More often than not partners in a small start-up company have planned on only networking locally, but small businesses today have to plan for an effective global networking strategy as well. Are your products or services marketable overseas and at what juncture do you envision expanding globally? Is your service executable via an effective global network and what are the implications for your business if you deal on an international level?
Businesses a decade ago, or even five years ago probably didn’t think in terms of effective global networking. Prior to today’s technological and telecommunications capabilities, effective global networking was the concern of the internationals or the rare local business that had commerce outside of the country
To those who make the cyber world their own, networking globally is almost standard practice. The web designer might live in England, but be designing a site for a Florida business while the content for the site is being written by someone in Canada. Because of the possibilities of effective global networking, it is possible for these three parties never to meet in person and yet execute a complete and successful project.

One of the keys to successful peer to peer networks and online networks in particular is that they require an object to connect them. For example people are linked in Flickr by photos, in del.icio.us by bookmarks and in the real world by the school they went to, their job or their hobbies. This is why, in “pure” social networking sites like Orkut and Friendster, Myspace and Facebook communities form.
Business are now learning to tap into the power of these communities to market their products, and drive traffic to their websites. This is only one example of the power of peer to peer networks.
A professional peer to peer network committed to the growth of it’s individual members and the expansion of their shared vision will re-invent itself many times as it expands and modifies it’s configuration in service to that vision. When we speak of peer to peer networking on this website we are describing the social networking and business networking so essential to succeeding in today’s business world. Having a vital and productive peer to peer network in business is, like a computer network, dependent on the power and energy that the participants in that network bring to the table. A peer to peer network of lethargic and complacent people will never empower a career or promote a business.

If you’ve been the least bit involved in online marketing you’d undoubtedly heard about how Web 2.0, peer to peer networking, and social media. Peer networking is literally changing the way businesses work online. While Search Engine Optimization is a definite precursor to peer to peer networking, almost any SEO guru will testify to the power of peer networking via social media. The Singaporean company Hitwise is already realizing this.
Hitwise posted the following in October of last year:
“While search engines dominated referral traffic to ‘Appliance and Electronics’ shopping websites, representing over 25% of visits, traffic from ‘Net Communities and Chat’ websites accounted for 10.16% of traffic to the industry, nearly double the volume of traffic than ‘Email Services’ websites.”
This information presents an opportunity for marketers in this industry to both tap into the power of social networking. This information just substantiates that fact that those businesses who ignore peer to peer networking and social media are missing out on a big slice of the referral pie.

If you ask ten different people what the definition of “who’s who” is it’s likely that you’d get ten different answers. The term “who’s who” is used in so many different ways that it is is amusing to find how many times we incorporate it into everyday conversations. We say things such as “the guest list read like a who’s who of corporate America.” Do a Google Search and you’ll find ‘who’s who‘ used in every fashion and manner, including the original incarnation of who’s who which came about in 1849.
According to Roget’s New Millennium^TM Thesaurus, Who’s Who can also have the connotation of an “upper class group” or the “elite, gentry, and glitterati” of society. Who’s who is also used loosely to represent an almanac or a social register, list or line up.
The last interpretation is how the Madison Who’s Who blog most often utilizes the phrase when we present books, websites and other compilations of outstanding people as well as outstanding events or items. We also favor the biographical component to who’s who by bringing to the forefront various tributes or new biographies of the achievers and pivotal personalities through the corridors of time.
Almost every organization or institution also keeps their own who’s who. There’s a who’s who of outstanding students in America as well as a Who Who’s of the most recognized teachers and even a Who’s Who of lawyers and a Who’s Who‘ of athletes. Every company has its own roster’s of who’s who and every profession looks within its own ranks to spotlight their most brilliant with a who’s who designation.

So, who’s who of the world’s richest men. Well, apparently not even a $5.9 billion loss could topple Bill Gates as the richest man on the planet. Gates topped Forbes magazine’s rankings of the world’s richest billionaires for the eighth straight year, even though his net worth fell 10 percent from a year ago to $52.8 billion.
Gates remained comfortably ahead of Warren Buffett, who held the No. 2 spot with $35 billion, according to the 16th annual ranking released Thursday. It was a list most notable for its losers.
The number of billionaires dropped by 83 this year to 497 as recession and fallout from the terrorist attacks reduced their wealth. Among those missing from the list were AOL Time Warner (AOL) Chairman Steve Case, whose company’s stock has declined by about half since last year, and Gary Winnick, chairman of Global Crossing (GBLXQ), which filed for bankruptcy protection in January.

