Posted By susanharrow on February 14, 2008

Who Are Your Friends, Anyway?

I’m a featured expert on SelfGrowth.com and I’m being bombarded with other experts asking me to be their “friend.” Many just send the standard form with no personal note. At first I was a bit put off by this. Out of curiosity I checked out a few of the “no note” senders, and decided not to accept their invitation. But the invites kept pouring in. Why? What’s so good about having friends you don’t know? I’m not sure, but I’m collecting them like Tupperware now, just in case.

Less Than 6 Degrees of Separation

A few weeks ago, I was at a fancy gala party for a high tech start-up company that was looking for investors. The view was gorgeous, the food fresh, the people plentiful, wealthy and happy. If you want money you need to look like you’ve got it already. Or, as my Nana says, “Money goes where money is.”

In the kitchen at the pu pu island I saw a former client who sold his company during the dot com craze for 60 million dollars. Someone from LinkedIn, a social networking spot for professionals, had contacted me about possibly becoming a client, and we discovered that we had my former client in common. Small world.

I told my former client I didn’t really get how to use LinkedIn. I often get contacted to become friends of these strangers as well–also with no personal note or details of what we might have in common. He explained that he had made some contacts with “friends of friends.”

But what if those “friends” were like the selfgrowth.com “friends” I’m making? Does it matter that we don’t even know each other? I don’t know the answers to these questions yet, but although I make many connections on the Internet, I’m more comfortable meeting people “warm hand to warm hand,” like Zen Master Suzuki Roshi recommended, through people I and other people REALLY know and share something in common. And PR is as much about creating relationships as it is about having a good story and product to promote.

Speed Dating for Publicity Seekers

I still like old fashioned connecting, but fast. That’s why I recommended to one of my clients that she attend the Publicity Summit.

There is no substitute for meeting the media in person, shaking someone’s hand, speaking to them eye to eye and handing them your press packet. There is something about skin touching skin that you just don’t get digitally. And at the Summit, you get more time with National TV producers pitching your product or story than you’ll typically get on the air with the host!

My Space is Your Space

I recently interviewed a woman whose social networking helped her become a contestant finalist for Oprah’s new show, “The Big Give.” Her www.youtube.com video helped her land a national TV spot as well. We discussed what went on behind the scenes during the interview process, and how social media helped her, during the teleclass on February 5th with Nancy Juetten. I talked about using soundbites to get air and ink to get on Oprah and National TV shows. The CD will be available in about three weeks so if you missed the teleclass you can still find out.

Category: Media Appearances, Oprah, Publicity, Social Networking PR
Tags: LinkedIn, MySpace, TV Appearances, Video, Videos