Last night, I attended a networking mixer for the Southern Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, of which I am a member. (I got my plaque last night, too, although I have no storefront in which to display it!) I brought a job-seeking friend with me for company and to hopefully help her get some leads for work. I am so glad that she came along, because it would have been completely insufferable otherwise.

I write because I’m not good talking to people, especially people I don’t know very well. And strangers? Forget it. I can’t walk up to someone I don’t know and strike up a conversation. I’ll talk to someone who approaches me, but I’m like a seventh grade girl at a middle school dance, standing at the punch bowl waiting for a boy to talk to me. I’m going to make a generalization and say that many of us who are writers – and many of us who are into social media – are much better off socializing through text than we are through speech. I know there are exceptions. I’ve met some of the exceptions. But going to the Type-A Mom Conference taught me that many bloggers are a lot like me… although a little bit of alcohol, an adult toy giveaway, and some Guitar Hero karaoke can loosen us up.

But at that Type-A Mom Conference, at Social Media Breakfast Tech Valley, and at the local mom networking nights I’ve been to (one of those is being held again tonight) – it’s been easier to talk to people because I have “met” at least a handful of the other attendees online. We’ve chatted. We’re not complete strangers. Saying, “Hi, I’m Christina Gayle on Twitter” or “I blog at Cutest Kid Ever” is quite the ice breaker. The usual response is, “Oh! I’m [insert Twitter or blog name here]! Nice to meet you in person!”

The Chamber of Commerce event last night had no such ice breaker. I didn’t know anyone other than my friend and one or two staff members from the Chamber. The event was held in a banquet room of a restaurant that was too small for the crowd. There weren’t enough chairs for everyone, so once people sat down, they didn’t move so as not to lose their seats. People conversed in packs, and it seemed as if they already knew each other anyways. There were so many people standing that you had to say “excuse me” at every step, even when up at the hors d’oeuvres tables. It was not conducive to meeting new people and, well, networking. At the networking mixer.

My friend and I ended up talking to the other people who had managed to grab seats at the same table as us, though none of us had skills that really benefited each other. I did talk to a guy near the bar who runs a local business journal and may suggest that people who send him press releases hire me to write them. There are a lot of bad press releases out there. (Don’t we all know it?) I talked with someone else who may want to send me some of his excess blogging  work. My friend didn’t find anyone there who was hiring, but the former Chamber president gave her a lead and told her to use his name, so that was pretty awesome for her.

But mostly? It was a very painful experience. Much like that middle school dance, I was hanging out with my best friend, waiting for someone to notice me. She’s far more outgoing  than me, so she did strike up a few conversations on her own, which was great. But me? It’s really not my thing. I wish they were all on Twitter so we’d know at least something about each other going in.

I’ve committed to doing the next Chamber mixer, though, since they forgot to call me up to give my “30 second pitch” when giving me my plaque. She found me at my table and gave me my plaque there. Everyone else had been called up to the podium. It’s probably just as well she didn’t, though, because it was  too loud in there, and the microphone did not amplify throughout the whole room. Next time, everyone should be able to hear me, since I’m hoping it will be a more suitable location.

Tonight, I’m going to an event where I get to bring my son along for a pizza party and play time at Tumbling Tykes while the moms chat in the other room. I’ve met a few of these ladies previously, and several of us are Twitter friends. This will be a fun mixer.

Networking Events with People who aren’t Online is a post from: Christina Gleason - Founder of Phenomenal Content LLC

Wow, that didn’t take long! In addition to hundreds of unique visitors to my brand new Web site yesterday – which is quite literally brand new because I set up my nameservers on Monday night and got my hosting settled on Tuesday – I’ve already been unmasked as a superhero!

Dude, I’m a superhero? Awesome!

But seriously, I appreciate the amount of publicity you guys have given me, and the free press!

