Networking in real life and social networking are really about reaching out to others. See and be seen leads to reach and be reached. The online tools and real life venues put people in the spaces to make this happen more easily. Here are two examples.

Twitter and Gourmet Brownies
I was pleasantly surprised today when I went to the post office to check my mail and found a slip that said, “package too large to fit in box.” After waiting in line behind a guy with two dozen packages to mail (maybe an e-bay seller), I picked up a package from “Send Out Cards.”

“Send out cards, send out cards,” I’m thinking…. where do I know that from? Did I order something recently? Nothing clicked. Once I opened the package I was blown away. Chris Cree, a person I met through Twitter, sent me a box of gourmet brownies, wrapped with a red ribbon, and a beautiful card perfectly appropriate for 9/11. He was thanking me for referring folks to him along the way.

I’ve never met Chris in person but I had a great phone conversation with him several months ago and really liked his style and philosophy. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to connect him to a couple of people who were in need of his expertise.

Pearls and LinkedIn
On Saturday I was at a reception honoring Laura McDaniel, a dear friend who was just elected as Executive Director for WMU of Virginia. I ran into my friends Brad and Claudia. As we chatted, Claudia noticed my pearl bracelet and necklace and commented that she had asked Brad for the same set last year for Christmas but they weren’t available. She pointed them out to Brad, likely hoping he would remember earlier this year.

Fast forward to Monday. I was checking out LinkedIn and saw that Phillip Bosen had some new update. I don’t remember what, but whatever it was caused him to be in my visual and brain space. Phillip is the Manager at Finks, the very jewelry store where Peter had bought my necklace and bracelet. So, I sent Phillip a LinkedIn email providing him with Brad’s contact information, and told him the story.

Later that day Brad called me. “You are the networking queen,” he said.

Phillip had caught the pass and took it to the end zone. If you see Claudia, don’t tell. Christmas is still more than three months away.

Easy, Quick and Nice
Long-time chamber veteran now turned association guy Keith Woods, says that in the future, companies that are successful will understand that customers want to do business when/where it is easy, quick and nice. I’ll second that, and add: today’s social networking tools make passing a referral easy and quick. The nice part is up to you.

Are you making it easy and quick for people to give you business? What success stories can you share about how social networking tools have scored a few points for you or someone you know? (Share your thoughts and stories by clicking on the comment button.)

Oh, and if you’re not using social networking tools, let me know. I can probably help with that.

One final thing, if you like the jewelry, call Phillip, Rita, Vanessa or Margaret at Finks. They can help you out.