All about ‘human’ networking.

Over the weekend I was busy helping at a trade show booth and a couple of things struck me which may be helpful to people on OJar and also the direction of the site in general.

First, let me say thank goodness for e-mail and Instant Mesg. as I have lost my voice which may come as a blessing for some that know me. (kidding!)

As you watch several thousand people pass your booth you can’t help but create parallels with a website like OJar.

Some people just wander by and look at the banners and keep walking, while some take the time to ask questions, swap ideas and actually walk away with a small piece of the puzzle we call ‘life’ answered. Dramatic, maybe but isn’t that what happens every hour, every day on OJar as a site?

I asked one person of the hundreds I met over the two days, “why did you come here today?”. The answer was, “I came to network”. What I noticed that was unusual about this person was they had very specific questions but instead of stopping by at each booth and asking a little or taking a brochure they simply walked up and down the aisles until I happened to catch their eye and begin a conversation.

OK, so what has this to do with OJar I can hear the impatient asking silently. Well, there are 3 types of people on OJar. Those that lurk and hope to stumble on some answers. Those that will ask a question from time to time and those that will involve themselves on a daily basis.

The latter category are those that probably get the most out of the site and probably out of a lot of things they do. Why? Well, they are genuinely interested in that which they do, that which they learn and also they ‘pay forward’ by helping others.

It is those people that ultimately will help make OJar a better site and take to a far better place than I will ever be able to do.

Peace, Michael.