What are the current and different ways (tools) that you have, or do, engage your
Having only recently graduated from college I am very new to the industry, however I already currently use a number of tools to engage in professional networking; these include - Facebook, Twitter, Spotlight, group chats on my Blackberry, blogging and communicating with people on the BAPP, meeting with old college friends and other friends in the industry; staying in contact with people I once trained with who are now well established in the industry; and meeting and talking to new people at auditions and castings.
Are there methods, approaches and technologies that you use socially that might apply and help you develop your professional networking?
Websites I use regularly including, Facebook, Twitter, etc ... are branded 'social networking sites' and I suppose the majority of users predominantly use them to network socially; but without having realised (until starting this task) I actually do use these sites to network 'professionally' too. I often chat to or message friends from college and see what they're up to through my news feed or by looking at their profile. This makes we aware of not only what they're doing personally and socially, but also professionally; therefore helping me find out about auditions, companies or names of people they are working for, future opportunities that may be beneficial to me, etc ...
When you reflect upon current networks, can you think about the motives of others to
One network I was and am a part of is a Group on my Blackberry named 'Birdies'. Although the purpose of the network isn't necessarily relevant to my current professional practice, I think it's a really good example of the motives of others to be in the network and what values and purpose they have in mind. The group consists of almost all of the people in my year at college who own Blackberries. As part of this group/network, we can all read and contribute to a message or 'chat' between all members of the group. At first the main motive of others to be in the network was simply to find out changes to the timetable or rehearsal times - as at college the timetable was often subject to alterations and rehearsals could well be called last minute. However, in our third year we participated in auditions, in-college musicals, agent showcases, workshops etc... a few of these had limited places so finding out about them as soon as possible was really important. Also turning up on time and at the correct venue when last minute rehearsals were called was essential in order to keep your role in a piece/routine. Being part of the network meant that when members found out about these things they would post them on the chat to let everyone know. It was also really valuable as you could ask; when? where? for how long? what to take? and it was more than likely that someone in the group would know and respond to you.
What are the established (and different) ways that others use their networks,
especially if they are more established or experienced practitioners that you admire?In the performance and entertainment industry most performers do a lot of their networking at auditions and castings; talking to people about what they are doing, what auditions may be coming up, who is casting which shows, etc... You often see the same people at auditions - whether that be fellow auditionees or the people on the panel - so it's a really great networking tool to get to know and chat to as many people as you can and keep in contact through Facebook or Twitter. Emailing someone you may have auditioned for before or an assistant to let them know you will be attending an audition, is also a good way in which people utilise their networks. More established artists including a lot of westend performers, casting directors, actors, singers, use Twitter to network. By gaining as many followers as possible, they are able to 'tweet' and let people know what they doing, where they will be performing, etc ... in order to gain further interest and job opportunities. Practitioners who are very well established also tend to have their own websites; this enables them to network with a large number of people by including photos, voice reels, posting information about up and coming events, gigs, tours etc... Rachel Tucker, who is currently playing 'Elphaba', the lead in 'Wicked' in the Westend, is a prime example of this.
What would your ideal network look like and why?
My ideal network would be similar to Twitter. Enabling people to follow me and my activities without me having to accept them as friends; and also so I could follow other people such as casting directors, companies I would like to work for, other performer etc... Ideally it would allow you to add a range of photos and a voice or show reel to your profile which appear on the screen as soon as somebody views it. This would be a great way to showcase a snippet of your talent.
What realistic things could you do to work towards developing your ideal network?I am already a member of Twitter, however I do tend to use it more as a social tool opposed to a professional one. By following more people in my profession it would develop this type of 'professional' network of mine. I also would like to record a voice reel to upload to my Spotlight page; adding links to this on my Facebook and Twitter accounts. This would be another realistic way of developing my networks.
Personally I am a very 'people' person and I do like networking face to face; however I know it is very important to network through all the technology I have mentioned. In this buissness I do sometimes find that some people are only interested in networking for they own 'professional' benefit, not taking interest in who they are networking with, simply just using people. So -Is there a skill to being a succesful networker? Are you likely to share information with someone you see to be using you? Is it better to have a huge network of people you don't really know; or a smaller network of people who are loyal and reliable sources?
Let me know what you think...... I'm looking forward to reading everyone's views on our current networks!
Lizzie,you're right it is really important to network face to face. Being part of a large network online your face is just a photo so when you make contacts online make sure you correspond with people so that you stay in the picture. I think that you shouldn't be put off by using people to help you or letting other people use you as long as you are both cooperating and helping one another. What did you think when you read the course reader about "Tit for Tat"? If one person uses you so that you are unable to benefit then you no longer need to network with this person. Unfortunately we do need to look out for ourselves in this business to the point of being a bit selfish some could say but in a professional manner. You can choose to give someone information about a contact or choose not to if you feel they would be a threat to you. I think it is a skill and you have to learn to get the right balance so that people can trust you but know not to take advantage of you. I think you also have to learn to be quite assertive so that you can see when you are starting to tip the balance either way.
ReplyDeleteI think you've also made a very valid point about how important it is to keep up to date with technology when you speak about the "birdies" It must have been difficult to find out about the rehearsals for those who didn't own a blackberry the same way it's difficult to network without a facebook or twitter account.
Thanks for your thoughts Emily! I think you put it in better terms than I did when mentioning getting the right balance between people being able to trust you; but not take advantage. This is my point exactly. I think yes, perhaps I do need to be abit more selfish - in a professional way - as I am quite an easy going person and have, in the past, helped people out a lot when they are using me to network and not recieved anything in return. I found the whole 'Tit for Tat' theory quite interesting, however I wouldn't agree that it works completely. I think the theory doesn't really take into consideration that not everyone you are networking with is on an equal level to you. For example if you are networking with people who are better established, more experienced and at a higher level in the profession than you - you may well need to follow, contact, network with them for a period of time before you benefit from the afiliation.
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ReplyDeleteHi Lizzie,
ReplyDeleteas you said, I also prefer networking face to face. Like you, I know how important the use of all technologies are. For me a perfect network would be a combination of face to face meetings and additionally to this, nursing this contacts by phone or email. I have also thought a lot about the TIT FOR TAT theory. I know that this is working in connection with games, but I am not really certain if this works in the real life too. I could mention many examples where this method do not work very well. But after reading about that theory, I have been evaluating if I was thankful enough with people who helped me. When I observed people with strong and dense networks, I realized that their are usually very thankful. They give presents and nurturing this contacts. This is give-and-take. But like in an TIT AND TAT situation, sometimes we have to give more times than the other person. But at the end it has to more or less balanced, because otherwise the network does not work as it should. Take care!
Katharina