One of the best things about [[Making friends online]][^1] is that you end up with a large group of people you can visit while you travel. If you are interested in converting those online relationships into in-real-life friendships—something I highly recommend—then you should start keeping track of where people live. I use a database in my [[Travel dashboard]] to do just that. I also include people I already know—friends, family, and former colleagues—and might want to visit in this same database. Whenever I'm planning a trip, I can easily search for people that live in the area I'm visiting and set something up. I also keep [a form on my website](https://rscottjones.com/meet-up/) that allows people to request to place *themselves* in my to-visit database. I regularly add new additions from these submissions to my database. I happen to keep my people to visit database in Notion with the rest of my travel management system, but you can use a spreadsheet, plain text file, or even just a notebook (use each page for a different state or country). Here are the fields I keep track of: - Name - City - State (or country if outside the US) - Personal website - Social media handles (Mastodon/ActivityPub, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Twitter) - IRL (these are people I've already met in person) - VIRT (people I've met on video calls, but not yet in person) - SUBM (people who have submitted their info as opposed to me adding them myself) - Stay (people who have offered us a place to stay while we visit) - Notes (I add some notes, especially for people I don't know too well and aren't yet in my address book) Use whatever fields work best for you, of course. [^1]: In May 2017 I set a personal goal one meeting one "new" social media in-real-life every month for five years. I met that goal, made some really great friends (some of which I even had in my wedding ceremony), and decided to continue the one-a-month goal indefinitely. Of all the people I've met, only one was awkward and someone I've skipped seeing again. Those are pretty damn good odds in my book. *** Posted: Feb 3, 2021 Updated: July 26, 2023