In one of the best articles I’ve read in months, Trace Dahlby, a journalism professor at The University of Texas, shares his thoughts on how technology has hampered our attention span and our ability to craft and tell good human stories.  Reading the article over a bowl of lunchtime soup, I quickly saw the parallel: technology is also hampering our ability to really connect.

Sure, I love and appreciate how using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media gives me an anytime fix of friendship, connection, and catching up with family and friends in all areas of my life, both personal and professional. I can stay relatively up to date based on what news, updates, photos, or videos  my friends and followers are willing to share.

However, after spending a morning making calls I’d put off for way too long, I was quickly reminded that a 15 minute phone conversation can be a far richer exchange than any random update or commentary on social media. A face-to-face meeting? Even better.

Are you making room for all these methods, both old and new,  in your networking strategy?

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Speaking of old and new, The Intentional Networker™, is now available, both in print and on Kindle.  Five star reviews continue to roll in and I’m so grateful for the multitude of thoughtful and positive comments I’m getting on it every day.  If you’ve not yet acquired your copy, you’ll find it available from most major book outlets. Or order via www.IntentionalNetwork.com