Sign up now for 50+ free audio & video pre-recorded classes on living your truth, marketing, and relationships by clicking on this link.

#SXSWi pt 1: Unconsummated Fangirl Stalking of @gapingvoid

By on March 18, 2010 in Events and Adventures

So generally speaking, I don’t get intimidated by anyone.

You make a zillion dollars more than me, are decades older, have a blog with a billion readers? Awesome. I’m much more concerned whether you are a non-idiot who is funny & has something interesting to say.

I pride myself on being able to talk to just about anybody.

But I totally have a ridiculous fangirl thing for @gapingvoid (Hugh MacLeod, author of “Ignore Everybody”). I re-read his book once a month. Tell everyone to buy it. Read his blog. Follow his twitter. I’ve even bought a print of one of his cartoons as the first piece of art for my wall. Actually, the first art print I’ve ever bought in my life.

And he was on my short list of who I wanted to meet (aka stalk) at SXSW.

So instead of finding him in his booth or at a coffee shop or a bunch of other places I could have tracked him down for a conversation (because, as I lamented to Sarah Robinson, “I don’t think I could talk to him!” or “I might throw up on him!”), I chickened out.

And went to hear him on a panel on Monday.

And tweeted about it.

And 15 minutes before the panel, he @ replied back that I should go up to him before they start, and say hi. (omg!)

But I missed the tweet, in my lame effort to concern iPhone battery power. #technologyfail

And after the panel, even after I had read the tweet, I could have talked to him.

But I freaked and went down the escalator instead to grab lunch with a friend. #lameexcuse

Later I tried to find him in the expo at his table. He was either not there or was being interviewed on camera. #stalkingfail

So what’s the lesson?

I should have talked to him. When he *invited* me to.

Or found him at a coffee house, or some other place where he was not being bombarded by people.

The lesson is that everyone is fangirl/fanboy about someone.

We all are slightly insane.

This happens when someone says or does something that has a huge effect on our lives, before we’ve connected with them as human beings. It’s completely one-sided. And can get a bit wonky.

But really … we are all just people.

We want to make a connection with the very people who love our work.

I mean, wtf are we doing this for anyway, if we don’t get to talk to each other?

So the next time I get all fangirl over someone, I’m tracking them down & making a connection before I get too wonky.

And if you see me at a conference or tweetup, and want to come talk to me, do it.

If I’m sitting by myself, it’s not because I want to be alone, it’s because I’m an introvert and networking is scary.

If it helps, send me a @/DM on twitter first, and I’ll give you a specific invitation.

See you then.

Have you ever been nervous to talk to someone? (Did you every throw up on someone, because I’m kind of worried about that.) What happened when you got up the guts to talk to them?

Related Posts

, , , , ,

  • Alison Kramer

    Maybe you should ask Jonathan Fields how i bugged Scott endlessly to make sure i could meet him and then gave him a big geeky fangirl hug…oy
    But i got to meet him :) and would have regretted it otherwise (and now if he reads this i will need to change my twitter avatar to one of me blushing) ;)
    One of the things i respect most about people, and that i think shows their true character, is how they react to their “fans”. How cool is it for someone to want to meet you?!?

  • http://wpmututorials.com Andrea_R

    I did! I was all nervous to meet someone, so I gulped and introduced myself. know what he said?

    “Oh! I know you!”

    and yes, I just about fell over. :D

  • randomshelly

    I have never thrown up on someone, well from 'meeting' them anyway… but I have gotten those butterflies in my stomach meeting a few people. usually when it's been hyped up or when I need to get a point across…

    I think I am one of the easiest people to talk to, I will talk about anything to anyone at almost any time… but I've been told by numerous people (once they get to know me) that I seemed unapproachable when they first saw/met me. That ALWAYS floors me! I know I am basically introverted… (I'd be 3 feet down from you sitting by myself too!) but I love good conversations… haven't quite figured out how to let people know that I'm approachable yet (without hanging a sign around my neck) but I'd like to figure that out! :)

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    I seriously will tweet out “I'm sitting here outside the conference room on the floor charging my iPhone, please come talk to me” … and people do. :-)

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    omg yes. I'm so amazed when people who I read & buy stuff from actually know who I am. totally weird. but awesome.

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    (I met Jonathan Fields too, he was totally awesome & I instantly resonated
    w/ him. very cool.)

    Yes, I agree. How someone handles meeting a “fan” is a true measure of
    character. I mean, the people who love our stuff are the ones who made us.
    If we don't love them & appreciate them (to their faces!) then what is the
    point?

    When I see someone who treats people with disrespect & takes them for
    granted … they totally go on my “lame people” list. Except I use more bad
    words to describe them.

    :)

  • Alison Kramer
    • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

      (I met Jonathan Fields too, he was totally awesome & I instantly resonated
      w/ him. very cool.)

