Putting the “Social” back in Social Media

I spend most of my days in the house with our cat, Dexter, while I work on client projects. Typically a Dateline marathon is running on the TV in the background, while I rotate between working on the couch or in my office. The majority of my client interaction happens via email, phone, text, and social media while my in-person social engagements consist of going to the grocery store, a quick stop at the bank, and the occasional drinks with friends.

This may sound lonely to some people, but I personally enjoy the peace and quiet of working from home. However, there’s no substitution for actually connecting with people in real life.

Brittany, aka @bedazzledbrit, and I connected last Summer on Instagram while I was on my annual workation on Harsens Island, a tiny island off of Lake St. Clair that most people in Michigan have never even heard of. As I was scrolling through Instagram, I randomly came across a photo of Brittany, in of all places, Harsens Island!

This chance encounter on social media lead to interacting with each other’s Instagram posts over the next year, and I felt I got to know her even though we’d never met.

Before I headed up to Michigan for my workation this year, I messaged Brittany asking if she’d like to come out to my parents’ cottage and meet up for the day. After several back and forth emails we had a plan to not only meet, but do what bloggers like to do best, take photos!

When she and her sister, Emily, arrived, it was so interesting to see the real life person behind the Instagram account I’d been following for the last year. We talked about our businesses, where we went to school, and how we ended up pursuing creative careers. I learned that Brittany is an aspiring fashion designer, and will be launching her own line of bathing suits made in Michigan, while her sister, Emily, is an aspiring photographer. Meeting young entrepreneurs is always so inspiring and these sisters are definitely going places.

Check out this AMAZING “Island Time” hat that Brittany made for me! It’s now my perfect workation accessory.

I’m obsessed with taking pictures. I take pictures of everything, and my husband is now used to having to do photos any time we leave the house. However, I know he can grow tired of the constant picture taking and Instagramming, but Brittany and Emily shared in my photo documenting enthusiasm. We had outfit changes, analyzed the lighting, changed locations, traded posing advice, enjoyed loads of laughter, and even walked a cat on a leash. Really, we walked a cat on a leash. All of this seemed perfectly normal to us even though I saw the neighbors eyeing us with complete confusion.

The takeaway I learned from this meeting is that sometimes people who “get” you show up in your real life and sometimes they show up in your online life. Working from home doesn’t have to be lonely and isolating when you make an effort to merge the two worlds of social media and real life.

Go on, get out there, and make real, meaningful connections by meeting your social media friends in real life! You’ll have a blast!