The last blog took a quick look at how the Web is revolutionising the way we engage with the world around us - the way we buy things, the way we promote things, even the way the latest President of America was elected.

I believe that what we are seeing now is just the start of an amazing change in how we live our lives and interact with each other.  The reason for this is that a number of technologies are now converging in ways we could only have imagined just a few years ago.

There’s no doubt that the Internet has revolutionised the way we conduct both our business and our social lives and, to some degree, has merged the two.

But how can you maximise the benefit of this revolution to your business?

Rob Brown is one of the world’s leading experts in business relationships, with a body of experience, resources and expertise in the realm of turning relationships into profits.

If redundancy is on your mind or you’re looking to go it alone voluntarily, or maybe you already have, but it’s not been as successful as you had planned, then networking could be the missing ingredient.

Social Networking has a number of different aspects to it – it’s not all about drinks and canapés and standing around chatting to people!

Whether you’re actively Networking for a Living at the moment, or just dipping a first tentative toe into the vast Social Networking ocean, it’s critical you understand why you’re doing it and what you want to achieve.

It is a fact that the markets are unstable and the banks are having a hard time and people are getting laid off.  There’s not a lot we can do about that, but we can each ensure that our own value is promoted in a way that means we each have the best possible opportunity of success in these tough economic times.

I have been motivated to write this after a number of recent conversations with friends and ex-colleagues who are just starting to understand the power of effective Social Networking in a business context....... or is that "Business Networking"......?  Does it matter either way?

The recent conversations break down into broad categories, as follows:

This series of articles spotlights some of the people I respect most as experts in the Social and Business Networking space, for a variety of reasons.   This list is not exhaustive and represents my personal opinions on the characters that enrich networking for me..........

It’s important to understand the objectives of Social Networking:

In the last of the “Essential Elements” Series, the focus is on how to maximise your Reputation in the Marketplace inside your organisation as well as outside and the impact this can have on your effectiveness and your value.