Just today, actually, I had a follower on Twitter, @Sullivan_Smith tweet at me, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRIEND I ONLY KNOW ON TWITTER!” (Yes, today is my birthday.)

So what if you want to move those connections into the ::gasp:: REAL WORLD? Well there are tools for that too, and they’re fantastic for strengthening friendships, networking, and even meeting new people you might not have ever found through the mass that is online social networks. Check below for some examples of sites to use, as well as a list of D.C. networking and meetup groups that I’m involved in (and you should be too!).

As a student, I’m already discovering the incredible benefits these IRL social media services provide. Just browsing sites like meetup.com, for example, yielded tons of opportunities to connect and network with other professionals and like-minded individuals in the D.C. metro area. I even found a book group that is discussing my very own sister‘s newest book this Thursday at Politics & Prose.

Of the more light-hearted nature are sites like Tablesurfing, which promises that “you’ll never eat alone again.” Although not particularly active (sadly, it actually seems very inactive right now), it still provides a good glimpse of the possibilities of using online social media for making IRL connections.

Finally, there are some services that, in my humble opinion, take themselves far too seriously in their goal of making real-life connections. Take By/Association, for example. Their introduction proudly proclaims the following:

By/Association is a private service for personal introductions to remarkable people.

We hand select our members for their exceptional creativitiy, vision, and cross-disciplinary networks.

We then introduce them to each other. Because when two amazing people get together, their potential impact grows and the world changes shape.

We know someone you should meet.

For them, there is an application process and, if selected, they contact you to hook up the meetup. Interesting, if a bit too hardcore for my personal liking.

Of course, all this is without even mentioning the myriad of third-party services that add-on to Twitter, Facebook, etc. for managing IRL meetups. Plan.fm is a new service that caught my eye recently, for example, and it aggregates event data from Facebook, Twitter, Eventbrite, Meetup.com, and even an iCal feed to put all your IRL events in the same place. Still a little iffy on quality and usefulness due to the limited manipulation you can do with your events there, but it shows some promise.

For me, there’s several groups right here in the District that I’ve discovered via some of these tools. I try to participate in as often as possible, as I’m already reaping some major dividends in terms of the friendships and networking connections that I’ve gained. Here’s a list of some of those groups and their upcoming events–hope to see you there.

I just want to give a huge shoutout to anyone and everyone who is, has been, or even will be reading my blog. I write this blog largely for myself, for my personal fulfillment and to keep my writing skills polished.

But the motivation is all you.

As much as I would love to tell myself I’d keep writing even if no one was reading, the truth is I probably wouldn’t. Knowing that someone out there is reading and that someone is out there who would be willing to sit down and have a conversation with me about what I talk about on my blog, or what they talk about on theirs–it’s an amazing feeling.

Twitter brings much of this to life for me, enabling direct interaction between me and many of you. And the more the better! I absolutely love getting to know new people and I hope that you’ve enjoyed (and will continue to enjoy) my writing!

Also, thank you to all of my sister Cherie‘s followers who visited my blog yesterday, I appreciate your reading my little “ultra-biased” book review! I hope you’ll stick around and continue reading my blog.

Finally, if you’re reading my blog and you’ve got a blog of your own, please let me know in the comments (if you don’t know if I read it already). I try to keep up to date with as many as I can, and I’d love to add yours to my RSS Reader so I can keep up with you too!

Thanks again for reading, thanks for being great friends, and I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you even better in this new decade.

My sister is an author. And she’s amazing. Her name is Cherie Priest (many of you may already know her) and not only is she awesome but so is her cat Spain (who totally dominates her YouTube feed), her blog and her books.

Her most recent book is titled Boneshaker and I think it’s her best one yet.

Boneshaker is set in an alternate-history setting of the United States, around 1880. Cherie explains it best herself on her Web page for the series (Yes! There are more coming set in this universe!):

Here, it is 1880 (or thereabouts). The Civil War is still underway, drawn out by English interference, a different transportation infrastructure, and a powerful Republic of Texas that discovered oil at Spindletop some fifty years sooner than real life allowed.

The competition of war has led to technological progress and horrors unimaginable, and many people have fled the combating states, hoping for an easier life out west.

Some of them have found it.
Some have found something else.

Now clearly, any opinions I give are ridiculously biased, given that I’m her brother. But at the same time, I know a good book when I see one, and Boneshaker is damn good fun to read. It’s got steampunk galore, zombies, hardcore characters, and plenty of action to keep you hooked. It’s paced well enough that it hits that perfect balance at the end where you’re satisfied with the ending, yet dying for more.

The premise is this: Briar Wilkes is a controversial enough figure in the alternate world Cherie has created, but when her son ventures into the walled-off, poisonous-gas-filled Seattle in seek of information about his dubious family’s history, she gets dragged into an adventure she’d never expected.

It’s got plenty of nice twists and turns, and enough detail to let you feel immersed but without dragging down the pace (I’m looking at you, J.R.R. Tolkien). And although the end is a little bit predictable, the details make it lots of fun. In fact, when reading the book I’d turned out the lights with about 30 pages to go. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I turned the lights back on and finished the book before I could fall asleep. Yea man, it’s that good.

Anyway, enough of my blathering. Go read it! You can get it on Amazon.com or if you want a signed copy, Cherie’s put instructions on her Web site on how to get your hands on one of those.

Today I arrived back in the city, and it’s been a busy day already. After unloading the trailer (it’s shocking how much stuff I have–doesn’t seem possible), grabbing some lunch at the Good Stuff Eatery–which was absolutely incredible–, and doing some shopping at CVS, the bike shop and Trader Joe’s (always a good idea), here I am, feeling a bit overwhelmed in my apartment. My parents have headed back to the Iris Inn in Waynesboro, VA for the night and I’m here being consumed by cardboard boxes and clothes I’d totally forgotten I had.

Because of the aforementioned overwhelmingness, this has got to be a short post. But for what it’s worth, I’m here, back in D.C., alive, and if anyone wants to help clean and/or unpack, by all means give me a call.

Tomorrow will likely be full of mostly more cleaning, unpacking, etc. but I’m hoping to get a couple of blog posts up that I’ve got in the works:

• First, a quick (and outrageously biased) review of my sister‘s most recent book, Boneshaker.
• Second, a look at my return to D.C. after spending a semester in Denmark: my thoughts on the feel of the city, American culture in general and how my personal views have changed on the city (and in other ways). [note: this one could be long, and might not happen tomorrow!]

Anyway, I’m getting back to work. Lots to unpack.