I am constantly being asked to join a “Mafia Family”. I regularly get invited to “Link into” someone’s network. And I know that “My Face and My Space” has been accepted as friend and network resource from old classmates at PS 104 to contacts of current Governors and past Presidents of the US.

Am I really popular? I don’t think so. Might I insightfully provide wisdom that will lead to a lottery’s monetary value of wealth? As the “Magic 8 Ball” would say, “It is very unlikely.” What is it that has made my personal and business contacts so tied, enthralled, and eagerly awaiting our next “BBM” communication? And isn’t it incredible I can “Tweet” from anywhere on the planet to my 1500 or so followers?

I’m willing to accept the demise of the once revolutionary facsimile (fax) machine. Remember the good old days when rolls of received faxes would greet you in the morning? You’d take great care to try and straighten out the pages before copying them on the copy machine. Then you’d distribute the pages to their intended recipients, after reading the details that began with the phrase, “please treat as private and confidential.”

As some of you know, I’ve been in the recruiting business since 1986. My primary email address is headhunter@aol.com, and I send and receive my Tweets at http://twitter.com/recruiter . Both of those monikers are the result of luck, a relatively logical/simple mind, and the prodding of a longtime friend/business mentor, John Ammirati. Back in 1992 John pushed me onto the Internet, and AOL when we shared suite space in an office building in Bayside, NY. Earlier this year, (John now a high powered real estate executive on Long Island) insisted I become familiar with the social networking world, in particular Twitter.com and Linkedin.com sites.

Seldom through my own initiative, and often with the requisite level of learner’s frustration, I have arrived kicking and complaining to the world of social/business networking, and personal/business texting. With a bag full of faults I state unequivocally that my success as a recruiter for the past 20+ years stems mostly from my ability to “give good phone.”

I sit here in my office uncomfortably clinging to the notion that my professional life will never see the day when dialing the 10 numbers and hearing a computer spew out the dulcet command, “press 1 for sales, 2 for service, 3 for accounts payable, 4 for technical support, etc., etc., etc.” will be replaced by a palm sized device that knows preemptively what words I’m texting, and who the message is going to; without me every having a chance to hear a real human voice on the receiving end.

If I say something witty to a customer I want to actually hear her LOL. If I make a bad mistake in scheduling a job seeker to see my client, I want to speak with the client and explain my error. I do not want to simple profess OMG.

Yes, I admit I get a kick when I’m mentioned as a #FF, and I receive a note that says my most recent Blog really hit a cord. I give thx everyday for so many of the wonderful aspects of my life. Many of those feelings I express @someone so everyone can share something positive. However, sometimes things I want to express are a tad racy or off color so I’ve learned to only communicate those feeling via
D someone that is following me. Often time I read stuff from the Gen X and millennials that are directing us to an exciting new world, and frankly I LMAO. Often times I bemoan the fact that these feeling must be expressed in 140 or less.

I tell the “boomers” many of whom have been hardest hit by the soon to end recession that entering the world of social networking and communication only seems scary from the outside. Once inside, you find that it is the “arrived reality” of much of our world. It is not only a business necessity, but for many of us over 40++ a parental necessity if we value communicating with our kids.