Getting Social On The Seawall

I recently had the pleasure of visiting what has to be my favorite Canadian city; Vancouver, in beautiful British Columbia. I often stay near English Bay, a neat little beach area tucked between the soaring high rises of the “West End” and the pride of all Vancouverites; Stanley Park. It’s an amazing haven in the midst of the big city chaos, and a place to relax from the daily guest article submitting I do.

From the http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley/ website

Stanley Park is recognized around the globe as one of the great parks of the world! Vancouver’s first park and one of the city’s main tourist attractions, Stanley Park is an evergreen oasis of 400 hectares (1,000 acres) close to the downtown core. Its natural west coast atmosphere offering a back drop of majestic cedar, hemlock and fir trees embraces visitors and transports them to an environment rich in tranquility. The park abounds in wildlife and its features appeal to the naturalist, the plant lover or one who would do nothing more than relax in beautiful surroundings. There is always something happening in the park

Strolling the seawall

One of the great features of Stanley Park is the “seawall”, a delightful 22km paved path that circles the entire park, and is enjoyed by tourists and local alike.  One of my great pleasures on each West End visit is rising early and spending an enjoyable hour walking the wall, savouring the damp, tangy salt air (quite a contrast from the dry, Prairie air I’m used to) and taking in the sights of a dozen or so grain freighters at anchor in the harbour, maybe catching a glimpse of a family of Canadian Geese padding the shoreline, or if I’m really lucky, seeing a Cruise Liner slowly idling into port. It’s a real nice way to start your day, except for one thing….

Where are all the smiles?

Each morning I’d pass dozens of fellow walkers, joggers, roller bladers, & cyclists all getting their exercise. On this last trip, I observed just how focussed everyone was on their task at hand, and  they would  jog right past you, and without a glance my way it seemed.

I come from a small town, where I know probably 50% of the residents, and to me it’s incomprehensible to walk by a fellow human being without acknowledging them with a smile, or a nod even.  But not here, it seemed no one acknowledged my existence, and I recall thinking what a surly bunch they were on the coast.

The more I walked, the more I got thinking; I wonder what those people are thinking of ME as I walked by them. You see I was so focussed on deciding everyone was a snob out here, that I wasn’t doing much in the way of attracting smiles myself. Maybe I was the snob?

Getting Social

I decided to try an experiment. Rather than walking by and waiting for the other guy to acknowledge me, I’d turn it around; I would give everyone a resounding hello and flash them a glimpse of my pearly whites.

It was amazing.  Of the next ten people I passed, nine responded with a nod or a smile. Only one gave me a look like I should go back to the Prairies (but I think he was tourist!)

Next ten, I kept my eyes front & center, and not a soul said a word. Then the next group got a cheery “Good Morning” & to a person they all smiled & waved.

Making the effort, reaching out

It occurred to me that walking the seawall is not unlike operating a website or a blog. If you lurk behind your internet connection,  you’ll never be”meeting” people in the outside cyber world. However, if you make the effort to reach out, smile a little, simply say Hi in passing, you’ll be amazed at how many people reciprocate.
Just like on the seawall…

Some people do this very well. Adrienne Smith, for example will flash you a “cyber smile” as big as the one on her website profile pic. All you have to do is acknowledge her & I guarantee you will be treated to a resounding response.

Just like on the seawall….

But lurk around behind your screen, studying stats, building your back links or what have you, without ever taking the time to reach out and simply say Hi, and you’ll be spending your days wondering why everyone is stolling on by and never even noticing you.

Just like on the seawall….

Why don’t you stop by ten bloggers and flash them a big Hi. It’s not hard. Here’s a list of CommentLuv Enabled blogs that’ll help you out, courtesy of  Ana at TrafficGeneration Cafe

Like I was on the seawall that day, you’ll be amazed at the response when you initiate something! Get Social!

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Tagged as: guest post, social, social media, stanley park, vancouver