Tonight I went a meeting of the Social Media Club of Phoenix. We discussed the best and worst social media profiles of the valley. But the take away from the meeting wasn’t who is doing Twitter the right way, but an interaction that took place afterward. I was talking about Ignite Phoenix with organizer Jeff Morarity and was joined by @ninky. Ninky, a.k.a. Nina Miller, is an individual I began following on Twitter based on her connection to a few of my other Twitter acquaintances, @tdhurst and @jose602. The interaction was brief and humorous. “Oh you’re Ninky! I’ve been wanting to meet you! I follow you on Twitter.” The conversation was witness by several other social media junkies who commented that the conversation should have been video taped. And it’s quite true. The conversation was perfect evidence of how relationships are forming in new ways.
This past 6 months, I have met four friends or contacts through Twitter. We were “introduced” via mutual “real life” contacts and then met in person, to become real life acquaintances. This is the innate value of Twitter. It connects people that may have never met. Introductions used to be made in person, when common groups met in a common place. That rarely occurs anymore. As more and more people interact primarily over the Internet, the way relationships are formed is shifting to that medium as well. Getting to know someone over social media is much less threatening then having to strike up a conversation in person after just being introduced. Twitter gradually eases people into a relationship that then can be transferred into the real world.
I’m not saying I would want to to date this way…but for making friends it’s awesome =)
