September 30, 2010 Music Management Skills: Network in person, not just online.
For most of the past few weeks, I’ve been offline more than online. And those moments I’ve been online, I’ve been working exclusively on client projects instead of mixing in networking and promotion.
I’m not intentionally becoming a social media hermit, though. It seems that Lori and I move about once every two years, on average. And every time we move, it takes us time to get caught back up with our online relationships while we focus on the very physical activity of creating the latest version of our ideal home. (Lori will accurately tell you that she does about 90% of the packing and unpacking, while my very focused contribution to the move included dealing with all the trash at the old house and guarding the moving van while our crew was unloading at the new condo.)
Does that mean I haven’t been building my network during that time? Absolutely not. I’m still meeting new people, but I’m doing it in person: in elevators, in the coffee shop, on the train. Chances are, a few of the folks I met during my “offline mode” will end up being far more valuable members of my network than if I had picked up 100 extra followers.
