Making international connections

John Dubock is a CRM specialist always looking for the next great sales/marketing tool.

Last minute the magazine I work for challenged me, “Go to Venice, Italy, write a story on a stand up paddle event!” Sixteen jet lagged hours later, it’s dinner time and my hosts had found me. “We’re going to a surf bar on the island for dinner,  jump in!”  My first night, dining with 25 fun Italians, talk about a culture overdose.

I didn’t speak a word of Italian, but wanted to make a good impression. My seatmate had taken my about.me/moo QR enabled card and scanned it instantly. Twenty minutes into dinner he can’t stop talking about my bio page. He passed around his phone and suddenly everyone at the table knew exactly who I was and what magazine I worked for.

That weekend 140 of us paddled 6 km of the main canals of Venice for the 2nd annual Surfin’ Venice Event sponsored by RRD. At the end of the event, on a magical hot plaza my cards connected me to young, wired, intelligent Europeans.  We now talk almost daily on Facebook, a few have visited me in the USA already.  They of course have their own About.me bios!

3 responses to Making international connections

  1. Was just at a very important business meeting. I was the new girl in a group of very powerful and important people. At the end a few people came up to me and asked me for my card. I looked down embarrassed. I didn’t have one I told them. They nodded and didn’t even bother to offer theirs. I got home that night kicking myself. I wish I had ordered my about.me cards a long time ago.

    don’t make the same mistake I made. print your cards.

  2. lauraglu

    @Georgia – I agree! It’s great to hear about connections made and stories like this.

    @hager – Yikes – next time, hopefully you will have them!

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