What's the value of networking?

So, what IS the value of networking? How do you really place a value on it?

I think to truly determine its value, we can only look back and see what past networking has accomplished for us. For example, I can take every significant move in my career thus far and track it back to a number of first-time handshakes that ended up creating new opportunities later in my career. When you look at the value of networking through this hindsight lens, I'd say it's pretty high.

Why do I bring this up? Well, in this day and age, we are always trying to assess the value to things to gain an understanding of what they are worth to people. I always stress the value of face-to-face networking and how important it is, especially in the context of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media trends. I still believe the highest value in our local, regional and national conferences and meetings is networking. Eh hem, excuse me, face-to-face networking.

When is the last time you heard about Joe Bean getting hired because his employer enjoyed his tweets? Or that the same potential employer could get a good feel for Joe's personality and character based off his Facebook posts? Or that the employer really valued Joe's team-oriented attitude after seeing his Instagram photographs? My answer: never!

Don't get me wrong, I am an avid user of social media myself, and I believe it is a tremendous tool in today's business and personal worlds. But do these social media outlets replace the value we realize in face-to-face networking? No. Absolutely not. Period.

I do believe these social media sites are a great way to stay in tune with current news and information from around the world, which is pretty cool. They can also work as a great "introductory" tool if you find yourself shaking hands with a potential colleague or employer - for example, "Oh yeah, I recognize your name from Twitter; I think I follow you."

While there is no doubt that social media has its place in today's business world, the key cog in professional network development still remains face-to-face interaction.