Why Sharing is a Good Thing in Social Media

If you’re not a believer in the power of sharing & social media, I don’t know what to tell ya. If you’re looking to take things offline it’s easier, I think, to find folks in the city you live in.  In my case, I look to make connections with Austin area folks. Why?  Usually Austin people are connected to Austin people (you’re saying duh, I know). When you are following Austin people who follow Austin people on Twitter you’ll usually end up seeing their tweets between each other & can make some connections.  The same can be said about LinkedIn.

When all of this happens, it makes it easier to connect with others quickly. But, you need to be sharing you and what you do. I understand the arguments for and against sharing personal information on Twitter and other social media platforms, like Gowalla. I’m finding a good mix of personal sharing and “business” sharing makes a recipe ripe for connections. Here are a few examples just from today.

Started off the day with a meeting about the state of the legal industry with someone I meet through Twitter.  Today, was the first day we had meet in real life.  Just before the meeting I checked-in on Gowalla & pushed this update to Twitter.

Two things I shared in this tweet: where I was & what I was doing. Obvious, right? What I love about Twitter and social sharing is that I then received a tweet from @LizWinks.

 

Wow, pretty cool.  She gave me a drink recommendation. Ok, so I actually tried it. (Pretty good, too.)  All in real-time. Most of this is helped since I have the Boxcar app installed on my iPhone & notifications are pushed to me similar to a text message.

The sharing continues.  Liz commented on my location & now @EricStoller was commenting on the fact that I am taking social media from online to offline.  He sent this Tweet:

Since Eric retweeted that to his followers, @Thomasav chimed in with:

Just another way to build Twitter connections, folks replying.  So, with just one tweet that was about sharing what I was doing I had a drink recommendation and two comments on the content shared. Pretty cool, no?!

After that business meeting, I had lunch with a good friend at Maudie’s in north Austin.  And, what do I usually do? Check-in!  I checked-in on Foursquare and Gowalla.  I didn’t push either of these two updates to Twitter or Facebook but still made another connection. First, I got a teasing from @willsmom that I was at lunch without her.  Second, a few minutes later @joeymcgirr checked in on Foursquare at Maudie’s and sent this update to Twitter.  Well, Joey and I are friends on Foursquare but until today have only been Twitter friends. Since we are friends on Foursquare & he pushed this update to Twitter, here’s his update:

 

 

Yep, we were in the same place at the same time!  We would have only known this from the Foursquare check-in…otherwise just another missed connection. We both realized we were eating at the same place and Joey initiated the quick meeting in real life. Love this stuff.  And, I learned he was eating with @willstaney who had just left for another meeting.  There’s the power of check-ins.

Finally, I’ll wrap up with another sharing example from yesterday. @AustinFit asked who was going to @gypsypicnic & I replied I was. (The @AustinFit account is managed by my brother @WestonCarls so I was giving him a hard time.) When I replied, @scratchex saw my reply since he is following both me & @AustinFit & let us know he was going to be there. Then @lovingthebike saw us all tweeting & said he was going to be there. Cool! Up to four.  Then I saw @KarlMiller mention he was going as well today so I “tagged” all of us & my roommate @ericschoppe on the next tweet to continue connecting us all.  This can be especially powerful if not everyone knows or follows each other. And, right now, this continues.  I continue to see people mention @gypsypicnic. Looks like it will be a big tweet-up.

Don’t be afraid to share what you’re up to. You never know who else is interested or might be going to the same event you are.  It just adds up for a win-win.

Have a story about connecting by sharing?  Would love to hear it.