Social Networking is the "rage" right now. Some of this might be attributed to the Internet and sites like My Space and Second Life. You could also suggest that Gladwell's book on social power, "The Tipping Point" has added to the emphasis on building strong social networks. So, you might find it interesting that this is really nothing new. In fact, Dale Carnegie's first course has lots on social networking.. and it was so successful in 1916, that he began training official "Dale Carnegie Course Instructors." Here are six lessons from Carnegie on building a stronger relationship with others that fit right into today's discussions and how they coorelate with today's blogs:

• Become Genuinely Interested in Other People
• Read other people blogs, explore their bios, learn about them.
  
• Be a Good Listerner
• Seek to understand (this is critical on the more controversial subjects)
  
• Encourage others to talk about themselves
• Encourage comments on your blog, ask question when commenting
  
• Let the other person do a great deal of the talking
• Keep your blog posts short and to the point
  
• Talk in terms of the other person's interest
• Seek to apply your thoughts to the life experiences of others
  
• Give honest and sincere appreciation
• Let bloggers know when you appreciate their posts and comments.
  

Social networking is really nothing new... but it is exciting to see how today's techonology may allow individuals to do this in new and different ways. Can you expand any of these principles.. apply them to other Web 2.0 tools.. Second life, my space..