How Email and Social Networking Can Enhance Relationships

Tuesday, 02. 16. 2010  –  Category: Enversa Companies

Many will say that email and social networking have ruined relationships, communication, and productivity.  And there is much to be said about the texting industry’s effect on people’s spelling; but there are good and bad effects of every form of technology.  Social networking, when abused, can destroy relationships, diminish productivity, and ruin a person’s image.  Email can be bad just as bad.  For example, if a hasty message is sent out of anger or sarcasm, it can be misinterpreted and cannot be taken back, therefore impairing relationships and personal images.  This happens when these forms of communication are used incorrectly and abused.  However, when used correctly and effectively, both email and social networking can enhance our communication.

The Internet has allowed more relationships to be possible for each person.  Social networking web sites, like Facebook, have enabled new relationships to develop in a few short days.  We are able to discover things about people that we may have never found out before.    Email and social networking allow a more convenient form of communication, making it easier than ever to reach a person and express ideas and ask questions rather than leaving voice mails.  These sites can bring us closer together and keep us connected when many people do not have time to meet in person as often as they would like to.  When used correctly, much like thinking before you speak, an email message can communicate ideas and feelings that we are unable to relay in person, either because of playing constant phone tag or because of fear of personal confrontation.  Social networking allows us to find and communicate with people that we lost touch with or just met.

How can this benefit us professionally?

An easy example: Maybe you admire your co-worker’s ability to effectively express his ideas in meetings.  Qualities like that deserve to be recognized, and not only by his boss, but from co-workers, too.  Communicating these positive thoughts develops camaraderie and team work.  It is not always easy to express feelings in the work place, either because of time limitations or the lack of privacy.  A simple email, carefully written and thought out, can express this recognition in a way that lets the reader choose when he has time to read your message and do so privately.  This type of positive reinforcement also increases productivity buy building confidence and strengthening teammates’ relationships.  Even though some companies would view this type of email to be personal activity, it will have great professional benefits.  For tips on how to effectively communicate ideas in email, you should take a course.  Effective business writing via email is essential to success.

Take it further: The boss’s wife adds you as a friend and before you know it, you are sharing recipes because you have discovered that you both have a love for cooking.  This type of relationship can be a genuine improvement to your everyday life, but also to your success in a company.  If the boss’s wife has a positive view of you personally, it will only enhance the boss’s view of you professionally.  We would be lying to ourselves if we said that we didn’t seek out relationships to enhance our career.  That is what networking is all about.  But, it is important to keep in mind the difference between using people and benefitting professionally from a genuine relationship.  You would not want to approach this type of relationship with a phony sincerity because it will most likely be detected and rejected faster than you can click “send.”

Another example: You are at a social gathering, whether it be a wedding, funeral, or local pub.  You meet someone who you think would benefit from your business or vice versa, but in light of the current occasion do not feel it appropriate to exchange business cards at that time.  Finding this person on a social networking site can be easy and effective.  Many times you can add this person as a “friend” and gain access to their interests, email address, and company website.  There is your “in.”  Now you can build that relationship further and eventually introduce your business or find out more about theirs.  Further, since this is approached on a personal level, the introduction already being done, it is not as awkward as a cold sales call, and the opportunity wasn’t lost because of social etiquette at your grandma’s funeral.  It is a great way to introduce your business to your current online friends, too.  Many would say that it is better to keep personal and professional relationships separate, but that is an old school way of thinking.  For more on that see, “Make Business Relationships Personal.”

Katie Petre works for CornerWorld Corporation, parent company of Enversa Companies.

Tags: communication, e-mail, Facebook, Katie Petre, Social Networking