Rands (AKA Michael Lopp) has a new essay about networking. In particular, it’s about the kind of “soft” networking that I’m always talking about. It’s the kind of networking that isn’t directed, where your goal is just to meet interesting people. Rands takes that idea of meeting interesting people and applies a bit more focus, where it’s about meeting “Your People.”

I have a lot of My People in my life. I just got back from GDC Austin and it was one of the best conference experiences I’ve ever had. I think now that it’s because the evenings were full of My People. Rands is right: My People will question what I’m doing with my life and push me in often unexpected, sometimes uncomfortable directions. But that’s part of the fun.

The part that really resonated with me is the bit about stories. Rands says that all day long, there’s a story being written in our own heads.

It’s your inner dialogue and it’s often full of shit. [...] We see the world how we want. A carpenter sees all problems as a nail. I see problems as finite state machines.

As we edit our days into these stories, there is always a risk of fiction. [...]

You tell these stories to Your People without reservation. Your People love your stories — fiction and all. They love how you tell them, they laugh about the lies you tell yourself, and then they stop and they tell you the truth.

Networking is the art of finding those who are willing to listen to and critique your stories.