I’m finally now seeing the scary side of Facebook. This very scenario was presented to me a few years ago by my wife in a frozen yogurt shop not too far from our house. While waiting in line she was readily aware of the kids around us and in fact she knew them. She knew nearly all of their names. But she had never been introduced to any of them. This was way before we had children of our own but it scared her that she could potentially know so much about these strangers and have so much private information without them having any idea. It merits us being stricter with our own privacy controls now that we have our own child, in fact.
But this scenario occurred in my own life at AIBTM next week. I met a woman from an agency that does what Hotel Lobbyists does at a networking event and was convinced that she and I had met before. I read her name tag and the name and geography sounded familiar but still gave nothing away. And then it struck me – I had met her husband some years ago, had become Facebook friends, and correspond on a very rare basis. But he’s an avid poster. And I’m an avid looker. So it means that I’d been virtually introduced to his lovely family including his wife. I’d seen many photos, so many that I felt like I knew her!
I’m fortunate that even after explaining this circumstance that she wasn’t so freaked out she went running or screamed “stalker” right in the ballroom. But nonetheless, a new dynamic to watch out for at networking events that didn’t exist a few short years ago!