While nothing can replace face to face conversation, the same can also be said of online conversation; they complement each other. Accordingly, coffee shop conversations have been known to go online and online conversations to the coffee shop.
The first story in Twittertales, an eBook presented by Valeria Maltoni, describes how two tweeters found themselves meeting in a coffee shop after an online conversation.
Friday, the last day of the traditional work week, was a day that connected two unlikely dots along a plane of new friendship. With my Tweetdeck open to All Friends, Tallahassee, Facebook: Friends Status, and Replies, I sat enjoying my favorite frappuccino. Wrapping up a day of client visits and new business development planning, I was pleasantly interrupted by a complete stranger.
At 3:46 PM on Friday May 1st while sitting in Starbucks on North Monroe, I hear a friendly voice ask; Are you Michael Winn? I reply, yes. Reaching out to shake hands, I am handed a small package of fresh mint. Stunned, I have just experienced the incredible power of connection between Twitter and real world friendships. RickOpp, who I personally know now as Rick Oppenheim, [and I] have a Twitter story that will be told over and over.
A few months ago, I met Kevin Urie, Founder of the Social Media Club Seattle, in a similar way; our exchange of tweets led to a face to face conversation at Spotted Cow Cream & Bean. Soon after, I attended my first SMCSeattle meeting, and the conversation continued…
So, here’s my question.
Have any of your online conversations lead to a face to face exchange at a coffee shop, coffeehouse, cafe, or other third place?
Have any of your face to face conversations at coffee shops, coffeehouses, cafes, or other third places lead to an online conversation?
Did the conversation lead to a friendship, project, career opportunity, or meaningful and purposeful new something?
Please share!
2 Comments
Coffee, coffee inspired conversation & interactions with others via social media sites like facebook, baristaexchange.com and blogger have reshaped my life over the last six months.
I’ve been unemployed for the past year and and after giving it careful thought I realized that my favorite job, indeed my dream job, was that of barista. I wondered how I could break back into the world of specialty coffee, especially now as a 39 y/o, 6.3″, 275lb. male having been out of the barista game for several years competing for a position most often filled by thin, beautiful teen or twenty-somethings (often with more recent barista experience).
So I started a blog called “For Love of Coffee, Eugene’s online coffee journal” which you can check out @ 4loveofcoffee.com. The blog was a way to get my foot back in the door of the specialty coffee industry and a great way to check out local coffee shops, meet the proprietors & baristas and a fun way to champion great coffee and local coffee businesses.
Four months after the launch of my local blog style coffee site, I’m once again employed as a professional barista here in my hometown of Eugene, I’m the marketing person for a startup family business called BrewDynamics, designing and producing our bruBar brand line of commercial manual coffee brew stations and I’ve met so many wonderful and interesting people in the world of coffee!
Following conversations on the social site baristaexchange.com inspired the research and eventual undertaking of our small family business, BrewDynamics.
Through my coffee blog and facebook I connected with a local coffee shop owner that helped me with my barista resume. Now I’m a working barista again.
I get to visit and talk with coffee roasters, shop owners, baristas and fellow coffee lovers in person at their businesses and online where we continue the coffee inspired conversations that, for me, started five months ago on barista exchange, facebook and 4loveofcoffee.com. And here I am again…. carrying on the caffeinated conversation. Thanks Jason! c[_] (_)o
@Cash Wow. It sounds like coffee, conversation, and social media have definitely made your last six months interesting and productive. I haven’t been to Eugene in a few years, but we should definitely meet sometime… for coffee of course. I have been affected by coffee, conversation, and social media in a similar way, as I’m sure you can already tell. I’m now subscribing to your blog. Are you going to the SCAA Exposition this year?