I started to take Twitter seriously last year. Within one year I learned a lot about what advantages having an online presence can actually have.

Here are 4 of the more important things that happen when you build your online presence.

You Make Friends

When you interact with other people online, you start to slowly build a connection. You get to know each other and at some point, you perhaps even have a call or a video meeting. This is where strangers can become friends.

Those are the people who interact with you frequently and with whom you have the best discussions. They are there to help when you need them, always.

Those internet friends can also be the ones opening up opportunities to you.

They remember you when they see someone looking for a specialist and refer you. They could also be the ones hiring you themselves or co-founding their startup together with you.

Other than that, you can simply have fun with them chatting, working, or playing games.

You Build A Reputation

When you teach others and share your knowledge online, you slowly start to build a reputation. People begin to know you for a certain set of skills. Those people can also be potential hiring managers on the look for fitting candidates.

When you manage to position yourself as a specialist in a specific field, you also start to notice that people contact you for several things.

They ask you for help, they offer you to write paid articles for them, or they offer you a contract for some work.

You Are Able To Shape The Next Generation

When you teach people what you know, you have the opportunity to shape the next generation within your field. You can help people to make their dreams come true and to reshape your field through the knowledge they gain.

Next to that, you contribute to the community itself. You help the community to grow, to become more diverse, hopefully, and to become more awesome.

Contributing to growing a community has a direct impact on you, as well. When the community grows, you get different views and opinions from which you are also able to learn in return.

The more people you reach, the larger the community can become.

You Learn Yourself

Teaching and sharing opinions gives you a different view of your own opinions and knowledge. You start to think about what you know more critically and question your own views. By critically reflecting, you grow immensely yourself.

Teaching and sharing knowledge fortifies your knowledge and enables you to fill blank spots you might not even have an idea of previously.

Sometimes you have to think about content to provide. This is where you, yourself, might have to go out on the internet to get an idea.

That's another wonderful learning opportunity for you. It is no shame to share something you only recently learned yourself. It is not about being the leader who knows everything, it is about being the human who shares.

That's It

Well, that's it for now. I'm sure that there is much more than only what I told you here.

What about you? Would you like to add something else? Feel free to do so!