I wanted to go through and share a few thoughts from this weekend's Hangout in Real Life in NYC (#NYCHIRL +HIRL). It's a strange and very cool thing when people that have only communicated via the computer meet for the first time in person.

There were amazing friendships out of the gate. I was insanely lucky enough to get a tour of the Google offices in NYC and +Patrick Larvie was our amazing guide (sorry Patrick if the 4pm group drove you nuts!) I only knew one person going into my group out of 10, but left with some sort of weird bond that only hunting down as much free energy drinks and chef salads at the Google offices could forge! +Joe Martinez, +Derek Ross, +Carter Gibson & +Superdave Houdini Meralus are my new geekcrushes <grin>. I am also pretty sure that what Google learned about +Schemer power users will melt their minds. 😉 In our tour group, it was estimated that a million people circled us. 10 power G+ers = 1 million followers = 10% of the entirety of Google+ users IN ONE ROOM. You just can't make that kind of awesome up.

Some of us would up talking about business with built-in trust and familiarity. +Peter G McDermott is one of the sharpest and most forward-thinking experts I've met in regards to the business aspects of Google+. Trust me when I say he's the guy to watch. Another new and sort of local friend is +Lee Allison who has creative and cutting edge (insert joke here – he's a chef…) ideas for using Google+ to build a professional community where one is desperately needed.

It was mentioned to me no less than a dozen times how surprised people were that anyone they considered 'internet famous' were not crazy snobbish and were just as excited and nervous to be there and meet everyone. This is the new face of celebrity. Gracious and smart connectors make sure the community is thanked often. Those that rise up the ranks in Google+ (or anywhere else before they got here) that steal the spotlight for themselves and do not actively and openly thank those that surround them will quickly lose the admiration and trust of the community. The first prunings have begun, be warned.

With that I would like to say that +matthew rappaport, +Bobbi Jo Woods & +Tiffany Henry are the three musketeers that wrangled 100 Google+ers to the Big Apple and were the catalyst for magic. +HEATHER FAY, +Ryan Van Sickle & +Daria Musk played their music for us, at what I consider the biggest "in real life" hangout on the planet! WE find the talent and no longer have to wait for those that wish to control it for profits to grant us access. These three are wicked talented before Google+, but it's the platform that turned their 15 minutes into the "long tail" of fans.

Did I mention what a powerful group of women I got to meet in person? +Shefali Burns, +Anna Lowry, +Elaine Lindsay, +Bobbi Jo Woods, +Tiffany Henry, +HEATHER FAY, +Daria Musk, +Amy Gabriel & +Stephanie L Davis were absolutely amazing and wicked smart to boot! Each one of them leaders of our new digital tribe and I was blessed to get to meet them, even if it was just for a little bit.
While I saw a lot of familiar faces across the room, I didn't make my way around to say hello to everyone. There just never seems to be enough time. There is some sort of emotional let down that happens when you leave an event – and the people – that are changing the world. I can tell you this – this is just the beginning. Hold on tight for the ride of a lifetime.

In album 2012 HIRL NYC (6 photos)

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