5 Unspoken and Unwritten Rules Of Social Networking

Patrick McFadden • February 19, 2014

Social networking seems easy especially because with the click of a mouse you’re connected to someone. You can have up and running a social media profile in minutes, and usually for free.

The truth about social networking that no one wants to admit is that it’s hard work. While the barrier to connect is low, the barrier to trust and attention is high.

The fundamental path to succeeding at social networking is to consistently engage in a way that provides and contributes value, relevancy and meaning. The bonus would be to achieve this without adding costs to the others.

As you think through your social networking strategy, here are five unspoken and unwritten rules of social networking.

1.  Connection does not imply relationship

Many social networks make it easy for you to connect with anyone. You can follow someone on  Twitter ,  Quora  or  Google Plus  without needing their permission to do that. The problem today is that when people click your name or check a box to follow you, they immediately think they have a real relationship with you or your brand.

A lot of brands believe that they need to get as many connections (likes and followers) as possible because that implies a relationship. And even worst they broadcast to them. It’s not about having all the connections in the world and it’s not about broadcasting—it’s about building relationships.

2. Engagement is most effective not hard sales

From day one it’s been said that the proper use of social networks is for engagement, not sales. But when you think about it – effective selling has always been about engagement first, because true engagement happens between people.

Small businesses and independent professionals that have embraced the best use of social networks use it to:

  • Identify very specific ideal clients
  • Connect with friends of friends of existing clients
  • Search networks for potential opportunities
  • Keep tabs of what’s going on in a client’s world
  • Personalize content on a case by case basis
  • Engage in sharing with and for clients and prospects
  • Make introductions that turn into referrals

I don’t know about you, but the entire list above sounds like engagement and relationship building of the highest order – the kind that can’t really happen in a mass market way – the kind that successful people have always employed.

The reality is that social belongs everywhere in the organization and each department and individual is charged with using social behavior to meet their objectives and add value to relationships.

3.  Quantity and activity is not productivity

The barrier to create and share content on a social network is non-existent. This means that you can write or share whatever you want— whether it makes sense or not.

You can get tied down with social networking— trying to share anything and everything. In your enthusiasm to share, you might drop the quality of what you share.

That’s when the problem starts—people will silently start to ignore you.

4.  Value is not determined by you

A lot of people have trouble with this one. This is the rule that many don’t understand and it’s a HUGE problem.

Just because what you have to say, email, tweet, post, pin, etc. is very important to you that I see it, doesn’t means it’s important to me. And even, though the internet allows information to be distributed worldwide at basically zero marginal cost to the publisher (you), doesn’t mean you have the right to do so.

Remember every single person has their favorite radio station  WIIFM-  What’s In It For Me and if they don’t see the value in what you have to communicate, you lose.  (To read more, please see Anticipated, Personal and Relevant.)

5.  Amplification without accomplishment is worthless

Social networks are a great amplifier. But fundamentals of multiplication formula is always at play. You can multiply zero with anything and the result will still be zero.

You need relevant accomplishments and recommendations as the foundation and social networks can help amplify them. You have to do something offline to get them amplified online.

Spend time building your business, doing something remarkable and acquiring accomplishments. Once you have them, you can use those to extend your influence using social networks.

About the Author:  Patrick McFadden is the owner and marketing consultant at  Indispensable Marketing , a strategic marketing firm in Richmond, VA. He helps small to midsize businesses improve or create a strong marketing foundation that will carry the company’s marketing efforts into the next decade and get new or better results. 

The Missing Layer in AI: Why Judgment, Not Just Data, Will Define the Next Era of Intelligence

By Patrick McFadden • May 2, 2025
Everyone is scaling outputs. Almost no one is scaling judgment.

Everyone Talks About AI Judgment. We Built It.

