The Network Ambassador - John Stephen Veitch

Article Summary

John S Veitch
The Network Ambassador

Becoming a Network Ambassador was a choice.
My first web site, NZDances, was by far the largest and most popular regional dance site in the world.
I build over 1000 pages, with the help of over 700 people who willingly contributed their time and expertise to help me.
Over 60 other sites on the Internet gave me links to my site, and I willingly returned the favour.
This was my background to what we now call online networking. I didn't really "know" the people who were helping me.
Ryze was perhaps the first social networking site on the Internet.
When I first saw it I didn't appreciate what I was being shown. I didn't join. That was a mistake.
Since then I've put a lot of time into helping other people not repeat my error. I now run three networks on Ryze.
Like most people I found LinkedIn a bit meaningless in the beginning. Other people helped me.
To help other people I became an "open networker". Soon I had one of the largest networks in New Zealand.
Then I started a LinkedIn Group called Kiwi Scrum, so that New Zealanders could more easily find each other.
How can I help you?
Personal Services: I talk about the necessary process of personal development we all need to pursue.
It's is like training for a marathon. You start slow and you work for a long time, and eventually find you can do amazing things.
There are no shortcuts. "You can be a champion", but you have to transform yourself, and only you can do it.

Business Services: I challenge businesses to embrace the Internet, embracing new learning, innovation and inevitable change.
This is scary territory and businesses are avoiding the issue. The problem won't go away, it just gets more urgent.
Continued neglect of the issues is a death wish. Our future can be "open" or "closed" and I believe that we really do have a choice.
Online collaboration is a two way affair. There needs to be a willingness to trust on both sides.

I built a large network because away back with NZ Dances I had a large network that was very useful to me.
There is power in social networks to change who we are and to change what's possible in the world. That's a task that lies ahead of us.

If you need the original article it's here.