A friend told me a touching story today about going shopping with his Mom on January 20, 1969, when he was 8 years old, and stopping by a local appliance store to catch Nixon’s inaugural address along with other people in the neighborhood. Today, 40 years later, he returned to the same location and watched Obama’s inaugural address at the Circuit City, right across the street from that long gone appliance store. I think it has always been the case that people want to connect with other people during historic moments such as these and there were ample examples of people gathering today in Times Square and other hubs across the nation. My community of choice for this inaugural address was web-based. I jumped back and forth between Twitter, Twemes, Facebook, CNN, MSN, AOL, and The New York Times online while surfing the various television stations to check out how the event was playing out on the major stations. I was able to pick up on snippets of everyone’s online conversations…the hopes, the skepticism, the humor…from people all over the world. It was a truely amazing experience. According to Mashable, 3,000 people commented on the Facebook CNN feed per minute and millions of people logged into Facebook during the broadcast. The experience reminded me once again of the breathtaking potential of all that is Web 2.0 and the incredible conversations that can occur online to bridge geography, culture, professions, industries, and social standing. The web really is a great equalizer and a great way to build community. And community is what you need to drive a strong career management strategy. Stay connected online and have meaningful “conversations” about topics you are knowledgeable and passionate about. The web is the 21st century global water cooler, barber shop, coffee shop, and appliance store all rolled into one. Make sure you are not left out of the conversation.
