Relationships matter. They always have.

I'm reading "Six Pixels of Separation," a book by Mitch Joel, who happens to be a partner in an interactive agency. The book is about Web 2.0 and the tools we can use to get our companies, brands and selves promoted out there. It's a good basic primer on the things we should be doing today online. You should read it, or at least "snack on it" as Joel recommends you do with interactive content.

Funny, I got the book the old fashioned way. American Express snail-mailed it to a colleague who handed it to me in person to see what I thought. After I received the book, I did go out to Amazon.com to see who was reading it and what they had to say. And, I mistakenly left the book at work, so I downloaded it to my Barnes & Noble e-reader that I have installed on my iPhone, Mac and PC. (Hey, I'm trying to move beyond 1.0.)

The more I read, the more I can confirm that some people, like Mitch, are just great networkers, and some aren't. Yes, there are tons of tools on the web to make your network huge, but it's still much more about you, your insights and your desire to connect than it is about technology. They key is to either be one of those folks or to find those folks in your organization who love to network and love to promote what they're doing and what your company's doing. Give them the opportunity, time, patience, support and, most of all, forgiveness, to go out there online and get excited about their company and what they're doing.

If they don't know how to start, hand them Mitch's book or have them click here.