By Patrick McFadden • May 2, 2025
Ask anyone in tech where AI is headed, and they’ll tell you: “The next leap is reasoning.” “AI needs judgment.” “We need assistants that think, not just answer.” They’re right. But while everyone’s talking about it, almost no one is actually shipping it. So we did. We built Thinking OS™ —a system that doesn’t just help AI answer questions… It helps AI think like a strategist. It helps AI decide like an operator. It helps teams and platforms scale judgment, n ot just generate output. The Theory Isn’t New. The Implementation Is. The idea of layering strategic thinking and judgment into AI isn’t new in theory. The problem is, no one’s been able to implement it effectively at scale. Let’s look at the current landscape. 1. Big Tech Has the Muscle—But Not the Mind OpenAI / ChatGPT ✅ Strength: Best-in-class language generation ❌ Limitation: No built-in judgment or reasoning. You must provide the structure. Otherwise, it follows instructions, not strategy. Google DeepMind / Gemini ✅ Known for advanced decision-making (e.g., AlphaGo) ❌ But only in structured environments like games—not messy, real-world business scenarios. Anthropic (Claude), Meta (LLaMA), Microsoft Copilot ✅ Great at answering questions and following commands ❌ But they’re assistants, not advisors. They won’t reprioritize. They won’t challenge your assumptions. They don’t ask: “Is this the right move?” These tools are powerful—but they don’t think for outcomes the way a strategist or operator would. 2. Who’s Actually Building the Thinking Layer™? This is where it gets interesting—and thin. Startups and Indie Builders Some small teams are quietly: Creating custom GPTs that mimic how experts reason Layering in business context, priorities, and tradeoffs Embedding decision logic so AI can guide, not just execute But these efforts are: Highly manual Difficult to scale Fragmented and experimental Enterprise Experiments A few companies (Salesforce, HubSpot, and others) are exploring more “judgment-aware” AI copilots. These systems can: Flag inconsistencies Recommend next actions Occasionally surface priorities based on internal logic But most of it is still: In early R&D Custom-coded Unproven beyond narrow use cases That’s Why Thinking OS™ Is Different Instead of waiting for a lab to crack it, we built a modular thinking system that installs like infrastructure. Thinking OS™: Captures how real experts reason Embeds judgment into layers AI can use Deploys into tools like ChatGPT or enterprise systems Helps teams think together, consistently, at scale It’s not another assistant. It’s the missing layer that turns outputs into outcomes. So… Is This a New Innovation? Yes—in practice. Everyone says AI needs judgment. But judgment isn’t an idea. It’s a system. It requires: Persistent memory Contextual awareness Tradeoff evaluation Value-based decisions Strategy that evolves with goals Thinking OS™ delivers that. And unlike the R&D experiments in Big Tech, it’s built for: Operators Consultants Platform founders Growth-stage teams that need to scale decision quality, not just content creation If Someone Told You They’ve Built a Thinking + Judgment Layer™… They’ve built something only a handful of people in the world are even attempting. Because this isn’t just AI that speaks fluently. It’s AI that reasons, reflects , and chooses. And in a world that’s drowning in tools, judgment becomes the differentiator. That’s the OS We Built Thinking OS™ is not a prompt pack. It’s not a dashboard. It’s not a glorified chatbot. It’s a decision architecture you can license, embed, or deploy— To help your team, your platform, or your clients think better at scale. We’ve moved past content. We’re building cognition. Let’s talk.

We Found the Missing Layer AI Has Been Waiting For

By Patrick McFadden • May 2, 2025
In every era of innovation, there’s a silent bottleneck—something obvious in hindsight, but elusive until the moment it clicks. In today’s AI-driven world, that bottleneck is clear: AI has speed. It has scale. But it doesn’t have judgment . It doesn’t really think . What’s Actually Missing From AI? When experts talk about the “thinking and judgment layer” as the next leap for AI, they’re calling out a hard truth: Modern AI systems are powerful pattern machines. But they’re missing the human layer—the one that reasons, weighs tradeoffs, and makes strategic decisions in context. Let’s break that down: 1. The Thinking Layer = Reasoning with Purpose This layer doesn’t just process inputs— it structures logic. It’s the ability to: Ask the right questions before acting Break down complexity into solvable parts Adjust direction mid-course when reality changes Think beyond “what was asked” to uncover “what really matters” Today’s AI responds. But it rarely reflects. Unless told exactly what to do, it won’t work through problems the way a strategist or operator would. 2. The Judgment Layer = Decision-Making in the Gray Judgment is the ability to: Prioritize what matters most Choose between imperfect options Make decisions when there’s no clear answer Apply values, experience, and vision—not just data It’s why a founder might not pursue a lucrative deal. Why a marketer might ignore the click-through rate. Why a strategist knows when the timing isn’t right. AI doesn’t do this well. Not yet. Because judgment requires more than data—it requires discernment . Why This Is the Bottleneck Holding Back AI AI can write. It can summarize. It can automate. But it still can’t: Diagnose the real problem behind the question Evaluate tradeoffs like a founder or operator would Recommend a path based on context, constraints, and conviction AI today is still reactive. It follows instructions. But it doesn’t lead. It doesn’t guide. It doesn’t own the outcome. And for those building serious systems—whether you’re running a company, launching a platform, or leading a team—this is the wall you eventually hit. That’s Why We Built Thinking OS™ We stopped waiting for AI to learn judgment on its own. Instead, we created a system that embeds it—by design. Thinking OS™ is an installable decision layer that captures how top founders, strategists, and operators think… …and makes that thinking repeatable , scalable , and usable inside teams, tools, and platforms. It’s not a framework. It’s not a chatbot. It’s not another playbook. It’s the layer that knows how to: Think through complex decisions Apply judgment when rules don’t help Guide others —human or AI—toward strategic outcomes This Is the Missing Infrastructure Thinking OS™ isn’t just about better answers. It’s about better thinking—made operational. And that’s what’s been missing in AI, consulting, leadership development, and platform design. If you’re trying to scale expertise, install judgment, or move from tactical to strategic… You don’t need a faster AI. You need a thinking layer that knows what to do—and why. We built it. Let’s talk.
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