How Social Media Got Me to the Final Four

You see and hear people from time to time saying that social media is just a waste of time because you aren’t making any “real” connections with people.  In case you couldn’t tell by the post title, I’m going to disagree with that notion.

Once upon a time I didn’t use social media.  I did not and have not ever used Myspace.  My wife was using Facebook for a few months before I decided to see what it was all about.  Even when I did sign up for Facebook I didn’t use it a lot at first.  When I got a smartphone that all changed because I had such easy access to the internet.  But somewhere in between signing up and getting that phone my 10 year high school class reunion was setup entirely as an event through Facebook, and this is where we start the road to the Final Four.  I went to that class reunion and so did Alicia Arbuckle.  Alicia and I were friends in high school and hung out occasionally at college since we were both at Purdue, but after getting out of college I don’t think we saw each other or were in contact until the reunion.

A few weeks later my best friend Josh (check out his food blog Castor_Rated) and I received a Facebook message from Alicia.  She works in Indianapolis and has some clients within NCAA.  Because of that connection she was asked if she needed tickets for the Final Four.  Face value tickets at that.  Thoughtful person that she is, the message she sent to us was to see if Josh and I were interested in two of those tickets.  That’s not a tough decision to make when all three of us grew up in Indiana and the Final Four was going to be in Indy that season.  Possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity, so that’s a hard one to pass up.  We live for basketball in this state in case you didn’t know.

So because I got an invite to that reunion and reconnected with a friend who then contacted me through social media I was able to attend both Final Four games and the National Championship game in my home state with two great friends for the whopping total ticket price of $180.00.  On top of all that our mutual friend Mike was able to join us and hang out during the day and for our night life activities.  We all had a great time, and even though we’ve all been friends for over a decade it’s likely that weekend would have never happened without social media playing a part.

Did you see that Butler/Duke final?  Yeah, we were there, and even though the hometown heroes lost by a bucket that weekend goes down as one of the most memorable I’ve ever had.

Those are some big shoes to fill, but now that I’m blogging, tweeting, on other social networks, and have a Facebook fan page I’m sure there’s more good things to come!

Leave a comment and let me know what social media has done for you lately!