How to Ask Someone to be "Friends" over the Internet

I teach people how to feel comfortable greeting each other. But how do you greet and introduce each other over the Internet? I am on all the social media and find it stressful to respond to someone that emails with a standard request to be a friend or be "linked-in", without providing any information of who they are or how we are connected. I also don’t know the polite way to respond when I have no memory of ever having met them. I want to be kind, and I know as a professional speaker, an audience member is sure I will remember them. I therefore feel rude not linking or "Friending," but if they don't say they were in my audience, I don't know.
So here are my questions for today.
First question: What is the proper etiquette of requesting to "friend" or link?
Second Question: How can you politely ask, “Who are you? and “How do I know you?”

Jon and Kate Plus Hate

I was just reading about the divorce of Jon and Kate, the parents of the "plus eight" children. As a body language expert I loved watching her interact with her children. She would get down and speak to them at their height and make true eye contact and smile at her children's' antics. However while her love her for children is obvious, I had to change the channel when she was seated next to her husband because her contempt for him was so obvious. She would roll her eyes, touch his arm to admonish him for saying anything she deemed wrong or foolish. It was painful to watch. I think we all love the children and admire Kate's strength, but we certainly don't want to watch Jon and Kate hate.

See USA Today article on the Gosselin's latest legal battles.

Series: Famous statements about lies #3

"There is one way to find out if a man is honest-- ask him. If he says yes, you know he is crooked."

- Groucho Marx
(http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1611/sins22lies0index.html)

For a speaker and coach on body language and deception detection go to www.PattiWood.net and book Patti or buy her book Success Signals.

How the internet changes the way we act in relationships

Last night my discussion group was talking again about relationships online and today I was reading a blog about how relationships have changed due to the Internet. The best quote from the blog: “Essentially, the Internet had flipped the world’s social dynamic on it’s head. It turned a world of Don’t Talk To Strangers into a world of Talk to Strangers. I proposed that more relationships were formed online in the digital space between total strangers than were being formed in the physical space. The days of going over to meet the neighbors with apple pie had been replaced with a few key strokes and a screen name. It’s the brave new world of extremely superficial, and often times dangerous relationships. These are the stories that you catch on the news. I also presented this concept to a group of leading physicians so that they would incorporate this idea into their presentations on risky behavior. You see, this is the first generation to be able to operate in this hyper-velocity, non-physical state reality of new relationships.” www.bigfatmartingblog.com Yep, it is risky.

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Phone- 404-315-7397
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
Blog- http://www.bodylanguagelady.blogspot.com

I was analyzing photos of celebrity sisters for First for Women magazine a few weeks ago and just heard it should be in next week's magazine.