Profession social networking events are designed to bring together professionals from a multitude of different backgrounds and professions. It enables professionals to connect with other influential business men and women for advice, insight, guidance and potential clients. Events are increasingly informal, designed to allow social development as well as business development, for everyone involved.

Professional social networking is also, increasingly, occurring online and with the massive developments in technology it is a foolish person who ignores this growing, vibrant scene. Professionals with an eye for new methods of communication and business development use these social networking sites to boost their image, promote their brand and increase their chances of new clients and leads.

The most important consideration when using these professional social networking sites is to maintain consistency between these various profiles, keeping a uniform, professional manner and tone. Photos of alcohol-fuelled nights or a particularly comedic spoof photo will not inspire potential connections or existing contacts with confidence; these are best left to the private photo albums. Professional social networking sites are designed as more grown up versions of the sites dominated by school children and university students. If the site IT team is willing to give their members more control over their profiles and privacy settings then it is only right that the members act professionally and with maturity.

Professional social networking (http://www.lemonanddine.com ) both on- and off-line allows two individual business people to connect and discuss their experiences of working and networking, whilst sharing their own connections with each other. This in turn creates a network of trusted and reliable relationships on which to build work opportunities and new business.

It is always better to have an introduction to a potential client from a trusted connection than attempt business with complete stranger through cold calls and whether this is achieved through online networking sites or at networking events is neither here nor there. Most important, is that when a client is introduced via an online recommendation, it is converted into an off-line meeting in which the connection can be built upon and their full attention held; resulting in a fruitful working relationship.