      Yes, I agree. How someone handles meeting a “fan” is a true measure of
      character. I mean, the people who love our stuff are the ones who made us.
      If we don’t love them & appreciate them (to their faces!) then what is the
      point?

      When I see someone who treats people with disrespect & takes them for
      granted … they totally go on my “lame people” list. Except I use more bad
      words to describe them.

      :)

  • http://wpmututorials.com Andrea_R

    I did! I was all nervous to meet someone, so I gulped and introduced myself. know what he said?

    “Oh! I know you!”

    and yes, I just about fell over. :D

    • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

      omg yes. I’m so amazed when people who I read & buy stuff from actually know who I am. totally weird. but awesome.

      • http://communityethics.co.uk Josh Chandler

        It’s truly amazing to hear your experiences. We live in a very flat world (socially) thanks to social media, I feel truly blessed to know that someone I meet can look into my profile at a moment’s notice and be able to strike up conversations with me based on the tweet they just saw. :)

  • http://www.randomshelly.com/blog/ Shelly

    I have never thrown up on someone, well from ‘meeting’ them anyway… but I have gotten those butterflies in my stomach meeting a few people. usually when it’s been hyped up or when I need to get a point across…

    I think I am one of the easiest people to talk to, I will talk about anything to anyone at almost any time… but I’ve been told by numerous people (once they get to know me) that I seemed unapproachable when they first saw/met me. That ALWAYS floors me! I know I am basically introverted… (I’d be 3 feet down from you sitting by myself too!) but I love good conversations… haven’t quite figured out how to let people know that I’m approachable yet (without hanging a sign around my neck) but I’d like to figure that out! :)

    • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

      I seriously will tweet out “I’m sitting here outside the conference room on the floor charging my iPhone, please come talk to me” … and people do. :-)

      • http://communityethics.co.uk Josh Chandler

        ah, well based on the last conference I attended where I met a few people just from loaning out my iPhone charger it seems as though it’s a powerful and easy way to start talking. :)

  • http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

    See, this is why you should continue showing your imperfections. They are so very, very comforting.

  • http://banannie.com/blog Annie Boccio

    There was only one person at the conference that I was a total fangirl for, danah boyd, but I never really had a chance to meet her- until she was on my flight home from Austin. I hesitated, then finally got up the courage to walk over and introduce myself just before we boarded, but she took a phone call right at that moment, and approaching her while the plane was in flight just seemed stalker-ish to me :( .

  • http://www.gapingvoid.com gapingvoid

    *BLUSHES*

  • http://www.CashAndJoy.com Catherine Caine

    See, this is why you should continue showing your imperfections. They are so very, very comforting.

    • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

      I’m glad it helps you Catherine!

  • http://annieboccio.com/ Annie Boccio

    There was only one person at the conference that I was a total fangirl for, danah boyd, but I never really had a chance to meet her- until she was on my flight home from Austin. I hesitated, then finally got up the courage to walk over and introduce myself just before we boarded, but she took a phone call right at that moment, and approaching her while the plane was in flight just seemed stalker-ish to me :( .

    • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

      Yeah, I feel weird when people are kind of in a contained space where they can’t escape me. Like a bathroom. ;-)

  • http://www.gapingvoid.com gapingvoid

    *BLUSHES*

    • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

      (excuse me while I go fangirl for a moment – omg, gapingvoid commented on my blog! oy, gapingvoid read what I wrote about him!)

      But seriously Hugh, the next time we are at the same conference I am going to stop by and say hi. Besides, the fact that I enjoy your stuff & am even hanging prints of your stuff on my wall, makes it pretty likely that we’ll at least be able to have a conversation, eh?

      Thank you for being awesome and for all of the help your words have had on my business, they have been exactly what I needed whenever I have read them. That is all.

      • http://www.gapingvoid.com gapingvoid

        No worries. I love my fangirls.

        gapingvoid has the world’s best fangirls!!!! Rock on.

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    I'm glad it helps you Catherine!

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    Yeah, I feel weird when people are kind of in a contained space where they can't escape me. Like a bathroom. ;-)

  • http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com ElizabethPW

    (excuse me while I go fangirl for a moment – omg, gapingvoid commented on my blog! oy, gapingvoid read what I wrote about him!)

    But seriously Hugh, the next time we are at the same conference I am going to stop by and say hi. Besides, the fact that I enjoy your stuff & am even hanging prints of your stuff on my wall, makes it pretty likely that we'll at least be able to have a conversation, eh?

    Thank you for being awesome and for all of the help your words have had on my business, they have been exactly what I needed whenever I have read them. That is all.

  • http://CouchSurfingOri.com CouchsurfingOri

    It’s True! EPW has told me on numerous times to buy Hugh’s book.

