Making Friends The Old Fashioned Way

Milly, one of my school friends, my very first friend to be precise, sent me some information on the way she is attempting to make friends as she grows older.  I had been extolling the virtues of Facebook  to her, and Twitter, and even encouraging her to start writing a blog.   She has been cautiously interested and has learned to send emails, which is more than I can say for the husband for whom I provided a Tablet at least two years ago.  But enough of that because this post is not about him.

Milly asked me what the purpose of `likes’ and `followers’ was  because she was genuinely keen on extending her social circle - and I tried to explain though to be honest I am not terribly clear about this myself.

`You have to be likeable yourself,’   I said brightly, `Learn to like other people – and they will like you in return.  Some may even follow you.’

`Like disciples?’  she asked uncertainly.

`Not quite like that,’ I told her.

She thought that was a pity and I insisted that she get started. 

She said she would and  today she sent me a progress report.   She had started by attempting to first make friends outside of Facebook and Twitter she said, whilst applying the same principles used by Social Media.

This is how it works.  Every day Milly goes down to the bottom of her street and tells passers- by what she has just had for breakfast, where she went yesterday, where she had dinner the previous evening and what she plans to do that day.    If they pause to chat for a moment  she tells them what she thinks about almost everything.    She is able to follow this up with photographs which she keeps in her pocket specifically for the purpose.  She hands out  pictures of her family, her dog - one of her doing some gardening and one of her hubby in the local library choosing reading matter from the History section..

It’s not all about her of course.  She is careful to listen to the news of those she accosts – she encourages them to tell her more and tells them that she likes them.  She has given little cards with hearts on to some of her new friends.  They were very pleased.

She says these ploys really do work.  She is making friends and gathering followers.  She currently has two people following her – though they both seem to be police officers.