Networking.

This might be the longest of my articles so far, I have a whole lot to say and I don't want to slash out some part and make this have a first and second part, so please stay with me till the end...

Networking as the name implies, is a very broad topic that might not even be explained in full details even though or if this turns out to be a 10mins read.

First and foremost, what is networking?

According to Wikipedia, networking is:

the action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.

"the skills of networking, bargaining, and negotiation"

There's something I was taught in school. It's quite plain.

Network is the linking of various computer systems to enable them share files and resources with one another.

Does that ring a bell?. Just as you link different computers together to an host computer, that's the same way it works in the world we live in.

It simply means: we need eachother to survive. You can't decide not to connect to others or share your files(skills) with them and expect manna to fall from the skies. If you must sell your way to the top, you need proper and good networking skills.

Let's listen to my experience.

I started writing ever since I was in primary school, I would cut papers from a book and glue them back together but in a different format, after which I'll write different stories. My classmates back then; knew I could write, they were always eager to read how I later ended the story...

I wrote so many books when I was in primary school, but that was where it ended. After my classmates read them, they'll give me back, telling me to write another story soon.

I got to secondary school, and still kept writing, these particular books I wrote in secondary school are still with me up to this present day.

There was a girl in my class; "JSS 3" to be precised; who loved my stories, she bought a full forty leaves notebook and asked me to write a story for her. It was no big deal to me, I was so excited to write another story. Immediately I got home and did what I was supposed to do and started off.

Now for me, I get inspiration at anytime of the day but preferably at night, when the environment is tranquil. I didn't sleep that night, I wrote her story all through the night as the inspiration kept coming in. I completed writing her story to the end of the forty leaves notebook and gave it to her at school the next day.

I'll still explain the reason for that story up there.

All through my growing up years, I had this mentality that if I write, people would plagiarize my contents, so I never wrote anything on any of my social media platforms and kept waiting for the day I'll publish my book. (I felt it'll be authentic through this method).

Secondary School passed, years rolled by. My pen had lost its ink. And to worsen the equation, I couldn't care less.

I kept waiting and waiting for the perfect time to show the world what I'm made of through a book. No proper guidance, my mum also had this terrible mindset. Until last year when I met with a lady who had to reset my thinking faculty, after she helped me think straight, I started posting my write-ups in form of poems on my Facebook timeline and WhatsApp status, of course my mum complained but then I had to explain all it really entailed.

Deep down; I wished I met her earlier, but I'm still grateful I met her. If I hadn't met her, I might prolly still be swimming in the river of uncertainty.

Let's delve into the major types of network.

We have:

• PAN: Personal Area Network.

• LAN: Local Area Network.

• CAN: Campus Area Network.

• MAN: Metropolitan Area Network.

And the boss!, The oga at the top, I present to you, nothing less than the great...:

• WAN: Wide Area Network.

I want this article to be very practical, so I'll be using a persona as an example to explain these various types of networks.

PAN:

As the meaning implies, PAN is the smallest network that's made up of your phone and your system, it's usually within a room and is managed by an individual.

The example:

I have a talent of singing, I keep it within me, and just keep singing whenever I'm alone and no one would hear me. The world doesn't know I sing, but I know for a fact that I can sing and that's pretty much because my voice and songs have only been sung for me, myself and I.

I hope that clarified it better.

LAN:

Just as the meaning implies, it's commonly used within a building or between buildings that are close to eachother. The distance between these buildings are mostly short.

The example:

I'm a singer, but whenever I sing, I sing so loud, the neighbors always hears this, so they're aware that I can actually sing.

Or...

You're an agent, you placed your sign board In your compound, you didn't place it in anywhere else, you didn't even get banners to hang around in different streets or areas. Your office and your sign board is just in your compound alone.

In this scenario, it's only those people in your compound that would know you're an agent.

This is LAN, It's only reflects to people living with me or people that would come visiting the compound.

CAN:

Now, this one is quite bigger than LAN. And the story typed in my third blocked paragraph depicts this more. CAN is usually used in tertiary institutions or in large offices.

The example:

Remember the story I told you about how I wrote books in primary and secondary school, well, I'll link this to something similar to CAN. Not entirely similar though and that's because it was only my classmates that knew i could write, my school mates didn't know.

