Using social media to connect with people isn’t just about finding a new customer for your product or service, or it shouldn’t be. Two days ago I got a message from a gentleman on Recruitingblog who had read one of my blog posts and sent me a link to a site. Sounds pretty typical huh? But he wasn’t affiliated with the site; he just liked it and thought I would too. He was right!

The site didn’t have anything to do with recruiting or HR or business at all. The site is a place people can share their photos and possibly get them published. I really enjoy photography, so I decided to give it a try. http://www.jpgmag.com/people/Ecocandle

I have uploaded 20 photos, as one is only allowed 10 per day. I have also seen hundreds of spectacular images and met some wonderful people, who love a day with their camera as much as I do. I have even written an article that has had 70 people read it. How fun. All of this from a guy on a social networking site devoted to recruiting.

My point is, this is what social media is supposed to be about. Meeting people, building relationships, and maybe, just maybe, some of them will become customers, but it shouldn’t be the only focus.

I also spend a little time on Twitter and I see people with thousands of followers. I admit that I am a little jealous. So I click on my followers button and notice I have a new follower. Who is this person? I go to their page and see that they have followed 173 people and have 14 followers, and 1 post. This disgusts me more than someone who graduates from college and still doesn’t know their basic times tables. I know of a professor of French, with a Masters from Yale, like this. She was arrogant and mean, and didn’t have any idea what 5 x 8 equals. This still makes me angry, but I digress. So even though I would love to have thousands of people hanging on my every tweet, I click on the little block icon, and this person disappears from my list. I sit back and take a small measure of joy in having banished this soulless person from hearing my 140 character bits of wisdom.

When I get angry or bitter about the mindless drones ‘connecting’ with me, in the hope that I will ‘follow’ them back, and they can then somehow monetize their pearls of wisdom, and finally move out of their mother’s basement, I take a walk on the beach. Not really, but I remember a tiny little blog I have discovered. It is called Perfect Sand. I don’t know how many people read it. I am often the only person to leave a comment (I go by Ecocandle). I just know that this woman from Cincinnati is a truly gifted, somewhat shy writer, who creates one of the best blogs I have ever found. It is a true hidden gem, which I would recommend to all who like good writing. http://perfectsand.blogspot.com/ I found her blog while a bunch of us on twitter were following a Cincinnati Reds game and tweeting about it.

Social Networking is tool that can greatly improve your business, help you find that perfect candidate, and if used correctly, make you a lot of money, but remember, it can also be used to find something new and wonderful. It can be used to find perfectsand.