The term Social Media is really odd to me.  The notion of socializing (ie: Social Event, Ice Cream Social, Pot Luck Social, etc) has always carried to notion of face to face time.  So I find it funny that we’ve dubbed sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Linked In as “social networks”.  Personally I feel the need to connect with people face to face even less if I am online and up to date on who is sick, who has a new job or whose kid is potty training.  Social Media has taken something away from the actual socializing part of networking and friendship.  Where I’m thrilled to have to opportunity to connect with past classmates, past coworkers, like minded individuals and new customers (and find value in it), I do think it’s important to get out of the house and shake a hand in person once in a while too.

Last night I was able to marry my “Social Networking” with my “Socializing” efforts by attending a Webgrrls International networking event.  Webgrrls International is an organization that connects women who are focused on augmenting their career through the use of technology.  Remarkably, Webgrrls has made a name for itself by using both an online community and face time events to connect.  I was impressed with the variety of women in attendance as well as the opportunities that presented themselves.  Of course, an added benefit to attending an event focused mainly on career minded women, is that there was an overwhelming sense of gears grinding in effort  to help everyone find solutions to their unique problems.  In all honesty, this event was very different from other networking events I’ve attended and it really exceeded my expectations.  The Webgrrls team does a fabulous job of breaking down the barriers of shyness and virtually eliminates the awkward conversations that are an inevitable result of networking.  How, you ask?  Well, I guess you’ll just have to find a local chapter and find out for yourself: http://webgrrls.com/

Get yourselves out there!  Find the mix of social media and socializing that fits you, and make sure you leverage it to be the best you that you can be!