    I can actually visualize you stalking someone…. cartoon like tippy toe between columns, then walking around them with your back hugged against them, as to not be detected… There are so many booths, people, and displays to hide behind at SXSW! It would totally work :)

    If you’re a REAL Fangirl, you’ll make a FanGirl video about your crush on Hugh…. Try to do the whole school-girl look… think it’ll work out for the best :)

  • http://www.tomorrowsweb.com/blog Josh Chandler

    It's truly amazing to hear your experiences. We live in a very flat world (socially) thanks to social media, I feel truly blessed to know that someone I meet can look into my profile at a moment's notice and be able to strike up conversations with me based on the tweet they just saw. :)

  • http://www.tomorrowsweb.com/blog Josh Chandler

    ah, well based on the last conference I attended where I met a few people just from loaning out my iPhone charger it seems as though it's a powerful and easy way to start talking. :)

  • http://www.gapingvoid.com gapingvoid

    No worries. I love my fangirls.

    gapingvoid has the world's best fangirls!!!! Rock on.

  • johndodds

    Your post resonated greatly with me. One of the joys of blog connectivity (and subsequent meetups) has been the way over the past five or so years, people I admired from their books have become friends in real-life and how I've met innumerable smart, enriching and uniformly nice people from all walks of life and work. And I would not consider myself to be particularly socially self-confident.

    As for Hugh, I met him very early on in this adventure and have enjoyed conversations and drinks with him in many places over the years. He's a very good guy, he doesn't bite and he's never made me want to throw up.

  • johndodds

    Your post resonated greatly with me. One of the joys of blog connectivity (and subsequent meetups) has been the way over the past five or so years, people I admired from their books have become friends in real-life and how I’ve met innumerable smart, enriching and uniformly nice people from all walks of life and work. And I would not consider myself to be particularly socially self-confident.

    As for Hugh, I met him very early on in this adventure and have enjoyed conversations and drinks with him in many places over the years. He’s a very good guy, he doesn’t bite and he’s never made me want to throw up.

  • http://www.bestbizwebsitesolutions.com jhaubein

    It's too bad you didn't get to meet him if only to say hi. It is weird how certain people make us feel nervous like this. One thought I had though is throwing up on someone when meeting them because I was so nervous. That would certainly be something they would remember :)

    I had never heard the term fangirl until you said and I like it. I am somewhat of a fangirl for Gary Vee. I had no idea who he was a year ago, but my business mentor gave me a signed copy of his wine book. Then I just became really impressed with his business advice, videos, Ustream shows, and his book.

    I did meet Gary very briefly at his wine party at SXSW thanks to you! I didn't think we were going to get in and was just about to leave when I saw Gary standing outside asking us to find a new place for the party. Then we were the first people there at the new party since we were already outside. He served me a glass of wine and all I could say was thank you. I had wanted to talk to him a little more after things settled down but never got a chance to.

    So thanks for sharing your fan girl story. Hopefully you'll meet him in person next year :) I've never heard of him to be honest so I will go check out his book and everything since you recommend it.

  • http://www.bestbizwebsitesolutions.com jhaubein

    It’s too bad you didn’t get to meet him if only to say hi. It is weird how certain people make us feel nervous like this. One thought I had though is throwing up on someone when meeting them because I was so nervous. That would certainly be something they would remember :)

    I had never heard the term fangirl until you said and I like it. I am somewhat of a fangirl for Gary Vee. I had no idea who he was a year ago, but my business mentor gave me a signed copy of his wine book. Then I just became really impressed with his business advice, videos, Ustream shows, and his book.

    I did meet Gary very briefly at his wine party at SXSW thanks to you! I didn’t think we were going to get in and was just about to leave when I saw Gary standing outside asking us to find a new place for the party. Then we were the first people there at the new party since we were already outside. He served me a glass of wine and all I could say was thank you. I had wanted to talk to him a little more after things settled down but never got a chance to.

    So thanks for sharing your fan girl story. Hopefully you’ll meet him in person next year :) I’ve never heard of him to be honest so I will go check out his book and everything since you recommend it.

  • http://www.bestbizwebsitesolutions.com jhaubein

    It's too bad you didn't get to meet him if only to say hi. It is weird how certain people make us feel nervous like this. One thought I had though is throwing up on someone when meeting them because I was so nervous. That would certainly be something they would remember :)

    I had never heard the term fangirl until you said and I like it. I am somewhat of a fangirl for Gary Vee. I had no idea who he was a year ago, but my business mentor gave me a signed copy of his wine book. Then I just became really impressed with his business advice, videos, Ustream shows, and his book.

    I did meet Gary very briefly at his wine party at SXSW thanks to you! I didn't think we were going to get in and was just about to leave when I saw Gary standing outside asking us to find a new place for the party. Then we were the first people there at the new party since we were already outside. He served me a glass of wine and all I could say was thank you. I had wanted to talk to him a little more after things settled down but never got a chance to.

    So thanks for sharing your fan girl story. Hopefully you'll meet him in person next year :) I've never heard of him to be honest so I will go check out his book and everything since you recommend it.