Gauravonomics Blog

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Quick Summary: I was recently profiled in Indian daily Mid-Day for a story on how online and offline relationships have merged for young people in India.

I was recently profiled in a Mid Day story on how online and offline relationships have merged for some of us.

Ever since I started blogging three years back, my blog has been at the core of my social life. I have met some of the most fascinating people I know through my blog, or, in the last year, through Twitter. Some of my closest friends, including my last three girlfriends, are bloggers and some of my most important professional connections were made online.

The other day, I was talking to my girlfriend about how the center of gravity of my social life has further shifted online since I started my off-consumption experiment.

“Sometimes, I ask myself: what would I have done without my blog this year?”, I said.

“The question you should ask yourself is: who would you have been without your blog?”, she reminded me gently.

Coming back to the story, I am not naturally social, but I have become better over time. Here are three tricks that have worked for me –

1. Have a diverse set of friends. You will not only be exposed to different perspectives and lifestyles, but you will also be introduced to even more diverse friends-of-friends, in an ever-expanding positive spiral.

2. Understand what works for you. Everyone has a different social style, so, understand yours and start from your comfort zone, before you challenge them. For instance, I have realized that I like being the host, so I’m most comfortable meeting new people on my blog, or at my house parties.

3. Be generous with both friends and strangers. Help people whenever you can. Be generous with both time and money and don’t keep count. Be a connector and know that good social karma comes back to you. Use introductions not only to kick off conversations, but also to bring out the best in the people you are introducing.

Here’s the full text of the story —

Hello, do I know you?
by Bhairavi Jhaveri, bhai...@mid-day.com
Mid Day
Friday, June 17, 2008

Hanging out with strangers is the way to go for young professionals moving seamlessly from online friendships to offline ones. Gaurav Mishra (28) is a popular guy, more so in the cyber world. An avid blogger, he has over 600 subscribers on his two prime blogs, an additional 1,200 friends on SMS-based social networking website Twitter.com, and an odd 500 on Facebook. And while most of us can boast of similar numbers, the difference here is that unlike ours, Gaurav’s friendships move from online to offline, sometimes even instantaneously.

There are no strangers (or ‘online buddies’) in his world.

The context is the filter

Fixing a face-to-face meeting with someone after simply browsing through online profiles may sound creepy, but Gaurav brushes off such inhibitions.

“It depends on where and in what situation you meet somebody. For instance, if I meet them at a film festival, we share something in common. Then, depending on how much our “bandwidths” match, I take it from there. Online, my blog is the connecting link and most often, also the reason why he/she is on my friend list,” he says.

Need for people

This IIM-Bangalore graduate and an assistant general manager, sales and marketing, at an automobile company, is leading a low consumption lifestyle as a marketing experiment for his upcoming book. This project doesn’t allow him to pay for recreation — lunch/dinner/ coffee, movies, or clubbing. Only necessities.

Ever since he began this project three months ago (it will last for another 10 months), he has felt a need to make a larger effort to, “hunt for” entertainment.

That’s how Saturday Movie Marathons, house parties and walks on Marine Drive came about, invites for which are thrown open to his network of friends, online and otherwise.

Meeting strangers

“Interesting associations lead to a well-rounded personality; you learn of perspectives and fresh ideas, through different kinds of people,” says Gaurav; often a benefit, which you may have exhausted with old associations.

“The opportunities that arise from knowing all sorts of people are unlimited. For instance, at a recent house party, I met a friend’s friend who recommended me for a leading broadsheet’s marketing based panel discussion,” explains Gaurav.

“Knowing a lot of people always has its perks, you can ask for favours from other people, in return guaranteeing them of a profitable association the next time around. A well-connected social circuit comes in handy while traveling to a new city too,” he points out.

But, this tenacious self-marketer enjoys hanging out with a “mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces,” and doing things on his own, every now and then, are also a must for this friendly, popular, people’s person. Ironically.

Gaurav’s top four networking tips

- Hosting a party is always the best way to meet new people.

- Be succinct in your introductions, so that they are conversation-starters.

- If it’s a one-on-one meeting, pick a place that you consider “home turf” — where you are comfortable.

- According to the dynamics you share with a so-called new friend, estimate how much time you’d want to spend with him/her in the first meeting. Then, decide where to meet — for a short walk, a cup of coffee, or a house party.

Learn the art of networking

Gaurav recommends Never Eat Alone: And other Secrets to Success, One Relationship At a Time by Keith Ferrazi and Tahl Raz, available for Rs 835 at Oxford Bookstore, Churchgate

• Yours Truly Featured in Indian Daily Mid-Day’s Story on Cool Bachelor Pads (7)
• The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption Gets Its First Interview In Indian Daily Hindustan Times (7)
• My Interview with US Daily Star Telegram on the Role of Citizen Journalism in the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks (2)
• My Interview with Los Angeles Times on the Role of Citizen Journalism in the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks (1)
• My Interview with Journalism.co.uk on the Role of Citizen Journalism in the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks (1)