Giving Thanks

I started engaging on the social web exactly two years ago. Unlike most “veterans”, when I dipped my toes into the proverbial participatory pond, I started the other way around. Twitter first, then blog. Which might seem inconsequential but there’s an interesting dynamic there. I don’t want to get all Match.com on you but getting to know people based on conversations first is pretty awesome. You get to know people based on personality, bi-directional engagement and all on very open, public mediums where cosmetics can’t hide much.

What I cherish most has been the relationships I have built over the last two years. Last week at a conference, I mentioned to a few folks that Twitter is “friendship lead gen”. That sounds crass but its not.  Twitter for me is a giant pool of potential relationships but more importantly, a self selecting qualifier of where meaningful relationships can be formed.  Relationships that are characterized by not only friendships but professional respect, inspiration and constant learning.

And as I think of that, I do believe that we all make interesting decisions about who to engage with and how. We all have our ways of vetting out where meaningful relationships can be established. At the speed of a Tweet, a DM or a group IM, I know where the best answers are, those I can call at 3 am if I’m in a pinch in many parts of the world, and yes, those that will smack me on the head if I ever veer off the practical pragmatic path in my analysis.

And so I give thanks here to those I have gotten to know but more importantly :

  • Those who engage openly and who mercilessly qualify the data and thoughts they put into my social stream
  • Those that really help others by explaining not just the ‘what’  in their analysis but the ‘why’ and sometimes, the ‘how’
  • Those that don’t think they’re cats whiskers
  • Those that have integrity and don’t lose their souls as career paths and allegiances morph
  • Those that collectively and implicitly weed out the un-authentic drivel that is, thankfully, so easy to detect on the social web
  • Those that don’t join the ranks of parties who sell 2.0 but themselves employ the very 1.0 tactics that we tell our customers will not work anymore

I’d like to believe that I do all of the above myself but I’ll let you judge.

When I was considering joining my father in his business years ago, he made a comment that I remember clearly (not sure but this may not be his phrase):

“If both of us always agree, one of us is unnecessary”

That pretty much sums up my relationship with those I’ve become closest to on the social web and where I’ve taken these relationships offline and even to the dinner table in my home. The deepest relationships have been formed because we agree and then unabashedly share and celebrate the best thinking but also because we don’t, yet seek the best alternatives to what we think is the best solution.

And with this post, I’ve now added a new tag called  “soppy” to my blog sidebar. : –)

Happy thanksgiving to you and yours.

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