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How to meet people online?

There's a lot of us out here working on our projects who don't live in a tech metropolis and aren't "plugged in" to a local scene. Believe it or not people even live and hack in rural areas.

For all of us, where local networking isn't an option, how do we find our people?

I've lived in tech meccas like SF and Seattle and I've lived in small country towns. I don't think you have to live in the big cities anymore to meet everyone you want to meet or to form a real community around yourself or your product.

Here's what I've learned about making friends online.

1. You need to be proactive.

Same as socializing anywhere else, the person who starts conversations is the one who's going to be a part of more conversations and starting conversations leads to friends.

At a house party that means walking up to someone and saying hello. On the internet it means sending a DM on Twitter or replying to a post on Indie Hackers. Luckily the same opening works just fine, "Hello I'm Anthony, I think what you're working on is cool" is enough to get it started.

Don't get too preoccupied about a timely response, some people just don't want to talk or don't check their messages.

2. You need to be responsive.

Other people might not be responsive, but you should be if you want to start an online friendship. If someone reaches out to you you should respond to them when you see their message. It's very hard to have an informal conversation if you're waiting days between messages. As the person trying to make friends on the internet, the onus is on you to be available.

3. You need to be public.

The great power of the internet is the ability it gives you to draw people to you. Be public about what you're working on. Post it everywhere the people you meet like to gather. If people don't know what you're working on they have no reason to contact you, but if they see you're working on something they find interesting they might decide to reach out.

If you're already doing 1, 2, and 3 then this whole post probably sounds obvious. If you're not, well this post was for you.

Want an easy way to make friends with other Indie Hackers on the internet?

Join the next Indie Worldwide meetup coming up next week, February 13th:

https://hopin.to/events/indie-worldwide-meetup-february-2020

  1. 2

    Awesome initiative. Excited to be part of it @AntCas

  2. 2

    Thanks for the event! I just signed up for it.

  3. 1

    I created something that could be useful to people who want to meet people with similar interests - small towns, medium-sized towns - some of this could be helpful no matter where you are. https://albertideation.com/nextdoor3

  4. 1

    Well put my friend!

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