Tag Archives: networking

WiFi on the Road

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I’m pleasantly surprised to find WiFi in unusual places.

I’m just finishing up a 6-day trip in northern Arizona. As usual, I brought my old 12″ PowerBook along to keep me connected. It has a built-in AirPort wireless card and can also connect to the Internet via Bluetooth with my Treo where Internet service is available on my wireless network.

WiFi LogoI’m pleased to report that I had access to the Internet on every stop of this trip:

  • Sedona. We stayed at the Sky Ranch Lodge on Airport Mesa. I had a Garden View room. I’m not sure if the WiFi connection was available throughout the property or if I just got it because I was relatively close to the main office. I don’t recall seeing it advertised anywhere. So I was very surprised to get a nice strong signal from my room.
  • Grand Canyon. I stayed at Bright Angel Lodge. While there wasn’t WiFi available there, my cellphone service was able to get Internet access, which I could then share with my PowerBook. So although the connection wasn’t fast and it required pinging to keep alive, it was available.
  • Lake Powell. We stayed at the Lake Powell Resort northwest of Page. Although there was WiFi in the lodge lobby, it didn’t extend out to my room, which was two buildings away. Again, the Treo came to the rescue and I was able to get online.
  • Monument Valley. We stayed at Gouldings Lodge. While I know my Treo can’t connect to the Internet there, my room was sufficiently close enough to the main lobby to connect to one of the lodge’s two WiFi hotspots. (I’m not sure, but I think the folks at Red Bull may have added the second hotspot when they were there in May for the air races. They were responsible for getting the cell tower put up nearby.)
  • Flagstaff. I stayed at the Radisson on the west side of town. WiFi is a standard feature in its rooms.

In each case where the hotel provided WiFi access, access was free. I didn’t even have to log on to a service and agree to usage terms. I just opened my PowerBook and waited a moment. A dialog told me that none of my trusted networks were available and offered to connect me with another network.

Paying Extra for WiFi?

I am surprised, however, at the number of high-priced hotels that are charging a fee for WiFi access. It’s interesting to me that lower budget hotels give away WiFi access but you can expect to pay $5 to $10 per day for the same access in a Hyatt or Marriott or Hilton — each of which tend to be more costly than an average hotel chain.

I’ve also come to the point where the availability of free WiFi in a hotel’s rooms weighs into my booking decision. For example, if faced with two hotels that have the same rate, I’ll go with the one that has free Wi-Fi, even if it doesn’t have popular amenities such as in-room coffee, free breakfast, or a fitness room. A fast, reliable Internet connection is more important to me than many other hotel features.

Networking – Part II: How LinkedIn Fits In

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I’m not convinced that it does.

HandshakeIn the first part of this series, I summarized my views on good, old-fashioned networking and why I’m such a strong believer in it.

In this article, I’ll explain how I see LinkedIn, a professional social networking service, fit into my idea of networking.

LinkedIn

One of the biggest social networks for professionals is LinkedIn. The idea is that you set up an account and provide resume-like profile information. You then “connect” with other LinkedIn members, who become part of your direct network. Through them, you are indirectly connected to other people and can, supposedly, ask for introductions to make any of those people part of your direct network.

View Maria Langer's profile on LinkedInI’ve been a member for about two years now. As of this morning, I have 63 direct connections, 3200+ “two-degree” connections and a whopping 271,000+ “third degree” connections. Yet in the two years I’ve been a member with all these relationships, I have yet to get any leads — solid or otherwise — for work.

I’m not the only one. This is evidently a major complaint among members. Yet they all stick to it, trying to work the system.

Why LinkedIn Isn’t Working For Me

I have three theories on why LinkedIn is not working — at least not for me:

  • Linked in, being an Internet-based network, appeals primarily to technology people. So the user base is deeply skewed toward technology-related fields. I’m a writer who writes about using computers, so I’m on the fringe of this network. I think that people more heavily involved in technology may find LinkedIn more valuable. But I’m extremely disappointed with the number of aviation-related professionals on LinkedIn. Of the three that I’m directly connected to, I brought all of them into the system and two of them only have one direct connection: me.
  • Members have either the “what’s in it for me” or lack of confidence problem I discussed above. As a result, they’re not very likely to highly recommend contacts. To be fair, however, I have had no requests for recommendations in the past two years. In other words, no one has come to me and asked for information about any of my contacts, which include freelancers that do layout, indexing, writing, and all kinds of publishing-related work.
  • Members simply aren’t working the system.

You Gotta Work the System

A few months ago, when a LinkedIn contact asked me whether I’d ever gotten any work because of my LinkedIn membership, after admitting that I hadn’t and discovering that he hadn’t, I offered to ask a friend of mine who I consider a professional networking expert. She’s also a member of LinkedIn and she’s the one who’d pulled me on board. When I asked her the question, she admitted that she hadn’t gotten any work either.

“But I’m not trying very hard,” she added.

I knew immediately what she meant. You can’t simply put your name in a hat and wait for someone to call you with work. You need to work your connections. You need to make sure everyone remembers you and thinks about you when they have a need. You need recommendations. You need to build new connections through the ones you already have.

In other words, you need to network the old fashioned way.

