On Saturday I met up with a bunch of bloggers and tweeters – our #blogjune meetup. We got together at a place called The Old Crow. (Nice food and drink, might have to go back for a meal sometime.)
It was great to chat face-to-face. As Peter said, “meeting people adds a layer of meaning to the twitterverse and is a GOOD THING”.
I remember the first face-to-face meetings I had with people I’d met and interacted with online. Back then we chatted over IRC – Internet Relay Chat and then organised to meet at local cafes. If I remember correctly the IRC channels I frequented back then were local, or Perth channels. I also remember the heady days of blogger meetups here in Perth. (I’m sure bloggers still meetup these days…)
Although there was (and still is) something truly amazing about being able to connect with people from all over the world, I’ve always relished being able to get to know like-minded locals using technology, and then being able to actually meet up and continue our conversations face-to-face. Sometimes this city I live in can be awfully parochial and small-town-minded, and it’s nice to know that not everyone thinks the same way, and to actually get to know them. Don’t get me wrong, I also love getting to know people in other cities or countries. There’s nothing quite like the joy of finally meeting them face-to-face when I do eventually (if I’m lucky) go to their city or country.
For us shy introverted librarians I think social media (and I think the Web, generally) has really been a boon. For me professionally the range of tools I’ve used over the years have helped me immensely. Somehow I don’t think I’d be a particularly successful networker if I didn’t have access to all these tools to help me connect with and get to know others. I like the fact that it’s easy to get to know people over the networks, so that they’re not quite a stranger when you meet them in person for the first time. The ice has already been broken, so to speak. Or, you meet someone at some event, and then you continue to build on your relationship with them using the networks.
Read an article the other day: Building Your Professional Network Is Like Building A Friendship. The author suggests that “One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to build a professional network is they ask for something right after they meet someone.” He argues that when you’re making a new friendship you build on it by “hanging out” or sharing mutually interesting topics, and that professional networking is the same. For me my network is definitely strengthened by being able to stay in touch with, and learn from, library professionals all over the country and internationally.