Twitter’s gone a bit crazy, too, and my inner diva is loving it.

chiropractic: @ChristinaGayle Great to see your mood is upbeat. http://christinagleason.com/ looks great and I suspect many good things will come.

lorenbaker: @ChristinaGayle I’m really happy for you and hope that this unforeseen event will be one of the best things to ever happen to you!

professor: RT @streko just contracted @christinagayle for some blog postings – don’t sleep on this one people!

vinceblackham: I just scored me a slice of @ChristinaGayle…her writing services, that is! You should too!! http://www.christinagleason.com

pmctosh: RT @ChristinaGayle: It’s official! http://christinagleason.com/ ME: like the phoenix folks, she’s risen up from the ashes. Congrats.

godhammer: If you deal in online + content + marketing & don’t know, follow, and immediately try to hire @ChristinaGayle, you’re missing out huge.

EclecticBird: @ChristinaGayle I think I’m going to have to beg you to teach me how to freelance for myself Hire yourself out as a guru.

godhammer: @ChristinaGayle You rock. @pearsonified @copyblogger You guys paying attention? She rocks. Period.

SoCaliScribes: @ChristinaGayle GIRL you didn’t waste NO time!

TheKenJones: @ChristinaGayle It’s also nice to see pictures of you without the secret agent sunglasses

ReTweetTrends: http://is.gd/j74u (expand) formerly known as quality gal, @christinagayle is now open for writing and content creation business http://christinagleason.com

TheKenJones: The Artist Formerly Known As QualityGal @ChristinaGayle is now available for freelance work at http://christinagleason.com/ Pls RT

joehall: @ChristinaGayle where can i get a quote?

yummyman: @ChristinaGayle I love the site, nice job, great photos and nice layout. I am excited for you.

…And that’s just going back 8 pages in Twitter search, after I launched the site. This doesn’t include the hundreds of supportive tweets I got in the 24 hours before that. It does wonders for my self-esteem when people I look up to and respect in the industry not only acknowledge my existence (which was a surprise in many cases – yeah, I have self-esteem issues) but rally behind me!

Have you blogged about me lately? Let me know so I can keep track and share with the rest of the class. Google blog search isn’t being very forthcoming, as it didn’t even turn up the superhero piece for me. Link me, baby!

Christina Gleason – Superhero? is a post from: Christina Gleason - Founder of Phenomenal Content LLC

Over the last 24 hours, I have been slightly losing my mind. The economy sucks, as we all know, knowing you’re in “good company” doesn’t help when you’ve been laid off from your job. Especially when, just two months ago, you thought you’d never have to look for a job again. (Which was huge, since my husband and I have suffered at least one layoff per year for the last five years.)

Instead of completely freaking out, which was a real possibility, I threw all of my personal belongings in a box, stopped crying so I could drive home, and hopped on Twitter.

Within five minutes of my first tweet about being laid off, I had DMs from half a dozen people. Within a few more hours, dozens of people had contacted me to extend their sympathies and to offer any help they could.  I’ve had a few feeler emails asking for my rates and areas of expertise. I’ve cobbled together a quick listing of services and introductory rates in editing, article writing, and blogging.  For now, everything is negotiable.  I’m sure the rates for my services will sort themselves out once I see how busy I’m going to be!

I would like to thank everyone who offered their help in setting up this Web site, particularly the anonymous person who generously donated a copy of Thesis for me. (Once I’m back on my feet, I’m totally getting myself the developer version so I can use it on my other sites.)

Thank you all for your kind, supportive words.

Thank you to those who have told me to “keep in touch” so we can work together on a project. (My Gmail is overflowing, so I hope I don’t lose your messages! I’ve got a support ticket in with my hosting company to set up my new email here, so stay tuned.)

Thank you to everyone who has joined my network on LinkedIn.

Thank you to the folks at SMX who are doing some face-to-face networking for me. (Wish I was there!)

Out of the dozens of people who have reached out to me, I can count on one hand the number of people I’ve actually met in person. The rest of you are all people I’ve met in the Twittersphere or elsewhere online. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have gotten to know you, and to have earned enough of your respect that you were so responsive when I needed support.

Social media rocks.

Social Media Really Does Bring People Together is a post from: Christina Gleason - Founder of Phenomenal Content LLC