The key to all closed doors, in friendship, love, and career stuff. it’s also actually fun to just meet someone new and ask them about themselves…. I’ve found that people are much more open about themselves in a coffee talk setting than in other places - learn about what people care about!!!!
asking questions encourages connection between people (even if it’s short)!! like asking a barista what they like to drink, or asking the marine educator by the tide pools about the fish in there, or asking someone in a wait line what they do for work. obviously respect people’s time and space, but going out of my way to ask questions has lead to positive outcomes! Not only do you connect with people, but you might learn something or meet someone cool :)
Asking for recommendations when you're stumped is a fun thing to do. I think, why not ask them what's a good conversation starter, it's refreshing, it's not about their job etc etc.
spent the last two weeks working on an interactive guide, recommendations database, and digital library (link depot) to help get people off of social media. the first draft is done now, and it's at the link to this post. it's still very much a work in progress (the library is especially thin atm) - which is why i wanted to share it here before unleashing it upon my IRL friends and the general public. i welcome any and all feedback, bug reports, and suggestions for things to add. i will be pushing updates to it out like a madman in the coming weeks, so be sure to check back every so often to see new additions to the database and library. additionally, i am still on the hunt for newsletters from local venues / community organizations / magazines / newspapers, etc. the only cities i have remotely covered so far are nyc, orlando, denver, brisbane, and little bits of worcester and chicago. if you know anything in your area that fits the bill, send it my way!
