With the rise of social networks online there appears to be a corresponding rise in social networking offline. Apart from the fascinating anthropological aspects, the impact on web and IT professionals shouldn’t be underestimated.

Last week I went to a Geek Girl Dinner (in fact it was the 2nd Anniversary of geek girl dinners). I have been to a few before, but this was by far the biggest I’ve attended. I said hello to some people I’d met previously, talked to some new people, put faces to a couple of email addresses and collected a few moo cards. Overall I enjoyed myself - but that’s not the point.

Prior to attending these type of events, I didn’t know many people who worked in the field of web, other than those I’d worked with before. When I needed advice I had a rather limited number of people I could talk to. Now have a much larger group of contacts to turn to and bat ideas around with – people from different industries, with different experiences and all passionate about working in their field.

Through the facilitation of online social networks, it is far easier to find likeminded people. It’s not surprising that those people want to start meeting face to face.

When likeminded people focussed around a profession meet, it becomes a fertile ground for networking, learning and expanding knowledge – which in my mind sounds awfully similar to what many professional development programs are trying to achieve…

Whilst I’d love to think that organisation would actively encourage their staff to attend social networking events for the educational value, I won’t be holding my breath. But if you’ve nto attended one of these sorts of event, I highly recommend them.

If you don’t know where to start, you might be interested in looking at:

Or just keep an eye on the upcoming web events listed on yahoo. There are loads of others, but these should get you started.

And if you’re a bit shy (like me), one of the best things to do is stand around looking lost. It won’t take long for someone to come up and start talking to you.

The thing I find most ironic about these events is that there is still a conception that they are nerdy or geeky and somehow that means a lack of social skills. The reality is a little different – caring articulate passionate people all interested in finding out more about what other are doing. remember most people are also there to meet new people and learn new things.

Monday, August 20th, 2007 at 2:22 pm | Categories: social networking, GGD, web teams

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