There seems to be an infinite number of ways to connect/network on the Internet. The real limitation is not technology but rather your time and attention. As well as the time and attention of the people you want to network with and get to know.

Ideally your presence on the Internet is merely an extension of your brand. If you have defined your brand well it is very clear who your market is and what your value proposition is. All of your efforts need to be congruent.

If your target market is the average consumer or young people just getting established, you might want a profile on Facebook.com or Myplace.com. When you want to network with business types you might benefit from LinkedIn.com. The information on LinkedIn is designed to showcase your business resume and qualifications whereas Facebook and Myplace are more social and creative.

Because it is so easy to get involved with the myriad of Internet sites you must be clearly focused and disciplined. Otherwise, you will squander your time and energy and possibly confuse people in the market place. It is much more rewarding to develop and manage a clearly defined brand than to attempt to be omnipresent on the Internet hoping something, somewhere, sometime might stick.

Chip Heath and Dan Heath believe some ideas stick and others fade away. "Sticky ideas" share just a few principles in common. Sticky ideas have elements of six key attributes: Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions, and Stories. And yes, these six compress nicely into the acronym SUCCESs. If you want to be "sticky" in people's minds try following these same principles.

The famous phrase "six degrees of separation" caught on after a 1967 small world experiment by psychologist Stanley Milgram. Since then further studies have indicated the actual number might be seven. Either way when you combine this idea with the ease of use and flexibility of the Internet it is obvious how accessible the entire world population is to you and your computer.

An important question needs to be asked at this point. Why should anyone care about knowing you? Many speakers have worked hard at "shameless self promotion." Be honest now, what is your real emotional reaction when you ask yourself this question, "Do they really care about me?"

Tim Sanders, the former Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo, addresses this question in his book: Love Is The Killer App. He suggests that you share your knowledge, share your network and share your compassion with others. This is based on giving not on getting. Is that your mindset?

As you use the Internet to network and get to know people remember a few basic ideas. Effective communication requires trust, respect, understanding, empathy and resolution. It is an art. People will decide their opinion of you based on emotion. When you consistently share a congruent message that brings value to the other person they will seek you out. Effective use of the Internet makes it very easy for them to find you. Please make sure that wherever they find you on the Internet the message rings true.