Great guest post by Leo Wurschmidt over at Church Crunch today, Meatspace Monday 4–CLT WordCamp–Taking the Online Community Offline.
I love the phrase, “taking the online community offline.”
For as big a fan as I am of social media, online community, online communication, etc…..
Here is what I think is social media/new media/technology (whatever you call it) greatest asset:
IT’S ABILITY TO FACILITATE THE MEETING OF PEOPLE IN PERSON.
In my tendency to ramble I could say tons more, but won’t for now. That being said, because it is it’s greatest asset, I have made a goal for 2009.
2009 Goal (as stated on Twitter this last Friday): meet & have coffee with every person in the DFW metroplex that I’m connected to on Twitter, Facebook or my blog. Cool?
I don’t know how I will exactly achieve this goal, but I have some ideas that I’m working on from larger group meet-ups to one on one, small group times. So stay tuned as I talk more about this in the coming month and a half.
Oh, and I’ve already been getting requests for coffee since I sent out that Tweet. If I can just say upfront…I can’t afford to pay for coffee for all of you. So how about we just agree that we all pay for ourselves. Haaa
can i gank your goal? kthxbai.
you can gank it…do you want to do the DFW metroplex also? haaa. or Atlanta
Awesome goal! I would love to hear how it goes for you over the course of the ’09.
If you can even meet with over half of those connections, talk about the community you are building! Incredible.
BTW, I do not think I would gank your goal. I would just gently borrow it and return it in 2010.
That’s an awesome goal. However, I realize now that I don’t really know 1/2 the friends I have. Now I have a chance to get to know them.
So, I have to move to the DFW are to meet you? Just kidding. I think it is a very good goal. When I was in the Colo Springs I was able to meet several tweets, many for the first time. I hope to meet you soon.
I think I am going to try to meet everyone in the immediate area of living room who I am connected with on twitter. Dang it, cats don’t have opposable thumbs. Maybe I can get them to use Jott.
Cool goal, but I think I am content belonging to people as our context makes it a natural fit (physical proximity, virtual proximity, or gathering around affinity).
Tony,
I hear what you are saying. But I’m so new to Dallas, that I’m trying really hard to locate various areas of interest, or affinity.
I hope that after meeting with people it will do a couple of things: 1) humanize our online encounters…get a better sense of who someone is and what they are about after hanging in person…2) be a catalyst for change, based around shared passion/interest.
Plus…my Twitter/FB/Blog connections are smaller than yours…I can probably actually get close to pulling it off. Haaa.
rhett
Hey Rhett, taking the online community offline appeals to an old babyboomer like me! Thanks
Hey Rhett, taking the online community offline appeals to an old babyboomer like me! Thanks
Good idea Rhett – but I think if you really want a challenge you should try to connect in physical space with everyone you’re friends with on twitter/FB/blog, etc no matter where they live so looks like you’re going to have to visit pasadena soon.
Also, probably get a couple cool vacations to other parts of the world?
Good idea Rhett – but I think if you really want a challenge you should try to connect in physical space with everyone you’re friends with on twitter/FB/blog, etc no matter where they live so looks like you’re going to have to visit pasadena soon.
Also, probably get a couple cool vacations to other parts of the world?
Dude. December 17-19th. I’ll be in the big D. Well, technically I’ll be in the medium F. above the fairly large P. above the big D. But close enough we can meet for coffee.
me likey,good idea,me ganked.
what a real story..
I think that’s a reasonable goal! I planned a tweetup for my city in November ’08 and since then there have been other causal meetings between myself and other Twitter users. We’ve met for coffee, gone out for drinks, been over to someone’s house for dinner, rockband, and even went to a wine tasting together.
And it’s these real life meetings that make social media… well, social!
Thanks for all the comments on this post everyone….
I’m hoping that by the end of 2009 I will have some “fruit” for my endeavor.
rhett