Many friends and family maintain their own social profile on one of the myriad sites out there. It is easy to check in on the latest birthday party, the upcoming vacation plans, or even weigh in on paint color decisions for a current house remodel. The real fun is not just sharing stories and descriptions, but using photographic blogs and photo sharing sites so that I feel I’m right there with loved ones, whether they are in the next town, time zone, or even continent. And, of course, having my own profiles and website allows me to share MyLife with them, too.
Providing a means to stay more closely connected to friends and family makes the internet a positive tool for my health. Certainly, it is important to not be at the computer too much, but by facilitating the sharing of life’s events among my support group of family and friends keeps my spirits up, amplifies our joyous moments, and helps us all through darker times.
Beyond the network I have developed with personal contacts, the options for networking professionally are also an amazing benefit of the internet. Professional profiles are a way to market myself to potential employers or potential clients and customers. Looking for a job has increasingly moved to the internet landscape, with more individuals searching for employment and more employers checking on job candidates. Sharing my professional profile with colleagues and business acquaintances, who can, in turn, share it in their networks, has helped me put my abilities and skills in front of an exponentially larger group of people than the door-to-door options of decades past.
In tough economic times, many people like me are also supplementing their income with at-home businesses in consulting, services, and crafts. In some cases, individuals are creating their own businesses and may or may not employ people to help them. With so much riding on every dollar in and out the door, using social professional networks has been an extremely cost effective way to advertise my services, promote my portfolio, and develop and strengthen relationships with customers.
It is hard to imagine how people managed to maintain connections to all the people in their personal and professional lives before the internet. I still go to work picnics, tailgate with friends, attend baby showers, and meet up for dinners at restaurants to keep up relationships with folks living near me. It is easy to see, though, how I have been able to expand and enhance the connections with all the people in MyLife using the networking tools via the internet.