Experience The Exeter Twitterati

Innovation. Pressureless. Accumulation. Restraint. These are the lessons I’ve learnt from the Exeter Twitterati.

There is a another lesson I want to add, which is illustrated by the list below. A list full of people who have connected with me, each one in a unique and memorable way. This is not a list of ‘social media power users’ or ‘geeks’. These people are mums and dads, musicians, students, housewives, small to medium business directors and bored professionals to name but a few. These are people from various walks of life who are using Twitter to connect with real, everyday people.

Hence, the new lesson is Accessibility. Being on Twitter isn’t really about what you had for breakfast, or having to retweet a hundred news articles a day so you can get tens of thousands of followers. Twitter is about being accessible, allowing others into a little of your world, and those same people allowing you access into theirs in return.

It is because of accessibility that I have the pleasure of unveiling this list below.

This is not a role call of Exeter and area Twitter users, it’s a list of memories from accessible people.

The List of Exeter Twitterati

@andjdavies  - Andrew Davies – It always astounds me what talent lies in Exeter that you never know about. Andrew is a smart and well connected guy in London with his work, but has plenty of time to sit and talk things through with anyone who asks. I’ve got all the time of the world  for this man who has given me sage, timeless advice.

@atlanta7  & @anotherplanet  - Julian & Suzie Hoad – My first real life meeting with someone I connected with on Twiter (aka ‘Tweeting’) was back in the spring with this husband and wife design team. A big step to new things for me. Weird thing was, their daughter went to school with my much younger brother! You don’t forget things like that.

@banksy6  - Alastair Banks – I have spent more physical time with Al than other people I’ve met through Twitter. As a successful company director, he extended the olive branch to me to see how we could collaborate on projects. You just don’t get that at networking events. The first time we met I was late, and now we always jokes about Starbucks being my real office. That’s memorable, albeit at my expense!

@Bluegrass_IT  - David Thomas – I knew David a little on Twitter, but on the eve of a presentation he was giving on social media, he asked to call me and we chatted on the phone for an hour. Trust. We met for the first time the following today, and have seen each other a few times since. What I can tell you is because of the lesson of innovation, I trust him.

@drewellis  - Drew Ellis – Another example of the unknown talent that lies in Exeter. Drew spends most of his time in London, so even though he was the first person I arranged a tweet up with, I only got to see him in June this year! A man of many accomplishments, I was humbled by the way he asked me what I thought about social media and valued my opinion.

@ExeterCCM  - John Harvey – A man who epitomizes innovation, he has incurred the support of the whole Exeter Twitterati. We’ve had coffee and met a few times – but what makes our interaction memorable for me are the kind words that he has spoken about me to others.

@jamesmb  - James Barisic – One of Exeter’s funniest tweople. Saying that I would “hunt him down” if he didn’t come to a tweetup was the crossing of the rubicon in our relationship. Again, it is accessibility, not only to speak to people, but also being able to say certain things to people.

@KristenSousa  - Kristen Sousa – A partner in crime (but not in love) with Alastair Banks, I’ve been really impressed by this smart cookie who I’ve met twice thus far. I wrote last week about those people who posses that certain something else, and she is a shinning example of someone who exhibits the quality of observation. Be careful what you say around her, she will remember it – I would know!

@nibby01  - Lesley-Ann Simpson – I’ve yet to meet Lesley but our interactions on Twitter had been such that she warrants a mention. As an agent of change, she has this great encouraging streak about her that has encouraged me no end. When I need a little pick me up, I drop a tweet to her. I can’t recall our first interactions, but this is the lesson of accumulation in action.

@rc55  - Ruairi Fullam – We go back 12 years, when Rauiri was an early innovator online, playing with HTML 2. The rekindling of our relationship was over coffee talking about GTD a few months ago. The humility among our Exeter Twitterati always astounds me – everyone has the attitude that they can learn from each other, and Ruairi’s inquisitive and humorous nature make learning from him extra fun.

@Rokkster  - Adam Stone – I would never have called his office and said “Can I speak to the managing director” – but with Twitter the protocols and loops to jump through are minimized, and connections can happen that traditionally wouldn’t. We had a coffee soon after and he taught me some valuable pointers for Twitter and follower growth. The joke was on me, of course, when my wife had taken my wallet and I couldn’t pay for the drinks – graciously Adam only brings it up every now and then

@SophyNorris  - Sophie Norris – I met Sophie for the first time at the trans-atlantic tweetup I hosted with @treypennington . We haven’t seen one another’s faces since but her humour, as well as her constant question “how does this apply to the average person” make me smile and think. She’s already sent a little business my way, and I’m always looking for ways to send it back.

@vmcconville  - Vince McConville – Vince and I met back in the spring and was amazed at this Gladwellian example of a social connector. He knows everyone. Literally, everyone. But as I was drinking coffee and he was drinking water, he made me feel like I was the one who knew every0one. Textbook connector! I left that coffee shop feeling far taller than I did walking in.

Why Only These People?

What each of these people have exchanged with me is an experience. Whether they thought through what that experience was going to be before hand or not, they marketed themselves to me in a memorable moment. I encourage you to start thinking more about what experience you are giving to those who are connecting with you. It should preferably be one that won’t be forgotten.

P.S. Thanks go to Beth for the photo.