It’s not often that an article captures all of the positives of social networking without referring to social media, but this one does it. You, too, should read it.
Jim Haynes: A man who invited the world over for dinner
About social networking
At every presentation I give to a group, regardless of their skill level, I start with a basic question: What is social media?
I always start with a basic question: What is social media?
The responses I get depend on the participants but tend to be in the periphery of the real answer: Connecting people across space and time using communication technology. I start with this because it’s easy to forget the need that social networks were created to fill, and that it was based on real-life networking. This is a critical basis upon which to build a social media program because it reminds us how humans use technology. Social media always must start with its human users.
Jim Haynes, whom I did not know before I read this article, was performing many of the functions of a social media platform before the first one was ever coded and launched. It makes sense, then, that his nickname was “the godfather of social media.”
Place
The concept of Hayne’s Sunday dinners was straightforward: Anyone could come with advance notice, and the price of entry was accessible – a donation of their choice. This provided a consistent, open place for people to meet and gather around common interests. (Those common interests, I assume, were those that guests shared with Haynes.)
Personal
Everything that Haynes did in this article seemed to align with his personal philosophy and interests. One anecdote in the article details how he created a “world passport” for travelers because he felt that it advanced “peace and global freedom.” Even on social media networks for business, such as LinkedIn, integrating your human story and philosophy into your content helps people connect with you in a meaningful way.
“His goal from early on was to introduce the whole world to each other. He almost succeeded.”
Connection
From this article, it’s clear that Haynes was a natural networker. As his son, Jesper, told the author, “His goal from early on was to introduce the whole world to each other. He almost succeeded.” From creating a travel network to regular dinners, he built various networks that helped others connect.
Not surprisingly, I found this article in a social media post and loved everything about it. It appealed to the traveler/social networker/human connector in me. I hope you enjoy this little window into this amazing man’s life as much as I did.
May you incorporate the spirit of his work into your social media program.