Not long ago, I read a post on Tom Peter’s blog that I enjoyed, where one of his points was the futility of planning ahead.  I tweeted about it, referencing the blog post:

@tom_peters advice for Living Life to the Hilt http://ow.ly/8FTzj <–wisdom that only comes w/experience 

 

 

One of my Twitter followers responded to my tweet with this:

RT @carolross: "Re: @tom_peters advice for Living Life to the Hilt" Obviously, Tom is not a cave diver! For us, it's all about planning! 🙂

 To which I replied:

 re: planning and @tom_peters. He's known for being provocative and pushing the  envelope. Your mileage may vary.

 

And then this came through my Twitter feed from…Tom Peters. (Yes, I verified that the account was his, and not an imposter’s.)  I’ve deleted my cave diving friend’s Twitter handle to protect his privacy but he was also addressed in the tweet below.

@carolross "No one rises so high as he who knows not where he is going."–Oliver Cromwell.

 

I soon found myself in a three-way conversation with Tom Peters and my friend.  Peters tweeted at least three more times in response to my responses. He finally wore me out and I stopped tweeting. I’m sure he could have gone a few more rounds.

Why did he even bother to respond?  Because he was engaged in something he felt passionate about. And on social media, quality content (on both sides) engages.  Tom Peters also has a personality that enjoys intellectual bantering . (In a live seminar years ago, I was part of a small group that had lunch with him and got to see him up close.) So he’s not likely to let go until he’s had the last word. Which makes Twitter an ideal medium for him.

 

Why Social Media Matters

The point of this story is that while social media can be “noisy”, it’s also a way of connecting with people you normally wouldn’t come across in your daily life.   You don’t have to be a social media expert to make these connections.  The friend I mentioned in the story above has been on Twitter for less than a year.

Some of those people might end up being colleagues, friends, or clients.  I have a coaching client who recently was at a professional conference where a man came up to him that he didn’t recognize.  He asked him, “Have we met?” To which the person replied, “No, but I read your blog! “ My client has been blogging consistently for only a few months.  But it kickstarted a conversation with a stranger and made him more of a colleague, instantly. Photo by Victor1558

And in the context of building something big like a movement, social media becomes even more important. It's a way to connect to your tribe easily, online, and authentically.

Not long ago, I RSVP'd to an invite for a dear friend's 70 birthday party. The RSVP went to my friend's daughter, who I had not met.  She wrote back that she had been following my blog for many years and was really looking forward to meeting me in person.  I was flattered. Unfortunately, due to illness, I missed the party. 

The story doesn't end there. My friend's daughter signed up for my Break Out of Your Bubble program and based on her workplace domain, I could see that two of her colleagues had also signed up.  Afterward, I wrote to thank her for referring others to the program.  Her reply was this:

"I am keenly aware of your stellar reputation and have loved the authenticity of your writing, so it was easy for me to speak highly of you."

This is the power of social media.  Someone who I've never met in person, who I had one email exchange with regarding an RSVP for a birthday party, knows and trusts me enough to recommend me to her colleagues. Photo by return the sun

If you've been wondering how to create that same trust with your tribe, join me on May 1 for a live Q+A session with myself and Walter Akana. Walter is a social media insider, who at sixty-something, continues to be my mentor for what’s new on social media. (Don’t even get him going on Pinterest and Instagram.) Walter and I met several years ago on Twitter and since then, we have co-developed information products and co-led webinars and in-person workshops.

Our live Q+A session on networking and social media is part of the Break Out of Your Bubble (BOB) program.  When you sign up for the BOB program, you’ll not only get access to the live Q+A session on May 1, you’ll also get THREE recorded webinars, including:

• How to Make Social Media Work for You (aka Create Your Social Media Strategy)
• Networking Naturally for the Busy Professional
• I'm Burning Out. Now, What?

Use discount code, SOCIAL, to get $50 off the late registration price of $147.  This code expires on April 30 at midnight ET.

Click  here to register.