I’ve been practising what all good networkers do, meeting fellow writers, bloggers and fellow business people at events and connecting with many of them through social media. On making the effort to get around, I invariably come up with a small number of profiles with no name or photo. Let me explain.

Some time ago, I went looking for a particular friend on facebook, someone I have known well who moved away. I thought it would be neat for us to connect on facebook and that it might be easier for her to type a short message now and then instead of a long letter.  I typed her name in the search field to find that there were more than twenty people with the same name, some of whom had no photo. Many of those Karleens lived in different states, and not one matched my friend in Colorado. As it turned out, I connected with my long-distance friend through her daughter who is a friend of my daughter, and  fortunately, a photo is on her page and so we are able to  keep in touch.

This week I scrolled through names on LinkedIn, looking for people I know. Still, I found profiles with a name and no photo.  Some time ago, two individuals asked to connect with me on this social networking site, but there was no photo.  I didn’t remember the surname of one, and I knew only one employer of that person.

I found myself thinking, like the facebook search, “Is this who I think it might be or is it someone else?” A fair amount of time went by before I could be sure and respond to the individual. Eventually one put up a picture and so did the second person, at least for a short time.

It’s like going to a networking show with a paper bag over one’s head, and saying, “Hello, I’m no name. You can’t get to know me because I choose not to show my face.”  I wonder how a business person can get known that way, and I understand we need to act with caution, and that for some, entering into a public space, have more reason to be cautious.

Today, I went to an organization’s site and looked at the list of blogs, clicking on several to learn more about those bloggers and read some of the posts. I clicked on “About Me” on one site that had beautiful photography. I might have sent a reply to the blogger to say how much I appreciated the pictures, since I, too, enjoy taking photos, except that there was no name or face to the blog.

Being a blogger myself, and on twitter too, I do like to connect with others who think like me or perhaps have the same interests, and so I found these experiences a little frustrating.

And so if you’re here for the first time, testing the waters, consider if social media is a place where you feel comfortable. If so, go forth with a smile on your bright face, post a good photo, and  start making connections. You can meet some interesting people that way.