Are you good to the people who follow you?

I know a lot of amazing people.

So many that people I was once called the Kevin Bacon of the tech community.

Ok...I made up the KB part up but if people were to make any connection for me I would like it to be known as the Mother Theresa (of Calcutta...not the other one) of the tech world because, I wash a lot of feet but also go out of my way to do other nice things for people, even if it isn't asked for.

Here is why.

This past Wednesday I attended the monthly Wired Wednesday put on by the nice folks at RedWire and while there I got to chatting with Aran Hamilton.

Ya see, chatting is what I do.

...anyway, Aran is the VP of Strategic Partnerships with the new (and very impressive) startup Zoompass....and over the course of our conversation we started talking about our networks and I offered to help him with any introductions I could because I think his product is cool and want to see it do well. Somewhere in our chatting I blurted out (and I don't remember the exact thing that triggered it anymore)

"What is the point of having a network if you don't use it?"

Spending most of 2008 traveling to every conference or speaking opportunity I could find put me face to face with so many of the smartest and nicest people in the Tech and Entertainment industry, and I consider myself a pretty connected person...but seriously, what good is knowing all these people if I am not helping them?

The goal of this post is not to pat myself on the back but I am going to use "me" as an example and challenge everyone else to do the same because while this may sound odd but in my free time I sit around thinking about who I know and who I could introduce them to.

I do this because it makes me feel good to help people, but also because I usually get repaid in hugs and long kisses. Out of the hundreds or thousands of folks I meet over the course of a month or a year, only a small number of them will actually have a fit into what I am doing work wise...but all can help me in other ways...and I think the best way to get people to help you (if needed) is to help them first with something.

This has nothing to do with Karma or Pay it Forward but just good old fashioned un selfish introductions because there may not actually be a time where you need help from one particular person but if you help them find a job or escape from a bully I bet they will remember and help if called upon.

In the past month I have helped one person land a job. Made intro's and helped secure interviews for two other people and made at least 10 introductions that resulted in real business or a new clients for people.

Does this make me a better person than you? Not really, like I mentioned earlier I am doing it for the warm loving embraces....because I like the way those make me feel but if you have time this week why not take a look at your network and make an unsolicited intro to two people you like and think can work together...and if you don't get a hug out of it let me know and I will send you one.

Does Chris Brogan realize how influential he is?

I am a big fan of Chris Brogan's and really enjoyed his recent blog post titled "Be Sexier in Person" where Chris talked about networking and how to make the most of face to face encounters at a conference etc.

I actually read this post from my phone this morning while I was waiting for a conference to start and one of the pieces of advice was instead of saying "What do you do?” he suggests saying “what are you working on that’s fun?" because he feels it is more interesting.

Since I was at a conference anyway I figured I would give it a try and when I went to introduce myself to the first person of the day he surprised me by saying "SO, What are you working on that’s fun?"

Sound Familiar?

I considered asking if he was a Brogan fan but instead just answered his question.

This moment made me realize that stuff I write here does have an impact on people....and I also realized that Chris Brogan is a popular popular man!