Social Networking Resources for Professional Development

Facebook is not just for college students. Last fall, the site opened its membership to anyone with a valid email address, meaning you can join today.

And Facebook and other social networking sites aren’t all about posting or viewing scantily clad or drunken photos, weekend war stories or the latest gossip -- although there certainly is plenty of that if you’re looking for it. Instead, as I’ve found out in the last month, Facebook offers the very tangible benefit of professional networking

My own list of 73 Facebook friends includes dozens of colleagues who share my interests in marketing, PR, social media and online communications. We can send short messages to each other, engage in threaded discussions and find out about upcoming events that directly impact our day-to-day jobs. I’ve also joined 20 Facebook groups and a pair of networks, each of which offers news on topics that I care about -- both personally and professionally.

LinkedIn is another networking site that delivers value to the working professional. Keep up with the comings and goings of your colleagues, use the site’s Answers feature to help solve a particularly vexing work problem and connect to previously unreachable experts in your industry.

Want to explore or create your own professional social network about any other niche topic under the sun, such as healthcare marketing or Web 2.0 programs for librarians? Give Ning a try. 

And don’t forget about one of my favorite social media sites of all: Twitter.

Ultimately, online social networks provide you with the platforms to both develop new professional connections and strengthen existing ties. So if you haven’t started using one yet, what are you waiting for?

Here are some additional Monster resources to help you make sense of the latest new-media tools:

• “Get to Know Web 2.0”
• “Blogs, Podcasts and Wikis: A New Technology Primer"
• “When Work Time and Personal Time Mix"

Related Blogs

• "Social Networking as Professional Development"
• "The Coming Battle: LinkedIn vs. Facebook"
• "Falling for Facebook"
  
• "Facebook vs. LinkedIn for accounting professionals"
  

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