When we here at Madison Who’s Who identify a member of note and worth, we promptly issue a press release to our publisher, identifying the member’s attributes, successes, and relevant affiliations. One such member, Christopher Silva of The Aerospace Corporation, was recently so honored.
Mr. Silva is a Senior Engineering Specialist at The Aerospace Corporation, where he specializes in complex and nonlinear circuitry systems. Mr. Silva’s educational successes are profound, as he progressed through the gamut, progressing from an A.A. in engineering at a local college to the heights of academia, receiving his undergraduate and Masters in electrical engineering, and finally a Ph.D. in Engineering, all from U.C. Berkeley. In the course of his academic career he received a National Science Foundation Fellowship in addition to numerous academic honors. In addition to his career, Mr. Silva enjoys home improvement as well as religious literature and travel.
It is members such as Mr. Christopher Silva that is what separates Madison Who’s Who from it’s competition. They represent the crème-de-la crème of the professional world and we are happy to release Mr. Christopher Silva’s information to our presses for recognition in the 2007-2008 Registry.

Professional directories like Madison Who’s Who can help Realtors network with other realtors on a global basis. Why would a realtor want to network with another realtor internationally? Because a new report shows that nearly one in five realtors has sold a home to an international client in the past year. This is according to new research by the National Association of Realtors®. International buyers purchasing homes in the US appears to be a growing trend.

Foreign buyers purchase homes across the United States, but 52 percent of sales in 2006 were concentrated in three states - Florida (26 percent), California (16 percent) and Texas (10 percent). The South attracted nearly half - 49 percent - of international buyers last year, while 31 percent purchased homes in the West.

The ability to network with other realtors worldwide will become an important tool for every realtor wanting to court the international buyer. Professional directories like Madison Who’s Who give realtors the ability to do exactly that.

The first Who’s Who was published as a 250 page volume in 1849 and had no biographical content but only thirty-nine lists of ranks and appointments and the names of those holding them. These included the Royal Household, members of the House of Peers and House of Commons, judges, archbishops and British envoys abroad.
In 1897 a change of ownership brought about the biographical style that we have today. Bernard Shaw was the first Who’s Who nominee to answer the question “What is your favorite recreation?” It is so highly revered that Winston Churchill intervened during WW II to assure that Who’s Who’s made it to press.
Who’s Who directories have come a long way since those times. In fact, almost every organization or institution also keeps their own who’s who. There’s a who’s who of outstanding students in America as well as a Who Who’s of the most recognized teachers and even a Who’s Who of lawyers and a Who’s Who’ of athletes. Every company has its own roster’s of who’s who and every profession looks within its own ranks to spotlight their most brilliant with a who’s who designation.

So, have you decided to do some peer to peer networking? Maybe you’ve even signed up to attend a business luncheon, or perhaps you want to share more on the professional social networks you belong to. But, as you head into that luncheon, you freeze. What ever could you have to offer? And, when you read the various postings on your business networking sites, you ask yourself why would anyone want to read YOUR post?
Welcome to the world of peer to peer networking. When creating a new business, or expanding a current business, entrepreneurs are always in need of support and guidance. None of us can succeed on our own. This is why having quality professionals to network with is key. One way to find other professionals to network with is through who’s who directories such as Madison Who’s Who. If you ask almost any professional what one of the major keys to his or her success is, they will almost always tell you that professional networking has played a large role in their success.

Madison Who’s Who recognizes top professionals in their field. This includes teachers and professors. Almost every one of us has that special teacher, coach or other adult leader who took the time to lead, inspire and demand excellence. Our lives and accomplishments are testaments that serve to honor those teachers who have contributed so much.
Henry Adams said, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” Madison Who’s Who recognizes the importance of recognizing those professionals that have made a significant impact in our lives, and in the lives of our children.