Most people know that networking is the new social activity of today. Principles of networking are applied exactly in the same way as social networking. The main difference is that social networking is an online concept.

Principles include, interacting with people and organisations, engaging in stimulating conversation,  building, developing and sustaining relationships.

However, some business people eager to see an instant ROI (return of investment) during their new exposure to Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, Myspace etc, become  frustrated when their sales do not increase greatly.

Social networking takes time in order to build and expand  online readership for business. It requires patience, consistency and persistence by applying the networking principles, rather than aiming for sales, sales and more sales in the short term.