Using tech to make connections that count — an interview with author Karen Wickre

Taking the Work Out of Networking: An Introvert’s Guide to Making Connections That Count, available in print from local booksellers and in Kindle and audio at Amazon.

Karen Wickre, the former editorial director for Twitter who has also worked at Google and other silicon valley companies, shares her advice on how to use networking tools — tech and otherwise — to expand your business, professional and personal horizons in her new book and in our CBS News Radio podcast. The book, Taking the Work Out of Networking: An Introvert’s Guide to Making Connections That Count, is available in print from local booksellers and in Kindle and audio at Amazon.

Although the book is aimed at introverts, its advice applies to nearly everyone who wants  to expand their horizons. In it and during our interview, I learned that services like LinkedIn aren’t just for job seekers and employers looking for talent. They’re for everyone who wants to learn from others. And it’s not just about business. It’s about “how to best blend the personal and professional in your interactions,” says the  book’s back-cover blurb.

Karen Wickre, appropriately from her LinkedIn photo

A quick and surprisingly fun read, Wickre covers a range of topics including how to unleash the “introvert’s secret power,”and “how to create and nurture your own wide-ranging authentic network for life.”

Wickre goes into detail about various online tools you can use to reach out and take advantage of the networks you may already have including old-fashioned email “(Still) the Killer App,” and various social media tools.

But why read my description of her book. You can not only hear what she says about it but get some valuable insights by listening to our 35-minute podcast: