#MegaTweetUp

19

Dec

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Boston #MegaTweetUp with two good friends, @BenGrossman and @CharlieChapin. For someone who had never before attended a TweetUp, this was a #MegaIntroduction to this style of event. I wasn’t sure how this was going to go down– was everyone just going to sit there typing away at their own phones? Would I introduce myself with my Twitter handle? Was this strictly professional or can it be fun?

With Ben and Charlie at my side, I was soon thrown into the world of social media networking events. Here is what I learned:

1. Not having an iPhone is a little embarrassing. I have yet to think of an appropriate answer this question: “Wanna Bump it?”, so I just meekly present my sad little slider phone and bump it against my new acquaintance’s iPhone to see what happens. Nothing. Shame and embarrassment. Santa, I hope you are listening.

2. People that attend tweet ups are from every industry, but the thing that unites them is their openness to meeting and working with others. Those that I talked to were friendly and knowledgeable. (Especially @BostonTweet and @BrettPohlman and the rest of the @SchneiderPR team we spoke to.)

3. TweetUps are big business. But it isn’t hard to tell who is there for business networking purposes and who is there because of genuine interest. The networking people are mostly laid off, and have that look of desperation on their faces as they circulate around the room, canvassing for job opportunities without actually talking to anyone. To me, they are the equivalent to traditional advertising, hoping that the more people they get their message to, the higher chances for employment are. I prefer the people who were there because they truly love meeting people, online and off, and wanted to talk about their passions and interests, not just their careers.

A personal resolution for 2010: Never become that crazy business networker. Have genuine conversations, online and off.

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