Networking: Just a Word?

I am writing about this because it is something that I have encountered on my journey to getting my name out there. I was in the process of inviting people on various websites that I am a member of to join me on another website that offers a great deal of self help information and a business oppurtunity. In the the process of doing this I had recieved an email from someone inviting me to join another website with like minded people who might be interested in what I had to offer and it would be a great place to "Network" and it was free. So I went to this website to check it out and it was free for 10 days but if you wanted to continue to use it after that they would charge a fee for several different levels of marketing and other perks.

Needless to say I created a profile for the free profile to find out that yes there were a lot of people on this websit and some of them had said they wanted to "Network" with me. But then I quickly realized that networking is a word that gets thrown around quite often and I am not sure if people really know what it means to network.

If you want networking to really work you 1) have to get to know some of the people you meet online. That means you have to share information with them and ask them questions about what it is that they do. 2) You need to build some kind of repor with them. If you think about it your not gonna refer someone you know to get advice or product from a perfect stranger. 3) If you want people to refer your advice or product you need to be willing to refer them to other people as well.

So when people tell me they want to network but then dont even ask me questions or reply to my emails I dont think they understand how networking works. I think it is a word that some people use to sound good and you should be careful who you net work with. Get to know the people you choose to network with and who knows you may even find a great friend and not just another networking buddy. And be careful that when you looking for people to network with that you dont get sucked into those sceems that want to charge you they really dont work and will more then likely be a waist of money.