Luckily, I've found a GREAT way to make my time spent at events much better. I call it: Prenetworking I spend about 30 minutes prior to the event going through the list of attendees and reaching out ahead of the event to suggest that we meet while we are there. try to do this roughly about 2-3 days ahead of the event. I've never been able to walk into a large group of people and feel like I can "work the room." Sure, I've read various articles on this stuff, but honestly, I still struggle with meeting interesting people.

He talks about a bunch of the different networking events that occur in Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California. In his post, he mentions the following events / event organizers, and you should visit his post for a bit more on each of them. LA CTO Forum Dealmaker Media Digital Family Reunion Startups Uncensored Social Media Club, LA Twiistup Mindshare LA LA Hadoop Meetup Dorkbot Geek Dinners LA Cloud Computing LA Web Application Developers LA PHP Developers In addition

Interesting question, since I'm not an "open" networker (LION = LinkedIn Open Networker). I've been on for only a couple years (since July 2007, Discover your LinkedIn Start Date… ) but kept good track of my contacts prior. See below on how to initially populate your LinkedIn Contacts. Where do you find Contacts? I was recently asked how I reached “500+” connections. I worked as a consultant for a number of years, so was always working with different colleagues and customers.

It is designed for sharing leads, contacts, industry information and career events." gid=1326117 Self-description: "This group is for local and area residents of Pasadena, CA who are LinkedIn and would like to expand their professional network." L7 events are for singles, couples and groups of friends. This is will be a continually updating post. I'll be creating additional lists for educational, chamber of commerce, etc. Organizational representatives: please contact me directly for updates, etc. Attendees: If you have review comments I'd be happy to consider

I use twitterfeed to do this. Retweet your bookmarks. Delicious + twitterfeed . LinkedIn Tactics Then I went through a lot of what I've already talked about before. See my posts: LinkedIn - Prospecting No - Conversation Yes LinkedIn for Finding Expertise Searching for Expertise - LinkedIn Answers Secret for Networking at Events – Prenetworking Pre-network with LinkedIn My LinkedIn Open Connection Approach By the way, this group didn't all link to me after the presentation on LinkedIn.

See also Networking & Social Media Job Search Webinars, Teleconferences and Podcasts , and Other & Indirect Job Networking Opportunities . Name: Networking For Professionals (NFP) Sites: www.networkingforprofessionals.com , Industry Insights Blog , Success Square/Coaching Blog , Events Blog , City Chat Blog Self-description: "Get Connected. Networking For Professionals is a dynamic business networking organization that powerfully combines online business networking and real life events. This is will be a continually updating post. I'll be creating additional lists for educational , chamber of commerce, etc.

This past week has had an interesting confluence of events that's led me to conclude that I want to start doing a lot of visible networking among the tech / web crowd here in Los Angeles. I want to take you through a bit of what brought me here, because I think it will help explain what I mean by visible networking. Networking Events – Questionable Return on Your Time Last week I posted about Networking Events in Los Angeles and Southern California and received back some interesting comments, some of the best from a LinkedIn Group. Several of the comments there echoed what I've been feeling: Person 1: I have attended a plethora of networking groups and have also found it harder and harder to continue to be motivated to go. Person 2: Very discouraging (few if any happy with their networking efforts) but not unexpected.

Interesting question, since I'm not an "open" networker (LION = LinkedIn Open Networker). I've been on for only a couple years (since July 2007, Discover your LinkedIn Start Date… ) but kept good track of my contacts prior. See below on how to initially populate your LinkedIn Contacts. Where do you find Contacts? If you're a recruiter or otherwise have an opportunity for me then the "If you’d like to connect with me..." portion below doesn't apply...

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 -- Association for Women in Technology Presents Getting "LinkedIn." The second event will feature Nick Chavis discussing the benefits of using LinkedIn for Job Search and Career Management. He will share how to use LinkedIn to be more effective in your daily work and show how to using it effectively may open doors to opportunities using the professional relationships you already may have. Whether conducting a current job search, or for ongoing career management and personal branding, Linkedin is a tool that can help everyone network more effectively and efficiently.

Lewis Howes knows his stuff about Linkedin and being the co-author of "LinkedWorking" I would hope so.  His His story about how he became so knowledgeable about LinkedIn is not only inspiring but a bit hilarious.  We We caught up with Lewis and got him to spill the beans on a few great LinkedIn tips to not only get your profile one of the top ranked profiles on LinkedIn but also how to benefit from LinkedIn by adding value and being consistent. Checkout our interview with Lewis below to learn all the great tips and tricks he provides along with the story of how he became the LinkedIn Guru.