Be Social - I Am One of You

Take 1: April 2008 - I Am One of You

So we're munching on our salads and I'm tell Chris what a "true north" moment I'm experiencing: I'm eating lunch with my social media mentor; later that day, I planned to meet some amazing social media rock stars at NewComm - Erin Kotecki Vest, Joe Jaffe, Shel Holtz, Shel Israel, Cathryn Hrudicka (yep, her cat and I share names), Jim Long, etc.; and, how all of this was very surreal for me to take in.

Chris stopped me mid-sentence and said, "You represent a brand doing social media...you are practicing the preach. You bring just as much to the table as everyone you just mentioned...including me. Remember that."


Take 2: May 2010 - I Am One of You
Fast forward to last week, I'm having lunch with my new boss, Jenny Love, VP of Communications at H&R Block. The social media team was shifted under Communications from Marketing with the new re-alignment. Anyway, we're munching on our salads, enjoying eating outdoors on the first nice weather day in Kansas City in a long while, and talking shop.

A woman comes up to us asking if we can spare some cash as she and her family have fallen on hard times and she needs to buy groceries. I only have my debit card was my response. Jenny reaches for her wallet, talking kindly to the woman, making eye contact the whole time and hands the woman some cash. The woman was very thankful. I had skepticism written all over my face.

Jenny says, "Ok, I have no idea what is going to happen with the cash, but when she and I made eye contact...I think she really needed to buy food for her family." She shrugs. "Any regardless, it's a good karma moment."

Later, as we were heading back to our building, we saw the woman heading out of the local grocery store with bags of food. She was telling a passer-by that she had food for her family because of the kindness of a stranger.

I leaned over to Jenny and said, "Thanks for letting me be a part of your good karma moment."

Yep, I know you can't make these "I Am One of You" moments up. They are opportunities to raise each other up and to remind ourselves we are all connected.

I'd love to hear one of your "I Am One of You" moments...