I’m going to let you in on a secret. Despite what you may or may not think, I’m an introvert. Which is interesting, because I do quite a bit of networking and socializing.
I like to think that the networking has served me well. It’s led to meeting many wonderful people, and helped me form some truly fantastic relationships. But you won’t see me working a room anytime soon. I network because I like to meet new people, and I enjoy the conversation. But that doesn’t mean it’s not hard. To augment my natural state of introversion, I’ve turned to help from several key iPhone apps (most of which have standard web versions too), to help me start, maintain, and grow my personal relationships. Facebook
This one is pretty much a given. Facebook is where most of my closer friends are. There are a few business acquaintances mixed in, but I’ve gone back and forth about completely opening up my network, and keeping it to close friends. Facebook helps me keep in touch with friends of old, who I no longer share a school (or a common geographic area) with.
Tweetie
Tweetie is my iPhone Twitter application of choice. The interface is both slick and easy to use. Twitter has been a tremendous help in growing my Dallas area network. When I moved down here from upstate New York a year and a half ago with my girlfriend, I knew nobody. Now, I’ve got a great network of friends and colleagues, and I can thank Twitter for a lot of that.Foursquare & Gowalla Much has been written about both Foursquare and Gowalla. Both are location based apps that show you where your friends currently are, as they “check in” at different geographic locations. In Foursquare, you earn points and compete for Mayorships. In Gowalla, you earn pins and stamps, and there’s less of a game aspect. Both have led to impromptu meetings at local bars and restaurants with friends.
Bump
Bump makes it super simple to share and store contact information. With a simple bump of your iPhone, you can send someone your phone number, photo, e-mail address, physical address, and other files. The person you’re bumping with has to have both an iPhone, and the app installed, but it’s a lot more fun (and memorable) then exchanging business cards.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is another given. LinkedIn helps me keep up to date with changes within my business network. And since they released updates to the iPhone app, including having access to your LinkedIn inbox, the app has become much more useful.Aardvark
Aardvark is fairly new to the list. With Aardvark, I can easily ask a question, and the application will match me with an expert in that category. By the same token, my expertise is available to anyone who wants it.
AIM
I would be remiss if I didn’t include the original social media application (for me, anyway). I started my online social adventures with the AOL Instant Messenger network, and still have quite a few friends on it. While I don’t use it quite as often as I use other services, it’s still serves me well when I have to get in touch with an old friend.Words With Friends
Also a new application to the list, Words With Friends is essentially Scrabble, but I can play it with my friends over my phone. And who doesn’t like a game of Scrabble with friends?
What applications do you find useful for building and growing your offline relationships?
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