Says my colleague Dan Schawbel on his Personal Branding blog:

"Over the past few days, I've put a lot of thought into online versus offline personal branding. We all need to focus on building powerful offline brands, because who knows what will happen to the internet tomorrow? What if the world loses power or the internet cord is unplugged? What if web 3.0 is the end of blogs, online video, Twitter, and social networks? Anything can happen, which is why you need to start meeting people in real life and taking what you've built online, offline. How you write, behave, interact and your expertise should be translated to how you present yourself day-to-day. Always be consistent and don't let technology rule your life."

Dan's right, folks. I talk to way too many people who think their networking duties are done because they make a few new connections on LinkedIn or start following their business world idol on Twitter. Even those who meet people for a living, like recruiters, aren't immune to online shortcuts. There are many who believe that they will achieve their placement goals by friend blasting a whole bunch of qualified candidates on Facebook.

Online social networks can assist you in getting an introduction to a valuable contact, but face time is still the factor that most affects whether you will be able to develop that initial interaction into a helpful, long-term relationship. If you meet someone promising online, don't stop there. Ask people who are local if they'd like to get together for coffee or lunch, or make a plan to meet up with them at a third-party association meeting of mutual interest. And while it's all fine and good to have an impactful online presence, make sure you practice communicating your best selling points and most provocative opinions verbally. When you meet contacts out there in the real world, they won't bother to check out your website or LinkedIn profile if they don't find you intriguing in person.

Article by Alexandra Levit and courtesy of Water Cooler Wisdom blog.