A friend of mine who used to work for a major Chicago ad shop and who was on the team responsible for marketing a ubiquitous American lager (long branded as beer royalty) once shared the measurement of success for his efforts:

If a prospective beer buyer paused even for an instant and considered purchasing their all-to-conspicuous client's suds, that was a campaign win.

That made me sputter into my microbrew. What? They didn't even have to buy the beer? They just had to think about buying the beer?

Correct. That cognitive moment -- how they captured it I never pursued -- proved, if not an immediate purchase, at least potential interest . . . and potential can have staggering significance.

So what does this have to do with social media? In terms of potential -- everything. Example thus: About a month ago I was reading a Fast Company article online, and shared some thoughts in the comments section. Big deal? Well, online, an article comment is also a calling card -- seeded with your contact info, web address, etc.

This morning, I get a LinkedIn add-to-network request from a gentleman in Colorado, Jim Woods, who thought my proverbial two cents were literally worth that much, and wanted to connect. We've exchanged professional pleasantries and perhaps we'll have the opportunity to work together. Is it a lock? Of course not, but the potential is there -- potential that was generated purely by finding a few minutes to engage in participatory online media. It's about generating awareness and establishing connections. It's not an instant jackpot, it's a patient process, but one that can have tremendous benefit provided you're willing to play along (hence this blog post).

I can't promise that Mr. Woods and I will work together -- but I can guarantee that the potential today is a hundred times higher than it was yesterday. Jim, next time I'm in Colorado Springs, the beer's on me.