Social media kills the Seattle Freeze

When I mentioned a few months ago on Facebook that I was considering moving to Seattle, a friend responded with a direct message. In it, she warned of the "Seattle Freeze," a phenomenon the city is apparently famous for. The Freeze refers to the phenomenon of residents offering a level of polite social interaction--and nothing else. No invites to coffee, dinner or any expression of interest in getting to know newbies better.

The Seattle Times summed up the infamous attitude with this tidbit in a 2005 article on the Freeze:

But the dichotomy most fundamental to our collective civic character is this: Polite but distant. Have a nice day. Somewhere else.

I have yet to experience the Seattle Freeze. I've been here for about six weeks now, and I've had numerous coffee dates, lunches, dinners, drinks, barbeques and parties with Seattleites. My calendar has been brimming with explorations and events. I went with a group to see Harry Potter on IMAX (the 3D action sequence in the beginning is nauseating; skip it and watch it on a regular screen). I checked out the local Washington Renaissance Faire with a couple of natives. I sat in a box at a Mariners game. I tried out the famous ZigZag Cafe with the fabulous Karianne Stinson, a reporter, Todd Buckley, Gabriel Bell (technically, he was a pre-Seattle friend) and Brian Crouch, all new friends from Social Media Club Seattle.

Oh, I'm sorry; was that cheating?

At a lunch last week, Kenji Onozawa, a new buddy from the Social Media Club, asked if I'd experienced the Seattle Freeze. "Heard of it yes," I acknowledged. "But I haven't experienced it, myself."

Blame Chris Heuer (seen here at Seattle's Hops and Chops event last week) for founding the Social Media Club chain. He masterminded a concept and let others run with it: create a club, invite anyone who's interested, provide food, drink and intelligent speakers, and let people get social and talk social media in a social setting. And even though Social Media Club Seattle has only been around since January of this year, it's already going strong, with a dedicate board and a thriving and growing membership based.

Well, Chris, it worked. You killed the Seattle Freeze.

Four days after arriving in Seattle, I attended a Social Media Club Seattle event. I followed every I met there on Twitter and friended on Facebook; they followed me back. We started conversing on Twitter, which led to DMs setting up coffees and lunches. They'd mention going to an event with a hashtag; I'd ask what the event was and if I could still get in. Usually the answer was yes, and I'd go in to the event knowing who'd helped me get in and who I could start introducing to others.

Oh, that's another key: I didn't wait to be introduced. Go out and introduce others to the people you DO know. If you know two people at an event, stand in a circle and talk with them. When newbies break into the circle, jump to introduce them to the people you know:

"Hey, we haven't met. I'm Heidi Miller. And have you met Karianne and Kenji?" You'll quickly become seen as the one who knows everyone, and everyone will want to be in your circle.

And the Seattle Freeze is left on the wayside. Social Media Club killed it.