Long story. We attended a Bat Mitzvah in New Jersey this weekend. How we were invited is my <2 degrees of separation connection story with a LinkedIn twist!
In high school, my synagogue youth group was affiliated in a region of synagogues throughout the VA-DC-MD area. I was friendly with Pam that way.
Nancy, to be my spouse/whom I met on a teen trip to Israel, was friendly with Nina from my hometown: Nina also knew Pam well.
Nina introduced Nancy to Pam and they became friendly in high school.
But as things turned out we lost touch with Pam over the years.
We were friendly with neighbors Dave and Jodi up the street who later moved to NJ and altho we were unaware, lo and behold they became friendly with Pam and her family, who also had moved to the same town/same synagogue. Jodi mentioned Pam one day to Nancy and Nancy made the mental connection that it was the same Pam. Lightning strike…We reconnected and stayed in touch. Well, the women did. You know…
Pam’s daughter turned 13 yesterday and we were invited to celebrate the happy occasion with them. We spent the better part of the 2 days with Dave and Jodi at the ceremony and the party.
It also turns out that my-son’s-friend-from-college’s-parents (also friends with Pam and Dave and Jodi) were present at the weekend events. We met and spoke for a while. Both our kids are deep into their careers, which is a nice thing to discuss.
At the party, neighbor Dave introduced me to David, a very enjoyable friend of his and when I got home, I decided to invite him to connect with me on LinkedIn. I see he is connected to Susan, a CT friend and colleague of mine. So I asked Susan via LinkedIn and it turns out Susan and David have been business colleagues for years!
Is your head spinning with all these entanglements?
Everywhere I go, I find connectivity with great people. Life in this decade is just that way, with everyone connected to one another in the most fascinating ways.
LinkedIn is one of those power tools in your toolbox. To be clear, it works even better with old-school tools like getting out and meeting new people.
