Why Twitter, StumbleUpon, Tumblr?

When I lost my job at Texas Instruments I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do for work.

I didn’t really like what I was doing at Texas Instruments, but I had hopes that if I hung in there I would eventually become a manager or get to work on the Exchange Server team. That “dream” never became a reality. However, once I started reaching out to my networking communities on Twitter and Facebook I found a plethora of networking contacts and job opportunities in the most unlikely of places. 

By being a part of a community you become friends with people who wouldn’t normally be part of your social circle. Why is this important? Because we often surround ourselves with people who are similar to us and even though this is nice and comfortable it can stunt your growth when it comes to learning something new. 

So reach out and connect with people online who aren’t like you and who aren’t even in the same areas of expertise that you are in, you will probably learn something and you might even make a real life friend.