Connecting with strangers

by Terry Dunn on April 14, 2010

If you get a friend or connection request on your favourite social networking site from someone you’ve never met, should you add them to your list of friends? Andrew Davidson, digital marketing consultant, gave his views on this question on linked in and opened up quite a debate with opposing views. He thinks you should. And I agree with him.

With some social sites connecting to strangers is a part of the ethos, like twitter, but not with linked in. I think the answer is yes, especially if you have a mutual interest or you feel knowing this person could be beneficial to either you or them. With linked in and many other sites, it’s easy to find out more about your potential new friend. So, you can get an instant impression of who they are and what they are about.

Then again, how can you make this kind of decision when you don’t know them? They may turn out to be a good friend and perhaps even your best customer, but right now they don’t look like your kind of person. You really don’t know. So, if you connect with them and all they want to do is spam you, you can always unfriend them. All is not lost.

But there is a wider discussion here. On linked in, for example, if you only ever connect to people you know, how are you ever going to meet new people and build a growing community of friends, followers, fans and even customers?(eventually) You wont. Social networking is all about being social and open. Open to new connections, associations and relationships. It’s what drives our need as people to connect with one another.

Serendipity can play a part here. You never know when you will connect with the person who can help you the most. And if it turns out to be you who helps them the most, that is just as rewarding. So, you should connect with strangers.

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April 14, 2010 at 8:59 pm

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pallavi September 3, 2010 at 9:02 am

hi this is pallavi &u

pallavi September 3, 2010 at 9:02 am

hi this is pallavi& u

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