Lessons From Tween Networkers

April 21, 2009 1:07 am admin Communication, Free Business Tools, Lynette's Life, Networking, Online Business

Sitting in a doctor’s waiting room this week I got a wake-up call about how quickly everything electronic is breaking down the networking barriers as we once knew them. Let me set the scene.

The doctor was running late – what’s new? I was leafing through a magazine whilst Maddison my 12 year old daughter played on her Nintendo. There were about 20 patients in the waiting room and I noticed that when the doctor called a particular patient’s name, the mother who also had a young girl the same age as Maddi seemed to make eye contact and smile as the doctor lead them away.

Picking up on this I turned to Maddi and said, do you know that woman? Is she the mother of one of your class mates? Maddi said, “no mum – get with the program, I was just in a chat room talking to her daughter”. I, the guru of networking, said WHAT?  How did they make contact without even knowing each other? Well as the story goes, they both saw they had Nintendos, this bonded them and that was it. Question 1: Are you the girl sitting in the red chair? And from there it continued for 30 odd minutes.

Straight away I started thinking about the networking applications such a device could have. And then I just got overwhelmed by the expectations the children of today will have of networking organisations of the future. So that’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and now I can add Nintendo to the list of things I need to get my head around.  Where will it all end? With an old fashioned phone call I hope, but somehow I think that is wishful thinking. But hey, with my daughter already networking like this at the age of 12 can you imagine what online services WNA will have on offer down the track with the likes of Ms Maddison on board as the second generation of networking gurus?

Lynette Palmen AM, Founder and Managing Director, Women’s Network Australia  visit www.womensnetwork.com.au

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Contributed by Lynette Palmen.   Lynette Palmen AM is the Founder and Managing Director or Women's Network Australia. She started WNA 20 years ago to offer support, inspiration and services that would inspire women to succeed in their career and business endeavours. WNA is now the Nation's premier networking organisation for business and professional women. T: 1800 052 476.

Lynette Palmen has written 43 article(s) for us.

Visit http://womensnetwork.com.au

  • Maddi
    Hi Chrissy

    Thank you that is awesome ;-)

    Maddi
  • Hi Maddi,

    I just typed the symbols using the keyboard (ie. the semi colon, line and left bracket)and it surprisingly appeared as an icon :-)

    Cheers
    Chrissy
  • Maddi
    Hi Chrissy,

    You are spot on about how and why I use my dsi.

    If people don't want to chat they can just leave the chat room.

    I love useing my dsi, msn, smallworlds and bebo they are a great way to meet new people.

    By the way I wanted to know how did u get the icons in your comments?

    Maddi
  • Oh, I'm guessing there may be a few reasons:

    1. Because they can and it's fun! ;-)

    2. The convo is kept "private" - without everyone else listening in

    3. It's a way to make contact if you are shy (I'm not sure how many 12 year olds would walk over to a complete stranger and start a conversation in that particular setting, but I could be wrong!)

    The "electronic age" definitely provides the opportunity to meet more people - even if they are in the same room as you! ;-)

    Cheers
    Chrissy
  • Sue
    so, my question is why is it OK to talk to the girl across the room via a gadget but not OK to just say hello and talk to her in the Drs waiting room? Interesting, isn't it?
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