Frequently, I come across some really cool projects online. Since I have been spending a lot of time working on my portfolio website, personal blog, and business websites, I have been looking at a lot of similar websites made by others to get inspiration on the changes to implement on my own sites.

Recently, I came across the company website of two best friends and business partners, Nate St. Pierre and J. Money, for Skeleton Crew Creative. While browsing the site, I landed on the projects page. On this page, they list and describe some of the highlighted projects that they have worked on. One project in particular caught my eye—”I Met You Today,” a project for documenting interesting encounters. Immediately after doing some digging, I was hooked! I knew for sure that I wanted to create something like it on my own website.

What is “I Met You Today?”

“A tiny personal project that lets Nate and Jay give a little bit back to the interesting and impactful people they meet in their lives. They each carry a card for the site, and whenever they meet someone who makes an impact on them, they leave a card with that person, and then they have 24 hours to update the site with a thoughtful post on why the encounter was meaningful.”

Skeleton Crew Creative

There’s not much else that I can say to clarify what the project is—their description is straight to the point.

We often hear that “first impressions are everything,” but how often do you get the inside scoop on how it went or the impression you’d made? Most times, you don’t!

It isn’t often that you (or I) get the opportunity to know of the impact that meeting you had on people you’ve met throughout the day. In most cases, people will talk behind your back and share their experience of meeting you with people they already know. Sometimes, you never even see or talk to that person again. With this project, Nate and Jay intentionally make a point of documenting their perspectives of meeting people and sharing them with those who have made an impact on them in their daily lives.

Why it matters (to me)?

“There are so few opportunities in life to turn an honest, positive encounter with a stranger into an actual friendship . . . maybe we can create more chances of that happening with a project like this.”

“If nothing else, it gives us the chance to think through the encounter and write it up in a positive way, giving us an archive of thoughtfully written experiences to remember whenever we get depressed about the state of the world. Most of the time, the person we’re writing about visits the site and gets to see the difference they’ve made in someone’s life. And, in the very best cases, an actual friendship is formed if they reach out to say hello.”

I Met You Today

In today’s digital culture, making meaningful, real-life connections with people is getting more and more difficult. From fake personas and over-exaggerated experiences to ghost and spam accounts, there’s no telling who you’re meeting online. Instances like this only make in-person interactions like networking and events that much more rewarding.

In most cases, we may share phone numbers and emails or even add our new connections on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to keep in touch, which may or may not be fruitful. In some cases, we never actually transition from the initial meeting to a personal or professional relationship.

In this phase of my life, I am really focused on intentionally cultivating more meaningful relationships. A project like this is appealing to me because it will force me to produce something tangible from the connections that I make daily and encourage a habit of practicing my writing skills.

What I plan to do

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel; I’m going to follow Nate and Jay’s lead!

Here on my website, I will create a page to document meaningful interactions that I’ve had in my own life. Just like Nate and Jay, I will create my own card to give out when I meet someone who makes an impact on me, and then I’ll have 24 hours to post an entry on why the encounter was meaningful to me.

Does this project sound interesting to you? Follow along and read my updates on my personal website, and sign up for my email list to get my updates right in your inbox.