Networking and how to use Social Networking sites

13 January 2008 |

Posted by Santosh Puthran

I have been stumbling upon good sites for the benefit of the readers of Management Accountant Blog. I happened to meet Mr. Murthy from Rajahmundry, AP. I liked the websites he had stumbledupon and submitted reviews on a couple of posts and so I spoke to him.

To my surprise, he volunteered to help me and provide me with a couple of tips for my blog. We chatted on messenger for more than 2 hours and his tips were very helpful. I hope this helps you too.

Layout of the Blog should be simple. Fonts matter!!! Accountants like reading small fonts (may be because we are interested in details and numbers.)
Create and promote your profile on http://www.linkedin.com/ , http://www.spock.com/ and http://www.stumbledupon.com/ The profiles will help you network with right people and build up your network. Professional networking sites like linkedin help you immensely.
Search Optimisation Tips: Use search optimization to drive internet traffic to your website. Read more

His advice was very helpful and you must have noticed the change on my blog. Currently I am working my profile on http://www.spock.com/Santosh-Puthran-jKkU14H and sending invites to people who are in my address book.

Spock is a very powerful internet tool. Even if you have not created your profile on spock, it will recognise you from bio pages, social networks, news sites, blogs or directories. Take for e.g. Bill Gates, Ratan Tata, Tony Blair, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or Manmohan Singh.

Spock lets you determine where people can find you on the internet. When you sign up for Spock you can claim your search results and shape what information people see. Plus, when there is new information about you on the internet, Spock sends you an alert so you are always up to date. Signing up is free and easy - just click here.

How do I claim a search result?

To claim a search result on Spock, click "Claim Your Search Result" on the page. When you have successfully claimed your search result on Spock, it will be merged with your current search result, and will be tied to your Spock account.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw my profile on Spock and I claimed it.

As a professional, how should I use professional networking tools?

Linkedin and Spock will help you build up your professional network. Companies are reluctant to spend on advertising for any vacancies or professional work. Virtual networking will help you to progress in your career by connecting to the right people. Spock will help you link all your profiles and websites together. This will help people know you and your work.
Plaxo : http://www.plaxo.com/ is a contact address management tool which is integrated with Outlook and Linkedin. You update your info, your friends update theirs, and everyone stays in touch! You should sync your mobile phone with Outlook to have your contacts handy. You never know when opportunities strike.
StumbleUpon: Use stumbleupon to review good sites on the internet. You will always find people to subscribe to your feeds on stumbleupon if you are stumbling on good sites. Search your name on http://www.google.com/ and see the results. This will give an indication whether you are known on the internet. Then check whether you are linked to the professional network.
Google Reader: I have found www.google.com/reader very useful to keep myself updated when I subscribe to feeds of good websites. You will always notice the word "RSS" or "Atom" on a website. Click it and subscribe to the updates from the website.
Blog: I would always recommend you have your own blog to share professional updates or participate by commenting on websites or blogs. This will help people in your profession to know about you. The accountants who are in practise should always have their website and should blog or comment on important updates in business or taxation. This will help them to be known in business circles in the industry.