Social Media Opens the Door to Real Life Socializing
I remember when Chris Brogan originally answered the question posed by Paddy Donnelly: “Are we losing our ‘real life’ social skills because of the increase in social media tools?” His response always intrigued me.
Recently Paddy asked the same question to several other people who use Twitter on a regular basis or as he calls them, the “Twitter Elite” and shared their thoughts in a post on John Haydon’s blog.
Chris Brogan “No, but what’s interesting is, as online social tools are encouraging less real-world-socially-equipped people to meet up in the real world, I find that we’re flooded with a whole new generation of not-exactly-social people who thrive with the tools, and now need to learn their offline analog. I think it’s an exciting opportunity.”
Guy Kawasaki “I could make the case either way. In one sense, if you’re glued to a monitor and never get out, then your real-life social skills will decline. However, email and social media tools enable me to connect with thousands of people. I could not do this with only face-to-face meetings. I can tweet that I am going to be in many cities in the world and organize a tweetup. I’ve done this in Istanbul, Moscow, Mumbai, and Honolulu so far. In this sense, social media is increas[ing] social skills-to the degree that a tweetup is social.”
Darren Rowse “I’m not so sure, in fact Twitter has opened up social opportunities for me and given me plenty of chances to have face to face and engaging interactions. I guess some people’s personalities might be the type that would use Twitter to hide away from real life social interaction but if it wasn’t Twitter they’d probably do it with something else. The majority of us are having our eyes opened up to all kinds of new and interesting social interactions as a result of the tool.”
Paul Boag “Not at all. In fact I think the opposite is true. Now when I meet people in the flesh I have something to talk to them about because I know more about their daily lives.”
David Lanham “I can definitely see that happening to an extent. But one of the things I love about twitter is that it introduces all those (mostly) pointless bits of information back into the conversation. And it’s always the little strange things and quirks that make people interesting”
I think social media platforms open a sea of communication exchange! Recently I hired a web architect to move my blog from Blogger to WordPress. I never met him in person. In fact, I never talked with him on the phone. I “met” him through a connection on Twitter. Because we’ve exchanged several emails – and I’ve found out he has quite a sense of humor – if I ever do meet him face-to-face, I know the conversation will flow smoothly.
For those who find face-to-face socializing a bit intimidating even after a few social media exchanges, here are a few tips.
- Be your genuine self. People want to know what you have to offer. In addition to your elevator speech, prepare a few fun tidbits about yourself to share at the event. People enjoy hearing about your activities outside the business environment.
- Smile. Look at others in the eye. Don’t glance off looking for the next person to start a conversation. Show an interest in the people in your group. Ask them questions. If the interest is not sincere, others will sense it.
- If your confidence is shaky, practice conversations with a friend or colleague to build your courage. You are there not only to meet others, but to share your talents too.
What next?
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