Are missing what’s right in your backyard?  Many “social media” types (explorers I like to call them) are connected with peers across the country and around the world.  That’s great!  Connecting with people from different places, with different views is great way to learn new things and discover new possibilities.

What about the people in your city or neighborhood?  The people in the lane next to you commuting to and from work, in the grocery store, at the ball game – these people are part of your local economy and community.  You know, the one that affects your daily habits and your local career opportunities.

Are you connecting with this group?  How many fellow Twitter users are there that you could be sharing info with?  What common values and ideals could you leverage with them to do something bigger, something better?  Have you looked for these folks, met with them, had coffee with them?

Now’s your chance to change that.  Who says you aren’t the one to get the ball rolling?  Search Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and the like for your local area and start making some local contacts.  Seek your neighbors out, and find what interests them.  Is there business opportunities, or civic needs, or groups aligned with your faith?  Get out there and connect with these folks.

Even if you’re in a more rural area, getting to know fellow “social media explorers” in the area can allow you to plan.  Going from a small town to a big-city meetup may be daunting alone, but if you’ve got a local group to share the experience with, it can become more fun.

Some of the things you can try for very little time and money invested is a Twitter meetup, or a Social Media Breakfast, or simply let people know where to meet for coffee.  So get out there and network on the local level, there is bound to be social media people in your area thinking about the same thing.

If you have organized, or are thinking of getting the ball rolling, what ideas have you come up with?  What have you tried that works or doesn’t work?  Let’s share our ideas and experiences with others to make future networking better!

Photo credit: Kecko