The other day, a friend turned me onto a cool networking site.  One of their recent posts mentioned the concept of "palm up networking" and went on to say, "When you network, are you giving or grasping? Palm up networking embodies the spirit of service, of giving and wanting nothing in return. When you network 'palm down,' you’re grasping for personal gain. Palm up = heart-oriented interaction. Palm down = greedy grasping. Give to others; it’ll all come back to you in time." - excerpted from www.rulesforrenegades.com

This is such an awesome concept and something I wholehartedly believe and always try to practice.  Here are some things I have done and had great success from:

• Always think of ways you can help people out.  Whether that be by putting someone in touch with a good contact, writing an unsolicited recommendation for someone on LinkedIn, or giving them a piece of advice.  For example, if someone gives me a business card, and it has a crappy email address, something like erika212907@cox.net, I turn them onto buying their name or their company's name as a domain.  It only costs about $9 a year, and something like erika@erikaflora.com sounds way more slick.  Plus, it allows you to begin to create a brand for yourself.
• Give people a small, cool gift.  Years ago, a friend told me about the idea of a "my favorites" birthday party.  When you send out invitations, you ask everyone to bring a gift of something that is their favorite - their favorite CD, book, toy, gadget...whatever.  That year, I collected some really cool stuff - I was turned onto a new CD, a book I had never read, etc.  Do that with the people you meet.  It doesn't have to be anything big, just something thoughtful.  In the past, I have given copies of some of my favorite books to business contacts, and it has gotten a really good response.

What are some ways you practice "palm up networking"?