One of the beauties of social media is that it has no boundaries. You can literally connect with people across the world without having to leave your living room. Or basement. Or parent’s house. As great as this is, I wonder if we’re forgetting one important area – our local community?
Lately, I’ve been observing people focusing on building their networks with people in different cities. While I think this is great and I’m grateful for those I’ve meet across the United States and Canada, I tend to put a little more focus on building relationships with people around the Twin Cities. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve met some incredibly intelligent folks from different cities and I value the fact that if I were traveling in Texas, New York or Florida, that I have people who would grab a drink or dinner with me. No? What if I were paying?
The online space has made it incredibly easy to form relationships and collaborate with people outside your immediate community. By no means am I saying that you shouldn’t expand your network, but are we putting too much emphasis on this expansion? Are we forgetting what’s in our backyard?
This past week I had the great fortune to start collaborating on a kick-ass project with Dave Folkens, Lisa Grimm and Arik Hanson. Now maybe I’m biased because the Twin Cities has a vibrant community and is filled with smart folks, but I think it’s just as important to build that strong bond around those that are local. Here in Twin Cities, we have this giant pool of knowledge and experience, that despite working at competing firms, we’re able to come together and learn from one another. We’re able to challenge and inspire each other to improve and innovate. Not only is this good for us as individual practitioners, but it’s better for our profession as a whole.
I tend to look at networking and relationships the same way I approach social media – with a complimentary approach. Don’t focus solely on building locally, but don’t neglect those who are in your own backyard.
Are you neglecting your local community?
