My post on apprenticeship the other day got me thinking about mentors. We need more mentors!

I’ve never met a successful person who didn’t have a mentor, someone they looked up to who showed them the ropes, helped steer them in the right direction, acted as a sounding board, and provided support. Mentors serve a powerful role in the development of others.

I think there is an opportunity to provide more mentorship via Social Networks. Social media creates an environment allowing people with like interests and varying degrees of expertise to find each other. In an offline world, the experts, potential mentors, hung out with other potential mentors, while potential mentees (is this even a word?) loitered together. Rarely did the two meet. Online that all changes. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin allow people of all skill levels and experience to engage. It’s mentor match-making heaven.

Being online also makes it easier and more fluid to provide mentorship. Understanding how much easier the Internet makes it, I can’t help but wonder if it is happening. Do you mentor anyone?

Increasingly, I am being asked to review others presentations, business ideas, podcasts etc. But, mentoring anyone, can’t say I’m doing that online. But I’m open to it. More of us should be. We didn’t get to where we are now by ourselves.

If I can help you, let me know. It would be my pleasure.