Associations, whether close or peripheral, allow people to form personal bonds, expand professional networks, and gain a general sense of connection and purpose. With advances in technology as well as changes in how and when business is conducted, the world has become increasingly interconnected.
People are plugged in 24x7; they have the ability to check email on mobile devices, make phone calls on the way to the office, and send texts to family and friends. In recent years, this need to create and maintain connections has spilled over onto the web in the form of social networking.
For some, an online network is nothing more than a collection of two-dimensional entities. Rather than creating solid relationships with these virtual “friends”, they simply form an online-based community of contacts. They can then draw on these contacts when conducting a job search or simply keep them in their network should they need to reach out in the future.