How To Convert Virtual Relationships Into Useful Ones

Deborah Shane explains how she met some of her strongest business connections online and then how she built the relationships into something beneficial for both parties.

"In my debut post earlier this month on Small Business Trends, “Why Networking in Person Still Matters,” so many people commented their agreement and successes about networking in person, face to face. As a followup to this, I wanted to talk about relationships from the virtual entry point, and how powerful this has been for me, too.

Recently I read a networking article in a business publication that posed the question: “Are virtual relationships real relationships?”

I can tell you that there are several opinions about this depending on who you ask. Those who do not spend much time engaged online and on the Web think that comparing the two types of relationships is ridiculous."