Twitter is new. Together we are all learning how to utilize Twitter as a tool to facilitate communication. Without any real plan or intention I have been moving towards turning Twitter “friendships” into face to face meetings.
Coffee Meetings:
This week’s Twitter Follow Friday (the blog edition) will highlight three tweeps I have planned real life coffee meetings with. My thought about these meetings is to go beyond 140 characters as I discussed in a post of the same name. Get to know the other person as a person.
Because there is already mutual respect and admiration, coffee meetings will work. Time is very valuable for all of us. You have gotten to know me well enough that you see value in meeting and so do I. We both see the potential to gain from the meeting and provide value to the other. It’s by definition a win-win relationship and since we already “know” each other from Twitter it has the potential to be a very effective 30-minute coffee break.
The Meet ’em for Coffee Trio
@Stacysnook – In just a few hours I am delivering coffee to Stacy. She’s a successful salon and spa owner from the Madison, WI area who has decided to expand to the Milwaukee area. We’ve known each other on Twitter for ages (you know like six months) and have had the opportunity to meet twice. Both meetings were very brief and at well attended tweetups. This time it’s going to be Stacy and I one on one for a few minutes. I’m bringing along my Zi8 video camera and am hopeful I can get some footage to share what inspires someone to expand their business during an economic downturn.
@jim_horrell – Jim reached out to me to suggest coffee after we recently met on Twitter. After checking out his profile and realizing how close he is geographically I couldn’t think of a good reason not to meet. It didn’t hurt that his profile let me know he’s a creative writer into social media and I.T. How can this conversation not go well right? There have to be areas we can help each other grow.
@deziner – Cynthia (Cindi? good question to ask when we meet) had me at deziner. What a cool twitter handle for, get this, a partner in a digital design firm. I have always viewed myself as a technician and a business person, so I love spending time with creative types. They totally inspire me to try new things and think outside the box. Also, it sure can’t hurt to let the design community know about ColorMetrix and what we do. We’ve only been in business 15 years it’s about time we let the Milwaukee design community know we are here as a resource when they need us.
What’s your plan for taking Twitter relationships to the next level? Have an idea different from meeting for coffee? Please share your ideas and thoughts in the comments.
I've had coffee with Stacy but I could never cram talking to her into 30 minutes. Good luck with that!
Anne wins (and Stacy and Jim) the conversation went on for an hour and could have continued but we both had places to go, people to see and things to do 😉