…You had as meaningful a conversation offline as you do online?
Or spent the time networking your local community as well as just your online connections?
We’re fed so much information from so many sources.
We’re told that social media is the new connector, that we have opportunities like never before. And it’s true – to a degree.
We do have an immense amount of connections and information at our fingertips to make our lives easier, personally and from a business point of view too.
Yet the virtual shouldn’t be at the expense of the physical.
For every Twitter connection – actual, valued Twitter connection – you probably have a family member, friend, colleague, peer or business connection right in front of you.
For every Ning community, there are local Meet Up groups happening all the time in your city or town. For every Tweetchat event, there are also plenty of offline networking events as well.
We’re living in an increasingly virtual world yet we still have real life physical needs that can’t always be met online (and that’s a not a dating pitch!).
Let social media help you improve the way you work and look at things. Just don’t forget there’s an equally impressive network and community right on your front doorstep.
All you have to do is look.
photo credit: pit van meeffe
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I have a feeling that many of use connecting online are introverts who are not comfortable connecting in person. I know I am much more outgoing online that I am face to face.
Do you find that gaining more confidence online transfers itself to your offline settings, Kim?
That’s a good question … I’m not sure. I think it does. I’ve become much more confident since I started my site and in meeting different people online, which has made me more open offline. But their have been personal factors that have also contributed to this.
100% agreed. I think my personal face-to-face relationships have sometimes suffered from these readily available. For example, people may be my ‘friend’ on Facebook, but do we ever really talk? Probably not. I’d rather have a face-to-face and heart-to-heart anyday.
Twitter: timjahn
I think this is especially true with today’s kids. When I was a kid, I’d ride my bike around with the neighborhood kids at night. Today’s kids are getting digital from the get go (especially if the parents are setting up websites before the kid is born!).
Virtual is great but you can never beat the rush of energy you feel at your favorite band’s show, or the laughter of a good night of drunken karaoke with your three best buds, or a good game of Jenga and/or Scrabble.
Thanks for reminding us that no matter what happens tomorrow or the day after, we’re still living in the real world with other real people!
One of the bars I used to go to with my mates in the UK had super-sized Jenga board with pieces as big as people. It got the whole pub involved during games, great times.
Twitter: timjahn
Giant Jenga! There’s a bar in here in Chicago with giant Jenga. The pieces are as big as a small log…so much fun!
Twitter: drewmaniac
I think all of us here in the virtual world need this reminder from time to time. I know I do. While I have met some wonderful and interesting people, even got closer to friends because these series of tubes, we still must understand the importance of unplugging from time to time.
Thanks for the reminder, Danny.
Danny, great thoughts here. I think we lose sight of the fact the virtual/online communication is not the end all be all. There are interactions that we have face to face that could never be replaced in the online world, interactions I view as invaluable. Can we ever really get to know someone if we haven’t talked with them outside of Twitter? I would say no. However, I think, even as someone who grew up with technology at my fingertips we have become accustomed to communicating online because it seems that much easier. Not to say it doesn’t take as much effort, but in a sense, meeting someone in person can be a lot more difficult to coordinate. We can’t rely on convenience to maintain personal relationships – they take hard work and dedication – both online and off. Thanks for a great post!
It makes me wonder what connections and relationships will be like in 10-20 years, Nicole. Will we have transferred most of our time and effort to online connections, or will we still be splitting it with our offline friends. Be interesting to see the trends taking shape.
Great post!
I reckon there are two kind of users… those who actively want to network, meet people, learn from them. They’ll probably take whatever chance they get to meet them in real life.
Then you have people who are (for lack of a better word) just bored. They don’t care about meeting other people.
I find that the quality of a person’s online conversation reflects in a way his willingness to go ofline…
That’s a good point, Tom. I know that there are people that make it a “mission” to meet up with as many people as they can physically.
Of course, it’s not always possible – distance and money are two barriers – so it’s ideal time to make that connection with your offline community too.
I just love the creativity when it comes to meeting people and the relative ease compared to forced ‘networking’ events.
We’ve got twunches (lunch), twapero’s (aftr work drink), tweetups, #youngscum (geeks under 32 yrs, brussels girls geek dinner,…
And on all those events you only see the ‘quality’ people… the others give up when it’s obvious they’re not in the right place.
But maybe it’s still not enough and we can do more… without forcing it too much ofcoz
Face to face is still the best way to make a connection with someone. You can’t beat the tactile sensation of your handshake and presence. You just can’t. What makes social media so special is your willingness to go to various events to make these kind of face to face meetings a reality.
Couldn’t agree more. In fact, I am focusing on the folks these days that I can look in the eye and shake their hands. Through my social networking activities I have a handful of people I have to meet face to face someday with you heading up the list.
Hey, does a video Skype interaction count as “face to face”? Just trying to blur the lines a little more I suppose
Great job as always Danny. Keep pushing. We are all benefiting.
I think Skype falls within the “close, but no cigar” category – although it’s nearer to “close” than it is to “no cigar”
Twitter: timjahn
Skype is proof though of no matter how virtual we try to get, we still yearn for some trace of personal touch. Personal things like body language, facial expressions, hand gestures, vocal tone, etc. can never be duplicated via email or texting.
Twitter: GlobalPatriot
There is no substitution for human contact, and meeting face to face only serves to make the online connection stronger and more vibrant. Since reaching out to the local San Diego social media community I’ve developed a number of meaningful connections and friendships. I would encourage everyone to use the tools as a means to foster personal interactions.
That’s why I went to #SM4SC NYC tonight at the @rogersmithhotel. See what I did there? I used my online jargon and indicators to reference an offline event I took part of. Social media is inherently social. The next step to breaking it out of the rinse, wash, repeat online box is to take it offline.
There were COUNTLESS people there that were on Twitter at the event and exchanging Twitter handles to keep in touch further with offline physical relationships that were created there.
For me, the ultimate goal of social media is to be all encompassing and immersive in my environment. If social media is used to escape and not enhance encounters/situations then it is tantamount to a drug addiction. We have multiple senses for a reason. We should be using all of them concurrently to bring our encounters to new heights. Use technology and social media to positively alter your offline relationships, thus taking them online as well (and vice versa).
Social media has taught me a lot about how to do offline networking and vice versa. I learned a lot about how to network and build buzz from being a DJ and promoting underground electronic music parties – handing out flyers, branding, connecting with influencers, social proof, viral buzz, consistence, making promises and delivering on them, politics and more!
The line has blurred for me personally when it comes to in person connections vs. online ones. Perhaps it’s because I try at every opportunity to actually meet face to face with people I’ve met online. Perhaps it’s because, once I do meet them, I feel as if the connection has gotten deeper. You’re right..there’s nothing that compares to in-person human interaction. You can’t get that same connection through Skype, or Twitter, or even video chat.
I met my friend Jon Swanson face to face for the first time last week, after about a year of only knowing each other online. Until I spoke to him on the phone about 1/2 hour before our meeting, we’d only ever communicated in TEXT. That’s right – our ENTIRE friendship was based on text conversations. You and I were the same way, Danny, for about 6 months, remember? This small fact has not made us any less friends.
Jon summed it up brilliantly. He said that when you finally meet someone face to face, the conversation just continues in the physical world. Then once you move back to the online space, it just continues again. Same conversation. Different realms.
So I guess what I’ve learned is both types of relationships are equally meaningful and valuable. And I no longer categorize people into “online friends” and “in-person friends”. They’re all friends.