InterNations - Women Expats Lives - meet-up

On Saturday, before the run, I was invited to a small meet-up of members of InterNations Women Expat Lives group in one of London's private clubs where I met 7 extremely intelligent and interesting women. I really regret that I had to leave earlier to be able to wake up the next day and complete the run, nevertheless I really enjoyed sharing expat experiences, posting on-line from the club and simply having a chat with newly met women.

I did not however enjoy the situation on the bus on a way there, when I had to stop a robber from taking a wallet out of a girl's bag just in front of me, on a rather empty bus! I was soooo annoyed that this guy even dared to try to do it assuming I will not say a word (scared, trying to blend in, one of a crowd?), that I though I MYSELF will turn into a criminal and hit him! I managed to control myself not to cause myself trouble, still - it did make me very, very angry. I simply have seen enough of this in large cities like Warsaw, Budapest, Barcelona and I do not want to cope with it inhere...it is unacceptable...

Evening turned out to be perfectly pleasant though and I hope to see the ladies again quite soon;)

InterNations

Talking of charity...of of my Polish colleagues invited me to a new Social Network for expats - InterNations.

'InterNations is the first international online Social Network exclusively for people living and working abroad. As a network of trust, InterNations is a place where its members can interact with other internationally-minded individuals sharing the same situation abroad, similar interests, and needs. Members of InterNations can get and keep in touch with private or work-related friends and acquaintances on a global and local level and exchange trustworthy and relevant information on specific topics with each other.'

I must admit that I am very, very impressed by the idea, design, functionalities and charity involved. Let me quote from here again:
'InterNations aims to be the leading platform for exchange between internationally-minded and acting individuals. Building upon a strong and open-minded international community, InterNations is committed to engage charitably and support cross-cultural understanding beyond the scope of its online community. To do so, InterNations and its members take specific actions together with AFS Intercultural Programs to support less privileged people around the world in gaining access to international education and experience.'

There is one very interesting idea here - option to check viewers of your profile with path on how they got to see it. I think it's a great idea for reinforcing the visibility of the site, slightly elitist approach to networking (in positive sense) and business thinking behind the design of the site.

It's still in Beta, but I am very much up for the idea, and I think I will make a good use of it, not only for private purposes - I think it's brilliant for expanding business networks too. The founders prove great professionalism and knowledge of social media (promotion of the site, charity, local and global networking, board and - very crucial - info on upcoming innovations (event calendar and country profiles). All this in a very tasteful design with a polite, personalized e-mail from the admin. Well done!

Check more on their blog.

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