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There often seem to be two main debates on networking and your contact lists - the "Quality vs Quantity" debate and this applies to most of the main social media sites.
Some people purely play the numbers game and go for Quantity - regardless of the quality of the contacts and are unlikely to develop a relationship with many of those in their network.
Others are more interested in Quality and will nurture and develop a smaller number of contacts who they know at some level.
I'm more selective and tend to connect with people I know, develop relationships started offline or connect offline with those I know online (where practical). Because of the introduction opportunity on LinkedIn it makes sense to at least be on speaking or nodding terms with those in your 1st level so that you can make the most of your 2nd level connections.
It also takes time to manage and build your relationship which is going to take a whole lot longer if you have tens of thousands of people in your network, unless you're only interested in one-way, outward communication.
Which do you prefer and are you a Quantity or Quality networker?
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2 comments:
I think quality is an output and quantity is an input, it's not an either/or choice but an also/and one.
I used to be selective but wanted more quality interactions. TO make that happen I had to connect with more people (and connecting is just like shaking hands - and I don't build relationships with all the people I shake hands with) - When I connected broadly I had a bigger pool of people to find the quality people in, then I continue to build the relationship with those who stand out.
Having a lot of contacts is not about 'stamp collecting' it's about reach and width, having quality is about relationships and depth. Both co-exist in harmony for me.
It does depend on different people's attitude towards their network and contacts.
There are some people who seem to view it as purely a numbers game.
I like the idea of a virtual handshake but I like to have some form of conversation after an initial handshake and not rush on to the next person.
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