When the term was first popularized in the 1980s, "networking" was something that sales representatives and insurance agents did at 6:30am at the local diner, swapping leads and war stories over coffee and toast. Some 20 years later, the term has worked its way into the common vocabulary, and simply means "staying connected"-as well as "checking the connections regularly."

No matter what you do for work or play, there is a way that networking can help. If you need a kickstart in your new career, check the calendar listings in the business section of the newspaper and drop in on a few meetings of people in your line of work. If you have a home-based business, of any kind, there are groups of local entrepreneurs at whose networking meetings you can learn about all the aspects of running yours.

Lots of ways to play

Even stay-at-home moms (and dads) can add some dimension to their lives by seeking out people with common interests. From athletes and hobbyists to students and business people, everyone has something to gain, as well as their own experience and hope to share, through networking. It leads to free advice, new contacts, increased business and, sometimes, to lasting partnerships and even romance.

Although the "virtual" world seems to be expanding and the "real" one contracting, there are good reasons to network in both domains. You can have productive relationships with people around the world in many ways, but you can't get together for a softball game with your cyberpals in Singapore. Having a balance of virtual and physical friends, so to speak, will help you balance your own mental, physical and emotional needs. There are lots of ways to play (and work) with your networking partners today.

The "net" in "networking"

Again, the Internet is a tremendous resource, along with the local newspapers and business groups, for locating people of similar interests. And the housebound-invalids, the chronically ill, etc.-can even make the most of "virtual networking" without ever leaving the house. In addition to staying in touch with email, of course, one can add a "web camera" to a computer and have videoconferences with one, two, or half a dozen people, right from the comfort of home.

Networking is really just a high-tech term for "making the rounds" and "talking shop," human activities that go back to the dawn of civilization. With the tools available today-computers, modems, webcams, wireless Internet, all the rest-there may be additional opportunities for networking and new ways of communicating, but it still comes down to the age-old human desire to connect with others. In the last analysis, then, networking is just connecting with others, to help and be helped.



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