| I've personally found most networking events to be terrible when it comes to making meaningful connections. I've found it's much more effective to just email someone you're interested in connecting with, introduce yourself, and invite them meet up sometime for a coffee (or beer, depending on the time of day). If they say yes, it's because they are also interested in what you're doing, and this acts as a quality filter to ensure you're both moderately aligned in your interests and not wasting each other's time. Plus, the one-on-one setting lends itself to more interesting and personal conversations, which tends to have the friend-building effect the original author appeals to. Networking doesn't come naturally to most people, but being friendly and personable usually does. I find that combining the two removes some of the awkwardness, and makes your efforts that much more effective. |
Treatings: www.treatin.gs
We think there's something special about dating sites as compared to, say, Facebook or LinkedIn: everyone who has signed up has implicitly opted in to the possibility of being contacted by strangers to possibly meet up offline (though they aren't guaranteeing anything). Knowing that people have opted in like this makes most people more comfortable reaching out to strangers.