The surprisingly simple way social media can change your life.

Serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated. In French its sérendipicité but also heureux hasard, “fortunate chance.”

And that my dears is the very definition of Social Media. Fortunate chance. Random reward. Luck on steroids. In the old (analog) days, the answer to “What are the odds?” would be a rueful chuckle. The only way to increase your possibilities of connecting, whether in business, opportunities, love, relationships, insights, anything, was either to up the elbow grease via traditional networking or bury a statue of St. Jude in the backyard.

Today in our Kevin-Bacon-World, serendipity now gets an upgrade. I call it “Strategic Serendipity” and when I teach Social Media workshops, this phrase gets a nod from newbies to experts alike. When you use Social Media effectively (note that vital word), what you’re doing is greatly increasingly the odds of stumbling across exactly who you want to stumble across:

* If you’re writing a book, agents, publishers and writing experts show up
* If you’re looking for a job, the right contact, the opportunities show up — including some you never imagined
* If you’re running a business and need help, the right virtual admin, the right CPA, the right insurance agent show up — and maybe even partnership and joint venture opportunities

Obviously this list could stretch to the end of the page. I cannot tell you how many people, opportunities and fruitful insights have come my way via Social Media. But make no mistake. Strategic Serendipity is no random, hippy-dippy flinging of one’s personal brand or business into the Universe. Yes, your personal message-in-a-bottle is floating quixotically in the tumultuous seas of Social Media. But you have a choice about when, where and in what direction you want it to bobble. You don’t have to toss it willy-nilly into the world. You can pick your ocean. For example, if you’re into music and entertainment and seeking fans, labels, producers, then you’d want to throw your bottle into the sea that’s MySpace. You’d tightly target your message so it’s immediately engaging to the people who find it washing up on shore. You research the influential beachcombers, learning where their favorite sandy patch is and when they’re out roaming.

Be prepared also, for whatever shows up. Often it’s not the way you imagined it. But even more often, it’s far more intriguing.

There is an art and a science to putting the tools and technologies of Social Media to intelligent use. A few tips to tap into Strategic Serendipity:

* Remember the word ‘strategy.’ Before you run off and start tweeting like mad, friend your entire kindergarten class and zip through entire blogrolls, have a solid plan in mind. What do you want to achieve with your social media program? What business effect do you want to achieve? What personal effect do you want to achieve?
* Quantity versus Quality. This continues to be hotly debated in social media circles. My point of view, one that’s been reinforced recently, is that engagement is what counts, not huge networks of people who have no clue who you are. You want a healthy percentage of people who share your passion, including enough influentials to help you make things happen. But don’t always think the well-known ‘rockstars’ are the only ones to know. Many of them don’t manage their social networks anyway — all too often it’s still a “I’ll have my girl tweet your girl” world out there.
* Fish in lots of ponds. You’re far more likely to connect with a wide variety of people, networks and possibilities. One of the biggest mistakes networkers make is to spend too much time in professional networking groups. Why waste time in a pond of everybody trying to sell something? Find a pond of buyers instead.

I’d love it to hear your Strategic Serendipity stories. Please post below or email: Hello@guruofnew.com.