Last night, I had the opportunity to attend Twestival Seattle at Ray's Boathouse, an event organized by SMC Seattle to raise money for FareStart.  It was a wonderful gathering, I met lots of interesting people, and connected some Twitter handles with human faces!  Oh, and they raised about $7,000 for FareStart.  Twestival is not unique to Seattle...there were events last night in cities around the world.

Being around living beings reminded me how much stronger bonds can be when they are formed (or reinforced) face-to-face.  It's so easy to be "heads-down" working on software features, blogging, virtual customer support, etc., that you forget to poke your head out once in a while!  I have resolved this year to spend more time out in the real world, so look out people...

How many of your own online community members have you met in person?  What would happen if you made an effort to get out there and strengthen your ties in the real world? 

If you're running an online community and would like to "get out there," one easy thing to do is look for a Social Media Club in your city.  You might just find some humans. In person.