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Weirdish Times "families use computers now" beat reporter Michelle Slatalla tells us how to passively network online: "On the internet, no one can tell you're self-conscious." She's one of the few "relucant self-promoters" left in this world, and the internet is actually a great place to network without talking to anyone. (Good! We hates talking to people.) The key to this, apparently, is using networking site LinkedIn, updating it, and then people might email you about introducing them to your first-tier contacts and such. She had a little trouble with Google, though: "My [LinkedIn] profile still appeared lower on Google's results than an item from the gossip site Gawker, which described me as a "super creepy adult." Well, if she didn't do things like try to friend her own daughter on Facebook, we wouldn't have to! We Googled her and LOL'd. Click for the screenshot.

Building a Web of Influence [NYT]