Why Polaroid pictures? Check out the intro to this project.

TWSS, Chevy, Gowalla and Cowgirls

Who: Chris Barger, Mike Schneider, Cowgirls

Where: The Tweet House at Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop

When: March 12, 2010

TWSS

If you watch The Office, odds are you know that TWSS stands for That’s What She Said…

If you’ve hung out with me… you’ve probably heard me say that. It may be a bit overused, maybe cliche, maybe even unoriginal, but saying TWSS is a bit of an addiction (it is even my ringtone at work).

At Social Fresh Tampa, I issued a bit of a challenge by asking if anyone could formulate an intelligent question that included “that’s what she said” and ask it in a panel.  Long story made short, Chris Barger (@cbarger) smashed my challenge by using my favorite phrase while on a panel.

We chatted afterwards and ended up building a relationship over a silly catch-phrase from a popular TV show. At SXSW, Chris invited a group of folks to The Tweet House and even hooked some of us up with VIP passes.

Chris is a great guy and doing incredible things at Chevy, but essentially, our friendship started over something funny.

That’s why I encourage folks to be themselves… you never know what quirk or characteristic you have that may automatically connect you to someone else.

Chevy and Gowalla

Chevy is doing some incredible things in the social media space and made a huge impact at SXSW. As mentioned, knowing Chris led me to The Tweet House (a sweet event that Chevy and Mellow Johnny’s hosted). One of the first few folks that I connected with there was Mike Schneider (@schneidermike).

Mike walked in wearing a sweet Gowalla t-shirt and a group of us were hanging out and chatting. He began to tell an incredible story about how he landed in Austin and checked in on Gowalla at the airport. He was prompted with a special offer to get a free ride to his hotel from Gowalla and Chevy. Mike, as most of us would, immediately accepted the offer.

He was greeted by @jw of Gowalla and one of his SXSW goals (meeting the folks at Gowalla) was achieved as soon as he landed. Chris Barger and Chevy helped to make this happen…

To make sure we’re all still together, TWSS helped form a relationship with Chris and mutual friends led me to meet Mike. Mike and Chris were then introduced through shared connections and were able to chat about a unique experience.

Relationships, networking and being social will always stick around. New tools and technologies don’t detract from those connections, but can actually enhance and strengthen the friendships we can form.

Cowgirls

The Tweet House party had lovely and talented hosts that we all affectionately referred to as “cowgirls” (we were in Texas). They were all friendly, served everyone drinks and seemed curious about the strange contraption I had with me (Polaroid style cameras aren’t very chic).

We asked if they’d like a photo together and then told them they could write anything they wanted as their caption. Many folks had a creative brain freeze when handed my fine point Sharpie, but Anita and Tiffany wanted to play off of a previous picture with Sledge, “My Hoodie.” Their choice was “My Boobies.”

We all laughed and eventually convinced them to take the high road, but it was a memory. A shared experience by 5-10 people.

As we build, grow and interact with our communities… are we stopping to smell the proverbial roses? Are you documenting your experiences? Are you reliving memorable moments? If not, you should start! 🙂