It seems that a few hundred decorative concrete contractors have gotten the message about social media, especially LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is much more than a fancy, electronic business card/resume that works for you 24/7. There are services such as the Ask-and-Answer area and the groups that provide connection and give meaning to the term ‘networking.

You can pick and choose what works best for you — I belong to a Women in Concrete group, although it isn’t exactly what I had expected. The membership is much more in management and administrative mode as opposed to being out there working in the concrete. Because of my connection to Engrave-A-Crete, I know there are women out there working in the concrete. In fact, Engrave-A-Crete encourages women to attend their training and become engravers.

Because of the way decorative concrete can reclaim old concrete to deliver a useful and attractive surface, I thought there would be more to interest me in the Concrete Reclaiming group. I was so pleased when I was invited to join. The discussion is more aimed at what to do with concrete that couldn’t be poured and ended up left in the truck or in little plops at the site.

I think some groups are started impulsively without researching to see if there are others covering the same material. So what can several little groups such as “I Love Decorative Concrete.” or “Decorative Concrete Forum” uniquely provide?

• Being heard in a super large, one-size-fits-all group can be difficult.
• Some topics are going to be more interesting regionally.
• Some of us are loyal engravers or stampers or polishers with our own set of acronyms, buzz words and small lingo that makes us feel superior.

Those three and other reasons support smaller groups. My advice to you is “Check them out and find all that you are interested in. Lurk and read some; post and help some.”