This post is a little personal in nature, but I’m sure if you read through the end, you’ll enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed telling it. In fact, I’ve been meaning to tell this story for nearly two years.

In the last few years, I’ve taken the liberty of doing more than just blogging — I’ve been trying to get to know the people who have inspired me most (and that list isn’t cumulative!). I don’t necessarily expect to meet with those folks immediately; often, these powerful relationships are formed online, and I then try to learn what I can about the blogger himself/herself and follow up, normally at a conference or industry event. I do my best to put a face to a name — a face that I can see beyond just a digital format.

But sometimes there are surprises in every single meeting.

I decided one day to read more about self-improvement and marketing blogger, Jonathan Fields (and author of Career Renegade). The date was December 12, 2007, and I was excited to hear that Jonathan was a New Yorker like me. According to his blog’s “About” page at the time, you could find him simply by screaming his name in the very large Bryant Park in Manhattan. You know, with 8 million people living in NYC, you’d think this is no big deal, but there’s more to the story.

I dropped him a line. “You live in NY? I didn’t know that,” I said. But I added, “I passed Bryant Park last night on the D train,” noting that I don’t quite live in Manhattan, but rather, the Bronx. Jonathan’s response was still possible, but not necessarily that unexpected: “Me too!” With Bronx being a big borough in NYC, we went more granular. “Too funny,” he responded when I told him we lived in the same neighborhood in the Bronx. And then we found out we live on the same street.

…and in the same apartment complex, one floor above the other.

If that’s fate or irony or whatever, I don’t know, but in my experience of using the Internet for work and pleasure for over 15 years, that is one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me. I’m finally meeting bloggers that I’ve admired for some time in my very own backyard. In a city of 8.3 million.

I once said that social media mimics real life relationships. But take it a step further: your online interactions can translate into something incredibly powerful offline. Nineteen months later, Jon and I are great friends, and we make an effort to meet up every so often.

If nothing else, I hope this story has inspired you to reach out and to value the relationships you forge online. You never know who you’ll meet, and it could form a deep and meaningful friendship that never would have been possible if you don’t make that effort. In the end, the bond between those immersed in the social media sphere is a bond that exists nowhere else.

[ The Importance of Networking on the Internet is a post written by Tamar Weinberg. ]

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After months (and I mean months) of planning, the blog redesign for techipedia is finally live.

This wouldn’t have been possible if not for a few people, so I’d like to thank them for their awesome work.

First, thanks to designer Patrick Winfield of 10e20 for the excellent graphic design work. Pat was very patient, and as you can tell, he did an excellent job. Also, thanks to Chris Winfield for giving me a hand on this project.

Second, the backend coding, for the most part, was handled by web developer Cesar Serna, who also did a fantastic job.

Thank you so much for your hard work!

I know there will still be some tweaks that will be made in the upcoming days, but I’d love your feedback on the new design.

[ Techipedia Redesign is Finally Live is a post written by Tamar Weinberg. ]

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David Dalka from Chicago tagged me in a relatively recent meme, and although I’ve already answered this question once before, I decided that I’d do David a favor and oblige.

It took me a good deal of time to find eight things that people don’t really know about me, but I think I have it…

1. When I was young, my mother always said I was going to be a lawyer. I guess I always had a disposition for playing devil’s advocate (or fighting for something I firmly believed in). I still do try to make strong arguments, but I’m not an attorney. The closest thing to that was being a private investigator post-college.
2. I used to read books. A lot. Then, at age 12, I got my own computer. Reading was put on the back burner for about 14 years. I only started picking up books again recently after a close friend suggested that I read some good books.
3. If it’s not obvious, I’m a computer geek and proud of it. My family’s first computer, which we received when I was 7, was an Apple IIgs. Just a few years later, I was playing with my personal IBM PS/1 386 and discovered the Internets. One summer, the modem fried due to lightning from a thunderstorm. It took 3 months for the distributor to replace the modem. That’s what happened when you bought computers from the store back then. Since then, I went with a combination of Dell desktops/laptops and desktops that I built myself. Life is easier when you have a solid warranty and/or are in control of your hardware.
4. I actually spent 8 summers away from computers as a kid. Each of these summers lasted between 6-8 weeks. I went to a sports camp in the middle of the country (Catskill Mountains, New York State) for six of those summers, and I went abroad and on a college summer program for the other two. I have to admit that I didn’t really miss the computer at all back then, and I particularly welcomed the countryside and the serenity it brings. But much has changed in the last 10 years. I don’t think I could do it again.
5. For the record, I’m 26 years old. However, for whatever reason, people think I’m much younger. I think they’re really discriminating against my height (I’m 5’1″). Last week, I went to a club for the first time in years and got carded … except I didn’t have my ID on me. I was at a convention and had to take a cab back to the hotel just to prove myself worthy of entrance to this club, even though I wasn’t planning on drinking anything anyway. On a similar note, when I was 19, I got carded (?!) for a PG-13 movie. I don’t get it.
6. I am a huge fan of entertainment: music, TV, and movies, but I still haven’t seen any of the following: the Godfather trilogy, Indiana Jones, Scarface, Pulp Fiction, and a bunch of other movies I know I must watch (yeah, you don’t have to rub it in). I own the DVDs for all of these, though, but most of them are still in shrink wrap.
7. When I was in college, I had this strong desire to collect Garbage Pail Kids. I then realized I had no need for them. I ended up selling a bunch of them in sets on eBay, but I got lazy, as I used to get weird stares in the college mail room for bringing baseball-card sized boxes to be shipped everyday. I still have lots more, so if anyone is interested in taking them off my hands, give me a shout and a few bucks.
8. I used to be a huge forums participant in a variety of tech forums, particularly AnandTech. I occasionally drop in (but not so much anymore), since I’m happily blogging (and reading books) instead. However, my claim to fame is that on AnandTech, I have over 10,000 posts, which puts me in the category of “Lifer.”

That’s all. I’m not tagging anyone else because I know I won’t hear the end of it.

[ 8 Random Things You Never Really Knew About Me is a post written by Tamar Weinberg. ]

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I don’t like Mylanta, so I’m not sure I would.

But there’s a recipe circulating around the Internet and the result is apparently very tasty. I wonder if it prevents heartburn indefinitely?

[via MAKE.]

[ Would You Eat Mylanta Ice Cream? is a post written by Tamar Weinberg. ]

Read more about The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web, a primer to social media marketing. Or you can subscribe to the Techipedia RSS feed.