So I went to my first social media-related event last night, the Boston Communications Happy Hour.
I didn’t quite know what to expect going in. Will these people be cool? Will they be, you know, normal?
Of course the answer to all of those questions was yes, and what’s more—I actually had a great time.
My friend (and soon-to-be a cappella group co-founder) Rebecca Corliss (@repcor) and I met up beforehand and grabbed drinks at OM before heading over to the Legal Seafoods outdoor bar.
When we got there, we weren’t quite sure who was there for our social media event and who was just having a drink after work, since this was more of an impromptu gathering.
The waiter who was trying to help us find our party was funny, he said, “Can you call them?”
Finally we found the group, made some new friends, and put some faces (or bodies, as it were) with avatars. The whole evening really reinforced for me the fact that talking and connecting with real people is the true bread and butter of social media. That’s when it all clicks for me and becomes useful and exciting and really, just fun.
Nice to meet and/or catch up with: @pamelump, @emilynichols, @dmitrigunn, @robertcollins, @znh, @mscharlotte, @meredithk1981, @lauranelson, @amandamooney, @lizzer, and @jennykrentzman.
It was good to finally met you too! You’re right, Twitter, Facebook, etc. are not so revolutionary as they’re just another method to meet people. When it comes down to it, you still need the face time. And I can’t wait for the first a cappella show!
The fun part about social media in Boston is that it’s a relatively small, but fully vibrant community. This makes it easily possible to bring digital conversations into actual space, which is initially strange but ultimately quite fun.
I (@znh) am now following a good amount of the Boston based social media crew, which makes these events really fun. You never know who you’re going to meet at these things- but like you said – they often end up being even cooler in reality than they are digitally.
oh please please please let me know when the next Boston social event is, I would love to meet up with you guys