We just finished our last night of the #NYCHIRL and all I can say is…WOW! That was one of the most incredible experiences I have had in my life.
If you are new to G+ or trying to get people interested in joining, just tell them to search for hastag NYCHIRL and see the ridiculous amount of fun that a bunch of people that met over the Internet were able to have over one weekend in New York City.
We all come from different backgounds. We are from different parts of the world. From Austria to Canada and all across the USA, a bunch of people that wouldn’t have known each other without Google+, were able to validate their true friendships by meeting “IRL.”
People like +Tim Clary +Derek Ross +Renata Sherwin +Carter Gibson +Superdave Houdini Meralus and so many more all gathered together to do nothing more than have a good time.
Thanks to special users like +matthew rappaport and +Tiffany Henry we were all able to meet and do amazing things! From visiting the Google NY offices to photowalking through NYC and the WTC park to staying up all night enjoying each others’ company in a tiny midtown apartment, we were able to confirm that online relationships are the same IRL as they are online.
Don’t ever discount the importance of the relationships you have with people online. As we proved this weekend, your online friends are no different than your “IRL” friends. That could not have been proven any better than when I invited one of my real life friends from New York to join us tonight.
Of course, when I first asked her to join she was a bit perplexed by the idea of meeting people I only knew through the Internet. In retrospect, we probably had more fun together tonight than we have had in years. Trust me when I say this, your contacts, whether digital or personal, are connecting with you. They are interested in you and that interest is genuine. Never dimiss someone that shows interests in your content or work. Always embrace people willing to engage and always make it a point to follow through.
Engagement is the new way of business. It is no longer what you know, how many resources you have or what you spend on marketing. Business is evolving and relationships matter. Meet the people that matter. If you do, you will be amazed by what happens next….
Good to hear it Peter. I don’t know people freak out about meeting online people in person. Of course we must be careful as there might be bad people out there. But we can met these bad ones in real life too and not even know it. Back in 2006 I met a group of friends on internet, 52 people on the same group and from all around Brazil. Five years later we are still friends, I just met two of them in person, but we make many projects together and they are the ones I can count on difficult times.
Hope G+ will bring a lot more true online friends.
The last paragraph in this is soo true! Great article. Too bad we didn’t cross paths for a little bit. Soon…