Much has been written about social networks. But check out The Anatomy of Buzz, a book by Emanuel Rosen.  If social networks provide the infrastructure, the buzz is the energy that flows over it.  Buzz has become increasing important  in this day and age when we have too many advertising messages, emails, text messages, voicemails with which to contend.  No one has the time to research every new product and service.  Instead, most of us rely on a friend or an associate to recommend a product or to mention it.  Get enough mentions, and you've got a buzz going and the social network fires up in response.

 

So consider social networks like LinkedIn. They're the conduits. If you really want to use a network effectively, then you need to fire up the buzz.  It may be that you're an employer-of-choice, or the leading recruiter in a particular industry, or that you just did something amazing. 

 

Buzz is fired up with information that your social network consumes. Not SPAM. Not ads.  But word-of-mouth on how good or bad or cool or interesting or worthwhile something is. 

 

So let's think of it as a tool. For a candidate, the buzz would be how he/she as a candidate is a hot prospect that prospective employers ought to snatch up.  For a recruit, the buzz would be about a hot opportunity or hot company (employer-of-choice).  You cannot control buzz, but you can spark it. 

 

For instance, if you have a product that does not live up to its promise. . .the buzz will ultimately be about that.  To generate positive buzz, there must be something amazing to buzz about, something special that makes you , your opportunity, or your company buzz-worthy. 

 

Once you've got that in place, you connect with nodes in your network that are highly connected and communicative.  How do you tell whether you dealing with someone who's a super connector. Chances are they called you and they're asking you a ton of questions. They have a voracious appetite for the latest information.  The next time one of those contacts calls you. Don't get annoyed.  Start the buzz and reap the rewards.