Today was a really nice June day - Too good to not sit outside and enjoy.  After a morning of meetings and home showings, I decided to reward myself with a trip to my local Starbucks.  While enjoying the breeze (and almost rain), I checked my email, logged into Twitter, etc. 

Then, it happened.  Someone came over and asked me if I was on Twitter.  Unable to deny it (because it's hard to miss on my cell screen), I confessed and then something profound happened.  He sat down and began to talk to me about social media.  A complete stranger!

While it normally would seem kind of strange, in this instance it wasn't.  It wasn't odd, because we already had a common ground on which to meet. It wasn't uncomfortable, because we spoke the same language. It was a comfortable conversation between two people that both acknowledge the benefits of using social media tools to boost their business.

For me, this is what the true benefit of social media is about.  It's about turning on-line connections into in real life relationships.  Whether friend or follower, I wonder how many of us miss out on opportunity, because our social media efforts are missing out the "social".

The ironic part of today's meeting?  I never did get his name.  Oh well, I'm sure we'll meet sometime in cyber space or again at Starbucks :)