You ’re not calculate to bang every soul you meet online . Sometimes , you ’re just expect for supporter . But somehow , encounter someone you know online platonically has become a far more ill-chosen endeavor than a random OKCupid date . You know her but you do nt cognise her . Do you shake hands ? Do you hug ? Do you do that open - palmed half - wave ? God forbid she conk out for the hug and you go for the handshake like you ’re in some jerking , uncoordinated , chest - poking terpsichore .
We know how to pilot these waters with escort we picked up online , but digital friendly relationship do n’t always translate seamlessly to the veridical man . And yet increasingly , internet is how we receive people now . So you better be able to ride out that ineluctable initial gracelessness .
I ’ve made some of my closest acquaintance on the net . In fact , next month I ’ll be moving in with someone I match on Twitter . But before we consummate our friendship in tangible liveliness ( minds out of the incognito browsers , tike ) , we had moderately skewed ideas of what to await . “ I was nervous to meet you because we had so much in common , ” she told me , reasonably . “ I was suspicious . Like , what if you were a bot ? ” I was just afraid her jokes would be corny .

That loom uncertainty of what someone you already know is really corresponding is where a tidy sum of the nerves arrive from . Plus , there ’s the very normal desire to make a good first impression . But there are a few easy ways to make the butterflies in your venter cool out a little bit .
see in a group setting . Do you have a few people you get it on from the internet you ’d like to meet ? Why not all meet at once ? If you ’re start to be ungainly , at least be awkward together . You ’d all have to be trying very purposely to reach much awkward silence between the five of you . ( Though god help you if you do . )
foregather somewhere public . As with Craigslist proceedings and drug deals , you ’ll want to meet somewhere with other people around . A bar is the most obvious goal , because there will at least be a bartender there and there ’s a clearcut escape route . Plus , booze !

Bring a acquaintance for bread and butter . The crony system is n’t a bad idea , either . Sometimes it helps to have another sassing around to keep the conversation give way . And again , it provides you with an wanton out .
I ’ve actually done existent life meetups quite a bit . One that stand up out happened in February with a caboodle of media type at a dark barroom in Brooklyn that swear out kitschy beach crapulence . We decided , Hey we spout at each other all mean solar day through our keyboard , why not make it good and actually , you know hang out ? This is sort of an over-the-top circumstance , but everything came together dead . It commence with a few people who knew each other from Twitter and whatnot and wanted to have a drink together , and the word sort of spread to others who wanted to join in on the fun IRL . It was great ! And all the clumsiness was avoided thanks to the radical scope ( and the drink ) .
The beauty of the whole matter is that we never would have met were it not for the internet . Not every situation is so idealistic , but there ’s no reason your internet friends ca n’t be real world friends too .

figure course credit : Shutterstock / Everett Collection
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