Valve Magazine - Summer 2011

ANOTHER MIND Why do I advise this? Beyond the social bonds you establish, with each and every connection, you are adding another human brain to the equation (as one source puts it):

…containing about 10 billion nerve
cells, or neurons. On average, each
neuron is connected to other neurons
through about 10,000 synapses… The
brain’s network of neurons forms a
massively parallel information pro-
cessing system. This contrasts with
conventional computers, in which a
single processor executes a single
series of instructions. i
Imagine if you’ve built your social
network into the hundreds—that’s a
massively parallel information-process-
ing power with the potential to help in
your problem-solving quest.

One way to expand that network is to join “Groups” if you use LinkedIn, in your areas of expertise or use the “Answers” area to ask questions. You also might try answering others’ questions and building expertise credibility when your answer is selected as a good or best answer. If you do a search on the word “valve” in the LinkedIn Groups area of the site, you’ll find 10 pages of groups, including Valve World Group, Valve Network, Valve Solution and Valve User Forum, to name just a few.

Increasingly, Facebook fan pages are
being used by businesses and leading
brands. Similar to LinkedIn Groups,
these fan pages provide a wall on which
to ask and answer questions. You may
want to search and connect with the
company or brands that you use when
you encounter the need for answers. I
did a Facebook page search on “valve,”
for example, and again had pages and
pages of search results.