During my research on networking I ran across a powerful tool that I believe would make it much easier for us to stay connected to those in our network. Xobni for Outlook is a free sidebar that allows you to take your inbox to the next level by providing a better way to search your inbox and find information about your contacts. A few of the useful features of this tool include an email search that makes it easier to locate emails in your inbox and shows you previous emails connected to that person. Another component of this tool is the social networking aspect that allows you to search for information on your contacts through Facebook, Linkedin, Hoovers and others. It also gives you the ability to grow your network of connections by showing you who else this contact is connected to and then gives you the ability to connect with them via Facebook, Linkedin, etc. The name encapsulates perfectly the goal of this tool. “Xobni- ‘inbox’ spelled backwards- is an affirmation of our mission: to ‘take back’ the email inbox for our users.” You can download this tool at www.xobni.com
The true cost of connecting is not about money but time. The question then is what can you do today to make sure you have the time to spend for connecting?