Are You The Answer to My Mid-Life Crisis?

My LRTweetup Story

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”  ~John Donne

It wasn’t too long ago, that a friend and I agreed that at our age (45 then) we didn’t  need, nor have room for more friends in our lives.  We were busy with our families, our careers, our church and school, and we just didn’t have the time for the effort that would be involved.

That was before Twitter. Now I’m 47, and older, and wiser.  (Ok, so I’m older.)

I admit, when I first heard about Twitter in March 2009, my reaction as an entreprenuer was to think of a way to profit from it.  Networking? Yes. New buisiness contacts? Yes. This was the latest in business development tools. Trade publications and industry conferences were all abuzz about social media. They encouraged us to leap now or be left behind.  So I did. I began following industry experts and began absorbing all I could about funny bar codes called QR codes. I even composed a list of prepared business tweets.  I gave little, but received much.

My initial self-serving twitter goal was to establish my company brand as a regional presence. A thought leader. High hopes. I had not even considered that there was this community of leaders of a different sort right in my own backyard. But then it happened.  I stumbled upon a few locals: Natalie Ghidotti @ghidotti,  Doug Krile @dougkrile, and Brant Collins @brantc. They tweeted.  I listened. And I learned.

By following these three, I was introduced to what is now called LRTweetup.  Initially, and honestly, as I followed this group, I believed I had hit the motherlode of business opportunity.  This group included PR types, agency types, communication and marketing directors, with a smattering of IT types. Whoa!  They tweeted.  I listened. And I learned.

I committed to going to the July Tweetup at the Capital Bar & Grill.  Going to a bar alone, after work, to meet strangers is not something I do on a regular basis.  My wife tends to frown on that. I explained that this is the new networking.  It’s business, not personal. This tweetup was everything I imagined…and feared. As I walked into the bar, I saw people with their heads down, typing on their smart phones.  I even saw a few laptops in use.  To top it off, there were people taking pictures of the “official Tweetup drink”.  This was not normal, or comfortable. I am too old for this.

Shortly thereafter, I became known, for better or worse, as the “printer guy”.  I was asked to provide name badges. (Who would have thought that geeks would go nuts over plastic namebadges?  Must be the avatars.) I even created my first hashtag – #oldguywithnamebadges.  So, my professional reasons for tweeting were paying off. But I don’t think the “community” part had settled in.  I continued to take more than I gave.

It was during September’s Integrating Media Conference (brought about by the three tweeps I mentioned earlier), that I began to realize how engaging, how intelligent, and how entertaining this group could be.  Members of our staff kept reminding me how young this group was. Internally, Twitter became known as “Paul’s response to his mid-life crisis”.

If that is the case, this response has led me to discover a community of which I am honored and proud to be part.  A community so giving, so engaged, and so entertaining, that yes, it has affected my business. But even more importantly, it has affected me.

I guess the turning point as to when I realized the power of this community occurred earlier this year. Two tweeps – one who has become a close friend and confidant, and one whom I’ve yet to meet – suffered personal losses.  I was devastated by both. And that surprised me…if only for a moment.  Others shared their pain, their comfort and their prayers, and I began to realize that yes, this was truly a community in action.  As the poet John Donne writes, “No man is an island”.  I then realized that I am part of this wonderful, irreverant community called LRTWeetup. 

This is a community that has encouraged me to Take Time To Give. A community that has taught me that you won’t find a Gowalla at the Zoo, but you might find Monkey Boy there. A community that has shown me the power of 140 characters. A community that may despise presentations, but loves the Prezi. A community that has convinced me that Print Lives. A community that stays up all night, and is still able to  contribute incredibly during the day.  A community that not-so-gracefully informed us all that ice cream isn’t just a treat for kids!

I find it odd that while two years ago I thought I didn’t have time for more friends; I have made time for the relationships in this community. Relationships that go beyond friendship.

So if LRTweetup is my reaction to a mid-life crisis, I certainly appreciate and look forward to the continued intervention.  A sports car would have been nice, but I would have probably been over that by now.

To quote another poet, I am reminded of Bryan Jones’ rules of Twitter engagement:  Play Along.  Play Nice.

I am thankful you let me play.

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Tags: LRTweetup, mid-life crisis

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