from ArticlesNetworking

Social Networking Secrets of Benjamin Franklin

By Jim Walker

Publisher in the City of Philadelphia

Imagine a time when opening a moveable-type print shop was akin to launching an Internet Company – a leading edge, high-tech communication business requiring financial support from trusted backers, top flight technical skills, attention grabbing content, and an agile distribution network. Welcome to Philadelphia, circa 1723 - when an adventurous and ambitious young printmaster from the City of Boston arrived on Market ST. carrying little more than a friendly smile and a Dutch dollar. His ride along the Northeast Corridor had taken several days, and by his own account he made quite an awkward and ridiculous Appearance strolling up the central thoroughfare in the Capital City of the New World.

So it was from these humble beginnings that sprang one of the first and greatest of American success stories -

Benjamin Franklin: Printer, Writer, Civic Leader, Scientist, Global Statesman, and Founding Father. Such, my Dear Reader, is the stuff of legends – a wise and witty entrepreneurial genius woven into the very fabric of our American creation mythology.

Seen in another Light though, just beyond the mists of history, one glimpses something altogether more remarkable – a prodigy of social networking who by the very force of his Revolutionary networking talents helped give birth to an entire Nation. In fact, even before setting foot in the Quaker City, Franklin had begun to build what would arguably become the most influential social network of the 18th century (and perhaps one of the most influential social networks in all of American History). In his Autobiography, Franklin recounts that during the journey from Boston, he first went to New York seeking employment with a printer named William Bradford. Bradford was not in a position to hire Franklin, but referred him to his son in Philadelphia. Thus began the first of countless referrals that would eventually place Franklin in contact with the greatest leaders of both the New and Old Worlds….

In examining Franklin’s life, some key principles emerge that guided the growth of his social network from his earliest time in Philadelphia until the very end of his days:

A true friend is the best possession.

Often social networking is positioned as the means to some other end – like finding a job or generating sales. However, a strong social network and the friendships it yields is in fact our most valuable and enjoyable possession.

Meet often with your ingenious acquaintances.

The power of a close-knit Junto of advisors and supporters is simply invaluable, not only in terms of the results it brings, but also in terms of the trusted friends it cultivates.

I will speak ill of no man, and speak all the good I know of everybody.

There is no shortage of money, goods, services, or criticism in the world today, so if you want to differentiate yourself like Franklin, deliver what is absolutely the rarest commodity on our planet: sincere and friendly appreciation.

Voice-mail and eMail stink after three days.

Take a moment to respond to the people in your network, even if just to say you’re too busy right now to give the matter your full attention but will get back in touch soon.

Well done is better than well said.

Your social network is constructed through links and associations, but it is fueled by actions. The more thoughtful actions you take for the people in your network, the more your network will deliver back to you.

If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him.

An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

The more you learn, the more you have to share with your both your city and your extended network. Franklin’s curiosity led him into literally dozens of topics from the Gulf Stream, to electricity, to music, to wood stoves, to democracy, and more.

In the process, Philadelphia, and indeed the World, were made all the richer.

Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste.

Our communications networks are more powerful and faster than ever, but social networks still take time to grow and develop. Take the time to nurture and grow your network.