The Power of Social Media

Last Thursday I attended a Tweetup at The Skellig in Waltham. Since there was no sign-up on Yahoo Upcoming or EventBrite I had no way of knowing who else was attending. My Twitter friend, Barbara, canceled last minute as it was a very warm day and she would rather drink tea in air conditioned comfort than hang out at an Irish bar with a bunch of sweaty geeks discussing technology and media. (Ah, Barbara… tea and air conditioning? Where is your mettle?)


The event was at 7PM and without Barbara, I arrived fashionably late at about 7:40. I figured the group would be assembled and it would be easier to recognize them. I scanned the pub and recognized no one. No matter. I knew the pub had wireless so I had brought my laptop. I checked in on Twitter and found out @geechee_girl was still working and would not make it. So much for recognizing anyone. I messaged @geechee_girl and asked her to tell the Tweetup organizer that I was at the bar with a laptop and someone should tell me where they were. “Done” she said but the place was hopping, so after a few minutes I knew the organizer would never hear the message notification.


I gathered my things and did one final scan. There was a table that looked like it may have social media people but I could not know for sure. This is the point where someone like me, who is friendly but not gregarious, understands that if you walk up to a group of people who are NOT involved in social media and ask if they “tweet,” you may be taken into protective custody. What should I do? I have a card with my SM information on it. It makes no sense to people outside SM. I dropped it into their booth and left. If I had the wrong group, they would easily disregard the card. If I had the right group, they would know I had been there.


This is where the fun begins. I stopped at a park outside to test the local Wi-Fi. Allegedly Waltham as made all of Moody Street wireless. If they have tried to do this, they have failed. I ran into a friend and we spoke briefly. Then my mobile phone started to beep. “Are you still there? It looks like everyone is looking for you,” Barbara, in air conditioned comfort, wrote. I started to respond and then, “JustTamar was looking for you nine minutes ago” and “Now lizwebpage is looking for you” came through. I texted back “How do you know?” I knew there was only one way Barbara could know so I didn’t wait for an answer. I went back into the Skellig, walked up to the table I had identified as possible social media people and asked if they knew why I was suddenly getting a bunch of text messages. They asked if I was eldevlin. I knew then I had found my group.


I may be simple. No, I am simple. But I am not so simple that I don’t realize this is what Social Media is all about. Through shared interests and technology I was able to connect with these strangers. I had a great time. I hope they did, too. I made a quick video of my new friends, downloaded it via Utterz and included Air Conditioned Barbara into the conversation. Now she is among their friends. And they have never met her.


Sometimes I get freaked at the walls technology has torn down. I dwell on these things since my day job is Loss Control and Recovery. Security. Insurance. Paying for other people’s lack of caution or proper judgment. For me to be involved in Social Media is out of the mold. All of that being said, I have found a wonderfully diverse group of individuals who I would have never met through conventional channels. Some of my friends are in Prague, Romania, and West Germany so it is obvious why I would have not met them but for Social Media. But some are neighbors. To those who pooh-pooh Social Media as the degradation of our culture, I beg to differ. It is the beginning of a conversation that would have otherwise never happened.