One of the meeting topics at the local chapter of ALMA (Association of Laboratory Managers) (www.labmanagers.org) was whether labs should care about on-line social networking. I heard questions, such as these:
1. Why should I care about on-line social networking? Will it help my lab?
2. There are so many sites for on-line social networking, now. How do I know which one(s) to join? Should I join them all?
3. Should I combine my personal and professional life in my FaceBook page?
4. Do I really have to start Twittering? If so, why, because I just don’t understand what it’s all about?
5. If I get involved with on-line social networking, do I need to bother coming to ALMA meetings, anymore?
Although another person and I were the presenters and had some initial thoughts to pass along to the group, the group came up with some ideas and thoughts to add to that, and these questions were answered well-enough to get people headed in a direction that would be useful for them.
So, I could just summarize that, here. BUT (yes, you knew there would be a “but,” didn’t you?! 
) – BUT I’m not going to do that, right now. Instead, I’m merely going to start you off with this thought:
Networking is networking, for the most part. Treat it about the same way whether you’re networking with people in-person or on-line and that’s how you should view it. You will start to understand the differences, over time.
And, I will come back on another day to answer these questions, above, so don’t forget to keep reading “The Integrated Lab.”
I came across a set of short video clips in which Social Networking expert Euan Semple answers a number of questions about social media and also how anyone can make a start without the need of employing expensive agencies and IT professionals. he content is of course quite generic, and you can skip any of them and play the clips in any order.
If you’re more of a reader, there are lots of books on the topic, too. I’ve found quite a lot of them through my public library system. One that I just finished is, “Smart Networking: Attract a Following in Person and Online” by Liz Lynch. The book is at the right level for people just learning to network, especially those who are uncomfortable with it. It is geared more toward people doing business, such as consultants and software vendors, but much of the information would help anyone who wanted to learn to network.