I had coffee this week with an old colleague who I had lost touch with over the past few years.  It was great to catch up with her and we got on the topic of keeping your eyes open for opportunities and the little signs that point you on a new path.  It might sound a little cheesy but I have to say that a lot of people miss the little clues that might help guide them to the next step in their life or career – if they’d only lift their head up from their computers every now and then to see them.

I would like to share two personal examples with you on how Twitter can help you to keep your eyes open to new opportunities.  These examples could not have been possible had I not been looking intently AT my computer screen.  So, I guess this story is a bit of a paradox – but the lesson is still about taking those blinders off!

Here are two personal examples:

(1) Discovering new opportunities to follow interests
A few weeks ago, I was chatting with someone about the fact that I really enjoy blogging.  I told them that I’d love to one day write blogs about digital media for someone other than myself (and the readers like you who happen to come across it) on my own blog. Literally that same night, I had just come home from an event and I thought I’d go online to check out what was happening in the world since I had last been online – at least 5 hours before  To my very happy surprise, I saw a tweet from TechVibes.com saying that they were looking for new Toronto Tech bloggers and I just HAD to apply that very moment because I knew this was something I wanted to try.

Had I not started following TechVibes on Twitter and keeping my eyes open for new opportunities, I would have never discovered a new way to expand my hobby.  They said yes to my application, and I am now able to share interesting stories about the Toronto technology scene with their community.

(2) Reconnecting with old friends
My second story is about how I came to be having coffee with my colleague – who I hadn’t been in touch with in about 3 years.  I was on LinkedIn last week and saw a feed from her Twitter account in the LinkedIn “Network Activity” news feed.  She mentioned that she was going to be participating in the new year’s day “Polar Bear Dip” on behalf of Habitat for Humanity.  Since the “polar bear dip” is on my bucket list, I commented on her Tweet.  She told me to join her because the Polar Bear Dip needs more crazy people like me – see her response below  I’m still trying to work-up the courage to join her!

That same week, she e-mailed me to ask if I’d like to go for coffee to catch up.  I of course said yes and had a great time chatting with her about the trials and tribulations of being a freelancer.  We’re now helping each other out through a collaboration document to share the best tools and tricks we can find in social media – we’re both learning as we go.  I’m so excited to be working with her again – even if it’s just a virtual collaboration.

Practical application for your business:
These examples are ways that Twitter has helped me to connect with people to advance my personal interests.  If it can work to keep my eyes open for personal opportunities – the same can be applied to finding customer opportunities in business.  The application of the tool works in the exact same way.

Please share your stories and ideas about finding new customer opportunities through Twitter.