Category Archive

8 The engaging Maz Hardey, upcoming maven of 2.0

At least a month ago, I realised that my “real life” was getting so busy that I had stopped engaging with new people through 2.0. So I got back on the trail, dipped into Yahoo’s Upcoming Events and was reminded of the Girl Geek Dinner’s in London, made some arrangements and was off to a Xmas party at Volante in Fenchurch Place - Girl Geeks & Women in Technology.

Blokes do you feel left out? You needn’t be. There were blokes there. Diversity was the most noticeable feature of the event. Young and old. Technical and social. Commercial and educational. And every other continuum you can think of.

I walked away with the contacts to excellent editors, project managers, career coaches, PhD students, undergraduates, systems managers, venture capitalists and I met the organizer, Maggie Berry.

Maz Hardey is researching the role Web2.0 places with the iGeneration and when I read her article I felt chastened. How could I say real life had pushed aside Web2.0. I am showing my age. 2.0 provides the fabric of iGen’s life.

Grandparent : parent : child

Telegram : telephone : mobile phone

Letter : email : social network

2. This story is not so long. Maybe it was riskier, but it has been delightful. Read on . . .

The back story. I discovered web 2.0 while I was living in a city with about 300 000 other souls in one of the far flung corners of the globe. I found LinkedIn, registered, and did what LinkedIn does best - checked out former friends and colleagues.

Somehow, I also found Xing, LinkedIn’s livelier and younger German equivalent and registered there too. And so the story begins.

How Web 2.0 helped me.

What happened.

Within 24 hours, yes that quickly, I received an in mail from someone visiting our city asking whether we could meet up. I was happy to do that and she invited me to have coffee with her at the house she had rented on the beach for her long holiday. We clicked straight away and not only did we get together often during her holiday, she took up the challenge of coaching me in my (successful) search for a job here in the UK. How is that for a fabulous story?

If you need an outgoing, energetic, charming, organised, very competent organizational coach who speaks 6 languages (German, English, French, Dutch, Spanish & Portuguese), let me know!

How would have things worked without Xing?

I had a high profile public position and given our common interests, my new friend could have found me easily on the internet and sent her CV to my work address. Being me, I would have cheerfully invited her for a coffee in the cafe at work, and we would exchanged business cards and had a productive, quasi-professional, formal acquaintance.

How did things work?

1. With web 2.0, my new friend didn’t have to search for me. Xing told her when I registered.

2. We were able to check out each other’s CV’s and pictures on an even footing before engaging.

3. We had use of Xing email addresses early on which would have allowed us to disengage more easily if our initial judgment had been wrong.

4. By signalling my interest in meeting people on Xing, I was more open and welcoming. Don’t you like visiting places where the locals are warm and friendly?

5. My new friend was able to extend the first invitation taking our relationship clearly away from my official position to a more even handed networking event.

How much value did Xing bring into my life?

Enormous.

• An entertaining companion in my far off city and a good friend here in Europe.
  
• And a successful job search across continents.
• A valued professional colleague.

Thank you Xing, and more so to my new friend.