Describe how networking skills can improve project success

ID Lecturer Describe how networking skills can improve project success Would the cost of becoming a member in one of the professional associations above provide more benefits than joining one of the free networking sites, such as LinkedIn or Monster? What are those benefits?
The cost of becoming a member in one of the professional associations is always a much appreciated and more benefiting option as compared to joining one of the free networking websites. The reason for the same is that these professional associations bring the very best together, who can easily be remarked as the cream of the respective industries. This is not the case with the free networking websites like LinkedIn, Monster and the like where every other individual is online and has something to say or the other. The professional associations offer a more practical approach towards building professional relationships which is not the case with the free networking websites that seem to come up every now and then. The need is to comprehend the respective roles of these avenues more than anything else and then delving deep further into their domains. The professional associations are renowned globally for the high standards which have been set in accordance with the professional principles, rules and codes of conduct, the industry requirements and so on. Free networking websites like LinkedIn cannot ask for a proper appraisal of such nuances because it only allows the individuals to come and meet one another on the websites rather than introducing the capabilities in a way that these professional associations do (Kurtz, 2011). The benefits are therefore in terms of more credibility, better selection of individuals for the coveted posts and technological success that is there amongst the people who have been listed within the professional associations.
2) Is the cost of joining any of the professional associations worth it, based on what you can see from the information on their website, when it comes to making professional contacts that can benefit your career? Why or why not?
I believe there are a positive as well as a negative side to any subject. Same is the case with joining the free networking websites where chances of coming across individual from the desired industries are higher and that too without any cost. However, when one views the professional associations that have been built with the passage of time, hard work and a cost that is attached to it, there is a general feel of something formal taking place somewhere. Yet this feel seems to be a missing link within the free networking websites which have increased in number with the passage of time (Henari, 2012). Thus it would be right to imply that the cost of joining a professional association is worth it and it should be given the go-ahead by people who are looking to make a name for their own selves within the professional domains. Professional contacts can be developed on a short term basis from the free networking websites but this will not last longer if the same do not come about from the professional associations’ aegis. The latter would ensure that there is more empathy for the members and that each one of them shall be ready to help and assist the other one in the wake of some professional need. Therefore the professional associations have no parallels when it comes to their genuineness, credibility and long term contact building. They must always be supported and encouraged when one compares them with the free networking websites which are in abundance in this day and age.
References
Henari, T. (2012). Entrepreneurial success, using online social networking: evaluation.
Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues 5(1)
Kurtz, G. (2011). Creating an ecosystem for lifelong learning through social media: A graduate
experience. Cutting-edge Technologies in Higher Education 1