wishlist, you'll get a feel for the type of interests I have...

Yes, there will be "noise" that you'll have to filter out, but when I expose all of this information, it gives you a clear idea of the person with whom you are dealing (full disclosure kind of thing) and that will help you decide if you want to work with me because of who I am.

That's social networking for business.