And that’s where LinkedIn falls short of people’s expectations. Yes, you can use it to track down contact information for former classmates and colleagues and clients. But unless you actively keep in touch with these people, you may as well keep an address book in your desk drawer. LinkedIn only puts out what you put into it.

Full Circle

Which brings me back to my original example. Suppose I add Adam to my list of LinkedIn contacts. (The big challenge, of course, is getting him to sign up if he isn’t already a member — non-tech people are extremely cautious about signing up for any online service, even if it’s free.) And suppose Pete (remember him?) is also a member of LinkedIn and gets John to join. Pete refers John to me via LinkedIn. John sees my resume and is impressed. He asks Pete for an introduction. Pete uses LinkedIn to introduce me to John. John becomes part of my network and I introduce him to Adam.

Seems like a long, roundabout way to get things done, but if all of us were already members of LinkedIn before any of this started, it would go smoothly, like clockwork. And, theoretically, a lot of it would be do-it-yourself stuff, with John finding me through Pete’s contact list. A few clicks and introductions are made. E-mail is exchanged, then phone calls. And relationships are solidified by business transactions.

That’s the idea behind LinkedIn.

Sadly, that’s not what’s happening. Not yet. But I’ll continue to try to build my LinkedIn network and try to make some use of it.

Are You LinkedIn?

If you’re a linked in member, use the comments link or form for this post to share your LinkedIn user ID with the rest of us.

If you’re not, check it out. You might benefit from it.

Either way, I’d love to hear experiences of LinkedIn users. Use the comments link or form for this post to share them.

Networking – Part I: Doing It the Old Fashioned Way

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When it works…and doesn’t work.

HandshakeI’m a strong believer in networking as a way to build strong relationships with clients, customers, and colleagues. I’ve had some success with it, which is probably why I think it’s such a good thing.

But as times change, so do business techniques. The internet’s social networking features are grabbing hold and changing the way we network. Is it for the better? In this multi-part series, I’ll explore some networking concepts and services as I see them.

Real Networking in Action

For example, suppose I fly for an aerial photographer named Adam. Adam is working for Charlie’s company and has hired me to fly him around while he takes aerial photos of Charlie’s housing development under construction. During the flight, I’m impressed by Adam’s equipment, ability to give me clear instructions, and obvious know-how. He’s a professional, someone I feel privileged to work with. At the conclusion of the flight, I see some of his shots and they’re really good. I observe the way he works with Charlie and Charlie’s response. Everything I see is positive.

Three months later, I get a call from John who is interested in getting some aerial photos of a local mall where his company’s about to build a multistory parking structure. He’s been referred to me by Pete, a past client, and wants to know if I have a photographer on staff. I don’t, I tell him, but I know a photographer who’s experienced in this kind of work. I offer him Adam’s contact information, then, after hanging up the phone, send Adam a quick e-mail message to let him know that John might call.

The hope, of course, is that Adam appreciates the lead and uses my company for the flight. If I’ve done my flying job right, he’s recognized me as a professional who is capable of getting the job done. So perhaps Adam might recommend my company to another client who needs an air-taxi from Scottdale to Sedona. Or a gift certificate for a tour of the Phoenix area.

The result of my networking activities is that Adam and I both get additional business.

When Networking Goes Bad

Too often, these days, people have the “what’s in it for me” attitude. If they were in my shoes, they’d expect some kind of cash compensation — a sort of commission — from Adam if he got the job with John. They don’t realize that Adam might be working too close to cost to be able to cut them in on the action on such a small job. So Adam doesn’t take the job and they both lose.

Or there’s a confidence problem. Instead of offering Adam’s contact info to John, they’d try to broker a deal to keep themselves in the middle. They’d be worried that Adam might prefer using a different helicopter operator and that they’d lose John to someone else. But John may prefer to speak directly to the photographer to make sure the photographer meets his needs. When he can’t get in direct contact with him, he looks for his own photographer who might just have his own favorite helicopter operator. Again, they both lose.

I don’t have these problems. I’m not greedy and I have enough confidence to know that I can do the job satisfactorily. I pride myself on having a good relationship with all of my clients. I get a lot of repeat business to confirm that I’m doing something right.

How a Commissions Structure Fits In

I do need to make a few quick comments about commissions. I don’t want you to think that I’m completely opposed to paying commissions for leads. On the contrary: I work with several outside individuals and organizations who refer customers to Flying M Air in return for monetary compensation.

For example, I work with hotel concierges and pay them a 10% cash commission for hotel guest they book on one of my flights. (With tours starting at $795 in the Phoenix area, that’s not a bad take for making a phone call.) I also work with an individual at an aviation-related business who refers potential clients to me when her company cannot meet their needs. I send her a gift card purchased locally for each call that turns into a flight.

The main thing to remember here is that these people and organizations are not colleagues or clients. They do not have a business relationship with me other than as commissioned referrers. I think of them as a marketing arm of my company. This isn’t networking. It’s marketing and sales.

Next Week

That’s all I have to say — at least for now — about networking the old fashioned way.

Next week, I’ll start my discussion on Web 2.0’s social networking features with a look at LinkedIn and how I see its role in real networking.

In the meantime, why not take a moment or two to share your thoughts about networking. Do you do it? Has a referral really benefited you in the past? Use the comments link or form for this post to share your experiences.