Jobbing The Social Networks

Dear doubters of social networking; I’ve got a story for you. I’m not sure of the level of uniqueness of my tale, but suffice it to say Facebook played an important role in a significant change in my life.

On July 26, I informed my longtime employer, ICD Publications, that I would be leaving after more than nine-and-a-half years as a member of the editorial staff of HomeWorld Business. In August, I will be joining AOL Patch, a group of community news websites spreading across Long Island and in several other states, as a Regional Director.

Changing jobs is never an easy choice, but after nearly 10 years working in the same place with many of the same people — many of whom I care about deeply — this choice was not a difficult as I thought. A few know my reasons, but I will keep those to myself for now.

But the foundation of this story lies in Facebook and a connection I made with Hilary Topper, owner of HJMT Communications, a Nassau County-based PR firm. Hilary and I first met in the mid-90s when her company was in its infancy. Over the next 10 years or so, as happens, we lost touch, but were able to reconnect about a year ago through the magic of Facebook.

We had dinner in February, which gave us a chance to talk about our lives over the past 10 or so years and our thoughts about the future. In the weeks that followed, she would invite me to sit on a discussion panel for the Hauppauge Industrial Association, where I would meet the person who will now be a co-worker at Patch. It was this connection that would lead to a number of conversations during the late spring and early summer and ultimately a job offer from AOL.

For me, Facebook has given me the opportunity to reconnect with friends from the past and even make new connections. And now it will allow me to connect daily with some colleagues and friends I leave behind. Who knows, maybe it will help them follow in my footsteps.

And as for Hilary, I owe her a big hug and and even bigger dinner.

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