So now, let's picture your school mates knowing you have a particular talent. Have you pictured it? I'm sure you have. That's what I refer to as CAN.

MAN:

Metropolitan means geographical city or town. Computers are mostly linked together within a state or in some communities. We have our radio stations to buttress this point.

The example:

Imagine if you're a singer, but you decide to sing only on a particular radio station in a particular state. It's only those people in that state; listening to that exact radio station that would know you, those are the only people that would have an idea of the fact that you're a singer.

And here comes the boss of all bosses!!.

WAN:

It's the largest network that connects various computers together across the globe. The best example of WAN is the international network, fondly called the INTERNET.

It was through this particular network, I'm on read.cash, many people have cashed out big time via this network.

No dulling anymore.

• Businesses are now done online.

• Transactions are carried out online.

• People now attend interviews online.

• Most marketers have started taking advantage, we can now order for clothes, shoes, cakes, phones...you name it.

• Jobs are gotten online.

• The good news is that, this is the easiest way to actually market yourself and your skills to the world.

We have:

• e-Business.

• e-Tailing.

• e-Services.

• e-Commerce.

We even have e-Books too.

People now do virtual classes online and get paid. But how did they go about this?.

It all boils down to: Networking.

Remember what networking entails:

the action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.

Networking Is something I don't know how to do.

You need to go all out of your way and just make sure that Mr A, Mr B, Mr C...all the way down to Mr Z, knows what you do.

Referrals doesn't come from the skies, it actually comes from people. Constant reminders; telling those who cares to know about what you do is very essential.

Yesterday I had to go back to build my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube account. It's been eons since I last posted on those platforms. I had a change of plans and decided to post on all those platforms yesterday.

Who knows where the client would come from... Lol, I don't have followers or subscribers yet but posting and engaging there is better than just abandoning it and leaving it to decay.

One of the most powerful weapons of Networking is "engagements" read.cash taught me this big time.

When I was a neophyte on read.cash, I never engaged in any articles, I just kept posting and receiving little or no engagements. Trust me; nothing can be more pathetic than spending time and energy to draft out an article that doesn't spark the interest of your audience, much less their comments.

But then, just as networking entails, you need to interact with other people, through those interactions; bonds, friendships and relationships are made. I don't know about you, but I've met and made friends with really awesome people on this platform.

I recently joined another blogging platform called "Medium" that's why my engagements here has suddenly reduced, I'm trying to build another community of friendship there on Medium.

I'm trying to make it WAN, Lol.

Although, funny enough, I've not been able to spark any interest there yet, lol, I don't really even understand how the app works.

There's no form of work that you'll do alone without networking with others, except maybe house chores. Lol.

As an agent also, we oftentimes network with other agents and that's because at times, the house linked directly to us might just not be what our clients want, so we usually put a call through to other agents to find out if they have this or if they have that.

A church; networks with different people. In a church, we find the choir, the media department, the ushers, the congregation, the welcoming team and you just name it.

We all need eachother and that's what networking is all about. I have so much more to say but then this is already longer than I expected.

And lastly, always remember to keep passing in a reminder to people about what you do or what you're good at. Don't just post that drawing today and expect it to always ring a bell in people's heads. Keep up with posting, keep up with sending that message across, keep the interaction flowing. You could even ask for a repost, through this, you'll get more numbers on your contact list.

WAN has actually made it easier for us to make cool cash online, like I said in my article on "Creativity"

Don't wait for connection to locate you, find that connection and connect yourself into that connection.

How do you do this?

By your works, experiences, talents and skills. So don't let it die, keep growing it and keep creating that public awareness.

If where you are posting your works isn't giving you the proper audience you need, then surf through Google play store and find that specific app that'll shoot you to the top.

Don't just limit your skills to PAN, LAN, CAN and MAN, make it as wide as WAN.

Market your products online, post on different platforms. This is the main reason why I'm trying to revive my other social media accounts. Post and keep posting, someday you'll be noticed.

Sighs...

If you've read up to this stage, an hearty congratulations to you, I definitely appreciate your time.

There are still so much more to say about networking...so much more, that I might not even have an idea of. Networking is a really vast topic but I hope I touched few edges.

Till we meet again in my next article and in yours.

Thanks for reading.