San Diego,Ca- Stephanie Herrmann and the team at Rescue put together the "Tweetup" at the National Hardware Show. Essentially it was a networking session for the people that got to know each other online using Twitter at the National Hardware Show tagged as "#NHS09" on Twitter. While attendance was small real relationships were created.
It was a unique experience to get to know people virtually from twitter messages and blogs. Rapport seemed to happen quickly and there was a genuine desire to see if we could support each other.
"It's like online dating for entrepreneurs."
One of the more confusing things about social networking is the ability to understand how it converts to a more traditional relationship. We see a lot of people treating Twitter like a FREE ADVERTISING space which while valid needs to me tempered with personal updates, tips, insights otherwise you will be treated like SPAM.
Getting your twitter connected to a blog or at least a landing page or contact page with an email is one of the best ways to help convert to a traditional relationship. In addition if you don't want your larger conversations searched by Google, it's best to do this.
At the point that it seems like an actual conversation further than 140 characters is needed. Request and send contact informtion or a landing page with that contact information listed. Remember to create your email address as a link not as searchable text on a page. That's the quickest way to be spammed.
Tip 1: Balance your messages from pitches,tips and personal updates.
Tip 2: Use Tweetdeck to turn Twitter into a more useable application.
Tip 3: Use a landing page or an about page with contact information to exchange contact info.
