Blind dates. I have not ever gone on one. I honestly would be afraid to: what if I didn't like his taste in music? What if his laugh annoyed me? What if he tried to tell me that he knew more than I did about something that I knew I knew more about? 

I know that's all picky stuff, but I have children and a routine, and I honestly would not waste my time investing in a relationship that I knew would go nowhere, or backwards. And relationships, when you get down to it, are about chemistry. Sometimes you just can't explain why you are attracted to whom you are, although having an attraction plan as strong as a good business plan would probably be a smart idea.

So it was leaping without a net when I went down to Philadelphia to see Maya and Lesley. I had met Lesley in person twice- once on an extended trip to California; we had a lot in common. Maya- well, we had spoken online so much that we had felt like sisters, but what does that mean when meeting a person face to face?

I think part of having the chemical equation work is honesty- being genuine, whether in real life or online. Like one of Lesley's clients told her, "You had me at 'WTF,'" and that's Lesley to a T- sassy, smart, knowledgeable about her product, and genuine. If you don't like the way she presents herself online, you won't like her in person- but what a great pre-qualifier! 

Same thing with Maya- whom I had never met before, at least not face-to-face. Yet she felt comfortable enough with the two of us to invite us into her home. 

It was like a blind-date slumber party- and more, because we needed to affirm that we could work together. We had already planned an event for our Social Media Microculture- the TwitterQueens- and hoped to work out a plan for raising the funds to operate the first event somewhere out of the red. 

Anyone who was following #twitterqueens on twitter on Thursday 5/28 knows how well we ended up getting along. I could not have chosen better friends had I sent out job applications and prescreened. So this is what I will say about social media:

• Be yourself- be genuine. That way you will attract people whom you want to be around and whom you can wior with. This goes for the lighter stuff like friendship, and the heavier stuff like finding clients. In real estate, so much depends upon whether or not your personalities gel.
• Expect a lot. It is a big world- you don't have to work with everyone. Some matches will not be worth the time and effort you give to the equation.
• Believe in this kind of interaction enough to give it a chance. If you went to a cocktail party, said hello, then sat down in the corner doing some other kind of work- who would you meet? Who would you get to know?