Social Networking Occurs Offline Too

  • 0 min read

There’s no question that social media has changed the way we all communicate.  Be it Twitter or Facebook; Yammer or Reddit;  LinkedIn or Pinterest.  We are all using these tools on a daily basis to share information, learn something new, have a laugh, and most importantly, connect with others.  As we use social media to build our personal brands online, we often forget how important it can be to do so offline.

Last week, I attended the Society for Human Resource Management’s Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA.  I’ve been attending these conferences for five years, and over the last three – social media has made these conferences even more enriching.  How so?  Well, I use Twitter and LinkedIn as an HR professional.  Over time, I’ve virtually connected with other people in the field – whether practitioners, thought leaders, or academics – and when I arrived at the conference, I already had a network of people to interact with.  But meeting these people in person, having a drink together and sharing an idea and a laugh, has helped solidify these relationships.  Now these people know me a lot better.  They’ve shaken my hand, seen the sincerity in my eyes.  Meeting in person takes your relationship to a different level.  Besides that – I was introduced to tons of people and made lots of new connections as well.  I’ve added over 60 new followers to Twitter in the four days of the conference.

Sure online networking is easier; it’s less time consuming and you can do it any time – but the value added by connecting to people offline cannot be surpassed.  When it really comes time to draw upon your network – people will be more comfortable working with or recommending you if they’ve met you offline.

Picture of Michael Spinale

Michael Spinale

Mike Spinale is a corporate Human Resources leader at a healthcare information technology company located outside of Boston, Massachusetts and is an adjunct professor at Southern New Hampshire University. He has over eight years of experience in HR and management including career counseling, recruitment, staffing, employment branding, and talent management.  Mike has dedicated his HR career to modern views on the field – HR is not about the personnel files – it’s about bringing on the best talent, ensuring they’re in the right seat, and keeping them motivated and growing in their careers. In addition, Mike is the author of the CareerSpin blog where he offers advice and opinion on job search, personal & employment branding, recruiting, and HR. Mike is a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Babson College. He is also a board member of the Metro-North Regional Employment Board, a board which sets workforce development policy for Boston’s Metro-North region, and an active member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the Northeast Human Resources Association.

TRENDING AROUND THE WEB

Greif and Gleason’s 1980 research on how children learn politeness routines found that young children almost never say “please” or “thank you” spontaneously, they say it because a parent prompts them with “what do you say?” dozens of times a week, meaning the reflex adults later display without thinking twice was built through years of someone else’s prompting long before it became automatic.

Greif and Gleason’s 1980 research on how children learn politeness routines found that young children almost never say “please” or “thank you” spontaneously, they say it because a parent prompts them with “what do you say?” dozens of times a week, meaning the reflex adults later display without thinking twice was built through years of someone else’s prompting long before it became automatic.

Global English Editing
Still Performing for Ghosts: On the Masks We Keep Wearing for Tribes That No Longer Exist

Still Performing for Ghosts: On the Masks We Keep Wearing for Tribes That No Longer Exist

The Vessel
AI answer boxes are reportedly wiping out a majority of organic search traffic for some blog categories in 2026 — while others have barely lost a visitor, and the split comes down to one thing

AI answer boxes are reportedly wiping out a majority of organic search traffic for some blog categories in 2026 — while others have barely lost a visitor, and the split comes down to one thing

The Blog Herald
Many adult children remember watching a father work sixty-hour weeks for decades so the family could have what he never did, then watched him die in his sixties without ever prioritizing his own happiness, and now see that same pattern quietly repeating in their own lives, under a different name.

Many adult children remember watching a father work sixty-hour weeks for decades so the family could have what he never did, then watched him die in his sixties without ever prioritizing his own happiness, and now see that same pattern quietly repeating in their own lives, under a different name.

Global English Editing
Eye tracking research on how people actually read web pages found that most visitors scan in a rough F shaped pattern down the left side of the screen, which is why professional editors front load the real information instead of slowly building up to it

Eye tracking research on how people actually read web pages found that most visitors scan in a rough F shaped pattern down the left side of the screen, which is why professional editors front load the real information instead of slowly building up to it

The Blog Herald
Harvard researchers had 166 undergraduates rate their own pets on qualities like thoughtful, considerate and sympathetic, and the students who felt most chronically disconnected from other people scored their pets meaningfully higher on exactly those three traits, and no others.

Harvard researchers had 166 undergraduates rate their own pets on qualities like thoughtful, considerate and sympathetic, and the students who felt most chronically disconnected from other people scored their pets meaningfully higher on exactly those three traits, and no others.

Global English Editing
Load more
CATEGORIES
Explore