By Lana Bradshaw

I’m guilty of it. Thinking if I send a quick text or email, I’ve washed my hands of responsibility, that the task is now “complete”. The world of social media and technology is what guides us, nay, consumes us, monopolizes our time, defines how savvy we are, how we do business, and how quickly we can connect.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, IM, E-Mail – all things we believe we need. And they all have one thing in common:  zero face time. With your friends, your family, your clients; this, for someone who’s responsible for building relationships, is what I find most alarming.

Some social media facts:

• Facebook has overtaken Google as the most visited site on earth. If Facebook were a country, it would be more populated that the United States
• The internet has grown 14 per cent since 2009 and face-to-face business meetings have dropped the same amount
• There are currently over 152 million blogs out there – and 77 per cent of UK consumers use information from blogs to influence their purchasing decisions
• Micro blogging is now the most widely adopted social media tactic and used by 78 per cent of company respondents
• LinkedIn has 50 million members worldwide – that’s a growth of 1 million members per month since 2009

Don’t get me wrong, I use all of the above mentioned – mainly because I feel I have to in order to keep up with the rat race. All I’m saying is don’t forget about the belly-to-belly! Hiding behind your laptop is gutless. It can send the wrong message, and often does. It stagnates the relationships you have, and is making us socially awkward. How often do you email or Facebook instead of calling someone? That’s what I’m talking about.

My goal for 2012 is to not let social media be the foundation of my business dealings, and to keep in mind that before all this, we booked meetings and went to see our clients face-to-face (and Skype doesn’t count!). We shook hands, and followed up with hand-written thank you cards; and for me, that’s the true meaning behind success in business.

Lana Bradshaw is the Branch Manager of Holloway Schulz & Partners, a member of the Adecco group of companies. With ten years of extensive expertise in recruitment and direct recruitment experience, she has been referred to as the ‘best and brightest the industry has to offer’. www.hollowayschulz.ca  View Lana’s LinkedIn profile.