One of the most important things that we have learned in this class is how important to have social proof. As we were working towards our larger event I talked to my friends about it on facebook, inviting them to the event... picking my friends who were already starting to work in the digital world themselves... My friend Paul, for example, who has started his own business teaching others to dance, using social media to help him find new clients. Another friend from my mission, who loves learning and developing the next new thing. Another member of my CHinese class who was interested in Open Government... plenty of people who would have a stake in the concepts that were being presented.
Try as I might, personalize as I will... this event cannot dissuade them from other wednesday night parties, or final homework attempts to finish everything before the deadlines of a dying semester. I branched out, and started talking to my friends personally. Talking to the varied people in my chinese class... some are very interested in going, but alas no one has that night free.
Determined I continue my quest to invite someone to go, but again and again I am turned down ... for a club party or for homework or a date for engagements photos. I invite them to watch the video stream, and even that is too time consuming for them.
The time of the event was exciting. I arrived, excited to see which of my friends had actually shown up, and realized that none of them had made the time to attend. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I interacted on twitter (my first time on twitter, sans the practice in class) I got to answer questions and ask questions and attempt to make everything more interesting for the people sitting next to me, even writing down their questions on twitter for them.
I then had to leave early to prepare the snacks for the trip... enjoying the presentation with the two people who I was helping prepare the treats. We enjoyed the presentations on the ustream, even though our hands were too busy to actually interact over the ustream.
It was a fun event, lack of friends notwithstanding... but as soon as I was about to leave, my little sister came in panting, she had forgotten about the event and had been racing to make it in time. Which meant that at least someone had paid attention to my invitations. Then she told me she remembered because two people had invited her, me and David Perkins (one of her students she TAs for in the Physics dept)
Next time I am going to try and have two people invite my friends to activities so they become more interested in attending.
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