I am short on time and energy today so I am skipping to Part VI of my seven part networking series to share with you today, my Online Networking Plan.

I'll have to admit upfront to be woefully behind the power curve on on-line networks.  As a member of Gen X, I missed the boat that was MySpace and was a late joiner on other online networks as well.  I reluctantly became a member of facebook in 2007 just because I repeatedly got friend invites from it and signed up just to have a shell of a presence so that I could accept the requests.  Well, just last July, when things were a little slow at the office, I decided to really join the online networking game and to make it part of my Junior Associate's Networking Plan.

[UPDATE: Come to find out, I am way ahead of the curve.  According to the September 2008 issue of the ABA Journal, only 15% of lawyers have joined a social network online and only 2% maintain a law blog.]

For me this is a two pronged piece of my plan, namely Facebook and LinkedIn. 

First, I updated my Facebook page, adding all sorts of information about myself including a headshot picture of myself and started reaching out to members of my organic groups: undergrad, business school, law school, my employer and to a lesser-extent high school.  Over the past couple of months, I have joined a few charitable causes, a few other interest groups and added a couple of pictures to my profile.  All in all, while I think I've made my page personal "enough" I haven't gone overboard in a way that would ruin the professional benefit of having this presence.  While you'll find more information out about me on Facebook that you would on my resume, you won't find anything embarrassing, uncomfortable, offensive or too personal there.

Through Facebook, I have connected to many professional non-law school classmates and have found it to be a easy way to keep up with people.  I was also alerted, through a Facebook friend, of a community event, that I was interested in and it proved to be a decent networking opportunity for me, especially if I continue to attend that group's events.  Also, I have connected with many lost friends who are not likely to be key business contacts for me in the future but are nevertheless great to keep in touch with. 

Second, I joined LinkedIn, which is, I guess, the Facebook for professionals.  I haven't been keeping up with it quite as much because frankly, it isn't as fun as facebook.  However, I will say that I found connections on LinkedIn that are not on Facebook and was able to connect with a great college friend with whom I'd lost touch.  That friend is in a line of work that may prove to be very fruitful for me professionally in the future and we have plans to meet when that friend is on this side of the country in the near future.  With LinkedIn, I feel like you have no choice but to keep it professional as there are a lot fewer ways to add personality to your profile and it doesn't facilitate constant status updates the way that facebook does.

Here is my overall assessment:  I think that Facebook is a great tool to keep in contact with people that you've connected with in a non-professional setting, including classmates, family, friends, and acquaintances.  I think that LinkedIn is a great way to connect to your professional connections.  For example, I think that if you attend an industry event and engage somebody in a long conversation about their field or your work, I think it would be totally appropriate to connect with them on LinkedIn later as a follow up to that conversation.  However, I think connecting with them on Facebook would be creepy and way too personal.  Likewise, I think that connecting with partners in  your firm on LinkedIn is totally appropriate (professional to professional) but that inviting them to be your friends on Facebook may be too personal, in most circumstances.  I think that there is a need for both Facebook and LinkedIn in your Junior Associate's Networking Plan because keeping in contact with casual contacts is important just as keeping in contact with professional contacts is important.  Also, I think there is room for some overlap, if say, your college roommate is now a professional with a presence on LinkedIn and that, in those instances, you should connect at both places. 

I would say that I have high hopes for this part of my Junior Associate's Networking Plan and that once I got it set up, I spend very little time on these sites for professional reasons -- perhaps 30 minutes a week.

Note #1: According to a recent ATL survey, 94% of lawyers who use social networking sites are on facebook.

Note #2:  Facebook may also be important if you are a law student looking to get a job.  ATL reports that law firms have recruiting pages on Facebook that you wouldn't be able to become a "fan" of if you weren't on facebook.