My family and I moved from Southern Indiana to the Tampa, FL area just a few months ago. As “strangers in a strange land”, in just a moment I’ll share with you how using Twitter and MeetUp.com together has helped us quickly develop (what I hope to be) lasting friendships and powerful business relationships.

But first, a little background:

We had sold our Indiana home in less than 4 weeks. We were giddy that we were going to be able to get outta’ Dodge before the brutal Indiana winter hit full-force. Things were going our way, or so we thought…

That’s when we got “the phone call”.

It was just 3 days before we were scheduled to pack up the truck and head south, when our real estate agent called, his voice somber “there’s a problem at your house. A person happened to be walking by and noticed water coming under the front door. The whole bottom floor of the house is flooded.”

Crap-tacular.

It seemed a water line had broken in the downstairs utility room, and water had been flowing freely for - who knows, maybe a week. We were now all set and ready to move … with no place to go. It was estimated that it was going to take weeks for the house to be in move-in condition.

All Packed Up and No Place To Go

So, with our two young kids, our little dog Tigger, my mother and all of our earthly belongings in tow, we headed to the Sunshine State … not knowing where we were going to exactly when we got there. But, thanks to my trusty Iphone, during the trip down I was able to arrange staying at a 2-bedroom condo at a place called Little Harbor in Ruskin, FL.

As the days turned into weeks in this cramped condo, I began itching for something, anything to do to GET OUT of the cramped quarters of our temporary condo and hang around with (God love ‘em) somebody OTHER than my family.

Of course, I knew not a soul. We have no family here. No friends. And since it was off-season for Little Harbor, even IT felt like a Ghost Town. What I really wanted to do was play tennis. I thought, surely there’s SOMEBODY around here who wants to get a game. But who? Where should I go?

MeetUp.Com: How to Find Anyone Who’s Into Anything

I’m not exactly how I came across it, but somehow I stumbled upon a site called MeetUp.com. Much to my amazement, there were “groups” who met close to my locale for every imaginable interest; sports, business networking, political groups, hobbies – you name it … if there’s something that you want to “hookup” with others and talk about or do together, you can find it on MeetUp.com.

I found numerous tennis-related groups, all in my area. But what I didn’t expect to find was my other passion – Internet Marketing. I found a free Meetup group called the Tampa Internet Business Mastermind and - lo and behold - they were having their first meeting in a few days! Woo-hoo! A conversation with someone other than a computer screen! I couldn’t wait!

Fast-Forward Just 3 Months …
And Thousands of Dollars in My Bank Account Later

It’s been 3 months since that first meeting, and let me tell you, it has already been HUGELY valuable for me on a number of levels – many of them I would have never expected:

First of all, when I joined, I had never been on Twitter. But I quickly realized that most of the folks at the meeting just couldn’t stop talking about it. I didn’t like feeling out of the loop … and especially as a marketing nut I know it’s my job to stay on top of trends. So, I’ve started diving in on Twitter, and in just a few weeks I already have 569 followers!

From another person at the event, I learned that I could create my own social network. So, just last week I launched my own Social Network called HerdHuddle.com, a place where only Glazer-Kennedy Members can join. It has already created a buzz in our industry, so who knows where this will lead for our business?

Also, around the time I started going to the Meetups, one of my best copywriting clients, a very successful marketing coach to a particular business niche, began consulting with me regarding his upcoming Internet Megaconference. He needed to book speakers for the event, plus he wanted my opinion on what topics should be covered, etc.

Naturally, I thought of people I had met at the Meetups, some who were very successful bloggers, programmers, SEO and Social Media experts. And, even if they weren’t into public speaking, they typically knew someone who was.

Working from home overall is a wonderful thing, but it can often be a lonely endeavor. Twitter is a phenomenal tool for developing relationships online, but when combined with MeetUp.com, it can be a powder-keg of possibilities for lasting friendships and key business relationships.

There’s just no substitute for face-to-face relationships that are made through laughing, discussing, questioning, and listening together with people who are of like-mind.

I’ve heard it said regarding church that “People don’t just want a friendly church. They want friends”. I believe the same is true with Twitter – it can be a friendly place – but when taken offline in combination with MeetUp.com, it can be the place to find friends and business relationships that will change the course of your life.