Couchsurfing – The very essence of Social Networking

Lori Ruff and I have been a part of CouchSurfing.org now for almost a year. In the last 6 months we have ramped up to the point where we had three individual Couchsurfing visitors at ONE time this week.

Couchsurfing.org has a process to certify individuals in the program and it costs a nominal amount to get setup in the system. Check it out!

If you’ve seen the movies “The Big Chill” or “The Breakfast Club”, you know how strangers are not strangers for very long when couped-up with one another. Such is the case here.

You never know who you might have request to “crash at your pad” or where you might stay. Here’s who we’ve met: a Guatemalan diplomat, a German filmmaker, a family from Poland, a National Geographic scale photographer, global travelers, an IT manager, those in town for the Widespread Panic concert, those considering a move to Colorado (a good idea).

It is a bit like a Grateful Dead concert where you don’t actually go in to the show – you just explore “The Village” outside for hours and hours, meeting people every few yards. Lori Ruff and I did just that in 2009. It is a highlight of the concert year for both of us. You meet the darndest people and some you would just NEVER expect (i.e., a high school football coach).

I felt this was such an interesting and powerful series of experiences that I actually put it on my LinkedIn Profile as a current position – Couchsurfing Host & Guest at IA Social Media. A quick LinkedIn search on the Boolean search term “Couchsurfer OR Couchsurfing” yielded over 800 hits just now!

See Mike O’Neil’s LinkedIn Profile with Couchsurfing listed: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoneil

Want to see the AMAZING work of our German Filmmaker friend Chris Dahm ( @crisdahm ) before he completes his documentary-style footage of Lori and I?

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At Integrated Alliances HQ                                With Lori                                        With Mike

See Cris’ Video Diary as he travels the world – WOW!

www.youtube.com/user/crisdahm or  www.crisdahm.com

One last thing before I leave you today…

We just finished up our second Rock The World Social Media book, Rock The World with Social Media. It’s “The Ultimate Social Media Guide for LinkedIn Users”.

Find out more and pre-order at www.RockTheWorld2.com. $21.95 gets you a Signed First Edition copy.