Last week when I read Titus Ferguson’s post about the fact “’social’ is in ’social media’ for a reason,” I was reminded of Dan Brown’s column at LFPress.com about how his blog has led to offline friendships.
I can relate.
Since I started actively engaging people on Twitter a year ago my little bubble has exploded. I made a bunch of new friends (and to my astonishment, self-described fans) and I learn something from them every day — surprising things I couldn’t have ever thought to ask anyone about or look for.
Occasionally the connections have tangible benefits, but ultimately the experience needs no reward. It is its own reward.
If you’re in London but not quite up on this yet, come out to the monthly meetup – tonight at Chaucer’s.
It’s a diverse and dynamic crowd, and everyone there knows how humbling it feels to take the plunge and join a new conversation.
We’ve all been there.
That’s the thing about getting into best conversations.
Even the biggest brands have learned that they can’t expect people to go to them. We all have to go find people’s attention wherever that already is.
Join the community where it’s happening, show genuine interest and trust by listening, and you’ll earn even more interest and trust back in return.
I see it every day — online and every week at the kind of events I was too shy or arrogant to attend a year ago: people in London are connecting across all the old boundaries — geeks, artists, students, connectors — complementing each other in unexpectedly rich ways.
… and provisioning a very different type of city for the future.
