How Should I Greet You?

Posted in Marketing on March 17th, 2011.
Weird Handshake

Photo courtesy of Baaschite via Flickr

Something I’ve been really pondering lately is how should I greet a close twitter friend for the first time in person?

This hasn’t happened to me yet — meeting someone completely over Twitter and then bumping into them in the real world — but I know it’s bound to happen.

Now, I’ve had a few relationships transpire through Twitter and then we followed up over email and phone conversations and that was a bit easier to transition in person. But I’ve never encountered a “I know you just on Twitter” colleague in person yet.

So if you’ve been tweeting back and forth with someone for over a year now, really connecting through business thought and interesting feedback, maybe even some friendly banter and jokes back and forth…how do you greet one another in person for the first time?

Do you go with the “I’m going to give you a big hug and then realize I don’t really know you” embrace?

How about the “Keep your distance – all arms hug”? Would we pull out our “Secret Special Handshake?” Or maybe a just old fashioned handshake…I don’t know.

How do you or have you greeted “tweeps” for the first time face-to-face?

 

What do you think? If I met you in person, how would we greet one another?

Categories: Marketing
  • http://twitter.com/MitziLawrence MitziLawrenceSchwabe

    You can’t prepare for a singular moment in time. You have to be true to who you are, and I’m a “big hug” kinda girl. I can pull off “firm handshake” when needed, but my inclination is to hug and that’s what I’ve done when meeting Twitter friends ~ even for the first time.

    • http://twitter.com/timbickers Tim Bickers

      I come from a family of huggers as well! I like the “be who you are” style. Good thought.