We’ve all be on one end of the social media matrix. Be it as a source, resource or the joystick (1985 MS-DOS pc reference, anyone?). In many ways, it is what makes social media work so well. That people who don’t know one another can connect. That people can be sources for complete strangers and that the complete strangers can be resources for the other people. But the connections aren’t always made organically. Oftentimes, they are made by the social media matchmaker. You know, that bubbly, super-social person who thrives on human or digi-human interaction. The one that Has. To Be. Around. People. STAT.

How do you identify these people? Before they connect you and your casual love of fishing with an ice fishing zealot from afar, that is. So, are you or your friends/colleagues are social (media) matchmakers?

You Need a Source? Allow Me

I’m all for helping reporters find sources, whether they are my clients, acquaintances or random people that I may have seen at a networking or social soiree.  But sometimes, people will retweet anybody who is looking for anything. If you have, in the past week, retweeted several people whom you do not regularly interact with on Twitter and helped them to find everything from a manicurist to a pet sitter, odds are, you have become a social media matchmaker. While your good intentions are admirable, don’t let your Twitter stream become a sea of only matches.

Have you met. . .

Introductions from people you know and trust are a great way to build relationships with new people. Be they people you network with in real life, your tweeps, friends or connections. It adds an instant level of comfort to the new and budding relationship. But do you ever feel like you are being introduced to a new person every five seconds? On the other end, does reading ‘Do you know. . .’ make you so excited that you can barely contain your enthusiasm? If you have an obsession with introducing people to one another, be it on a social network or in real life, odds are, you are a social (media) matchmaker.

Unsolicited advice

Sometimes, it makes sense to offer people something they aren’t necessarily looking for. For example, a restaurant may be looking for a new chef, so why not tell them that your friend is available for hire. Sometimes, however, there is no logical reason to chime in. If someone is having a bad day, there is no need to suggest why they are having a bad day. Sometimes, the best thing to do is leave well-enough alone. If you have to chime in, and force yourself upon a casual acquaintance or near stranger, you, my friend, are a social media matchmaker.

Cravings

I’ve heard many a PR pro wish for an early Irish coffee, a midday happy hour and the like. But some people crave socialization. If you find yourself constantly tweeting in search of a social obligation to fill your vacant time and looking for some web-pals to tag along, you are most definitely a social media matchmaker.

So how does one peacefully coexist with a social media matchmaker? Well, you let down your walls, open yourself up to expanding your network in ways you never imagined and prepare yourself for a roller coaster ride full of intrigue. If you are a social media matchmaker, why are you reading this post? Shouldn’t you be making some introductions right now?

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