Finding People We didn't Know We Were Seeking

Social networking websites are all the rage these days. Marketers love them for the rich user data they can use to target not only close demographics, but also individual users. Deverlopers love them because they present a logical extension to the internet, the extension of the network of machines to the network of human beings.

Altruistically speaking, the human network is the purpose of social websites. Among many features, one of the most powerful these sites provide is the findability of people. If you want to locate an old college buddy, chances are you'll find them on one of the big social networking platforms. You might even find old friends you weren't looking for. There is indeed a berrypicking method to well designed community websites, that allow us to navigate to parts of our social network we possibly weren't even seeking.

Case In Point

A few months ago I joined the Information Architecture Institute as a means of continued education in my career. I wound up joining their mentorship program. Unsure of how I should go about corresponding with these possible teachers, I emailed a few asking for guidance in my career path as an IA. After a few positive, and not-so-positive, responses I met up with a tenured IA by the name of Anders Ramsay. He was blunt and kind, offering some terrifically useful advice, including the suggestion of developing a blog. Thanks Anders! (BTW, he's speaking at this year's iA Summit in Miami).

A few weeks later, I joined the IA Meetup group, also organized by Anders. Tonight I went.

Wrap Up 

Though I wasn't using a major social networking platform, berrypicking the industry-leading IA websites on the internet provided me with some valuable resources. This scenario is a pretty stron testament to the power of this networking tool called 'the internet'. A group of total strangers met and networked in the real world as a result of their activity on a machine. The networked machine led quite naturally to its operator, the human being. Purpose served. Go technology!