“Friends” in the cue don’t mean jack on Facebook and Twitter

I know this video by Seth Godin on social networking is a little dated but its such a great reminder as more and more people make “friends” through social media.

It’s not about how many “friends” you have on Facebook or how many people are “following” you on Twitter…it’s all about how you are able to translate these online connections into actual relationships. Just because a person is in your “friend” que doesn’t really mean anything other than an ego boost.

For example, I have hundreds of “friends” on Facebook and Twitter and sure I felt cool when M.C. Hammer and Barack Obama chose to “follow me” on Twitter…but if I was in a jam…would they really be there for me?

Or the more important question: would I be there for them?

This year, I’m going to focus on being intentional about cultivating relationships with people that I meet online. I just got a taste of this by meeting a new friend (@human3rror) through Twitter and spend the entire day with him with my brother-in-law (@rhetter). Though I hadn’t met him in person before, I was able to share a meal with, have deep and meaningful conversations with, worship alongside, and partake in communion with him…heck, he even helped fix some bugs on my blog!

To see online “friends” translating into the relationships…check out his perspective on the experience here.