Guest Author - Ogo Ogbata

Outsourcing, company mergers, corporate downsizing and office politics are real threats to your livelihood. If you would like to stand head and shoulders above your peers, consider boosting your computer career using one of the wonders of new media technology - social networking groups!

Social networks are no longer just for artists and teenagers! Sites like LinkedIn, Ecademy and Ryze are great for business professionals. Get on there, sign up, create an eye catching profile and make contact with fellow computer professionals as soon as possible. In no time, you could be rubbing minds with like minded individuals, learning the latest developments in the computer industry, swapping business referrals and partnering with peers on commercial projects.

When it's time to move on career-wise, try sending your resume to the influential contacts you have made on your social networking group(s) and you'd be surprised how much of a difference the personal touch can make. Fact is, you are far more likely to be hired by people who know and like you than you are to be hired by a recruitment officer sifting through thousands of newspaper job ad responses.

Sites like YouTube are really great for demonstrating your expertise. Simply create high quality educational videos with your hand held camcorder or web camera and place them on YouTube on a regular basis. Your videos could make for interesting conversation during job interviews, set you apart from unimaginative work colleagues during performance reviews and drive targeted traffic to your personal or company website.

Social networking groups are also great laboratory for new ideas and strategies. Before investing lots of time and money on a project, test its viability by soliciting votes from members of your social network. However, don't limit social networking to the confines of the virtual world alone. Rather use it as a starting point, a springboard of sorts. For instance, I have telephoned quite a number of online contacts and met up with a few at business meetings.

Whether you're looking to progress your computer career, change jobs or grow a business, social networking is one of the most popular and powerful career tools available today. Be sure to use it to your advantage.