by 
Social Media – The Next Web – See yesterday’s post.
Today’s post builds on this topic.
This is imperative, if you want to be successful in business. I would even challenge you to stretch your network even more. I have been fortunate to get acquainted and work with some great people. This is one of the benefits of being active on Social Media. (Learning from Others)
I have been able to connect with some great people on social media sites like Linkedin and Twitter.
Here is the process I go through in establishing relationships relationships with “Great People” on social media sites.
Listen First
As I have said many times, I only want to connect with great people. I like to connect with people who have more experience in areas that I may not work with on a regular basis: technology, press releases, copywriting. Follow and get to know these people.
Learn more about Them
Don’t just read their profile or daily tweets or posts, but find out more about them. Do they own their own business? Who do they associate with? Are they reachable? Can they be trusted? Is there an opportunity to meet them in person? This is a crucial step in this process.
Validate their information
Determine which information is valid and decipher information that may be misleading or self-promoting. Spend some time getting to understand the person and if he or she has hidden agendas
Connect with them
Contact the person online, through email or over the phone. Acknowledge the content they share and ask for their advice on a particular subject. Everyone likes to feel important from time to time.
Thank Them
Send them a note thanking them for taking time to share their thoughts online. We are in a “sharing” culture and it is up to us, as readers to continue to thank people for providing good, helpful information to us that we can build-on.
Everyone has been given these set of tools. We are in a social age like never before.
Question for you
Are you taking advantage of these opportunities to their fullest?
