One awesome trend on Twitter is the proliferation of invites to informal dinners and drinks, particularly in the tech and finance area.

It’s more than just a sign that Covid is over.

It’s a whole new way to connect and one that seems largely alien to older generations, including my own (Gen X).

It’s hard to imagine many people in their late 50s or 60s posting a public invite to random people on the internet to join an intimate event they are organizing.

And yet, it’s happening all over Twitter.

Michelle Volz, an investment partner at A16Z tweeted in late January: “Have a few spots left for a NYC tech founder dinner I’m hosting in Tribeca tomorrow – DM me if interested!”

It’s an incredible thing to be able to reach out to a big investor at a top VC firm. It’s next level to be able to snag a seat at the table next to her at dinner.

A quick review of my Twitter feed in the past few days found a panoply of people, most of them young professionals, making similar overtures.

–Aja Singer arranging events for NY founders and tech professionals
–David Litwak pitching a dinner in New York for female founders
–Taryn in San Francisco hosting a women-in-product mixer
–Charles Hudson setting up a Happy Hour for SF startup investors
–Sara Du promoting drinks in SF with a VC friend
–Morgan Barrett booking a breakfast club for VC/founders in LA

This is a completely different kind of networking than I grew up with.

And it’s so much better.

It’s rare for my generation to “live in public” in the same way.

There are rare exceptions, of course. Kevin Kelly, the incomparable former editor of Wired magazine, once sent this epic tweet: “Looking for a place to crash in Sitka, Alaska on the evening of July 9th. DM.”

I applaud people who take the risk and reach out blindly.

They understand that connection is everything and that the modern world of social media offers them a way accomplish that like never before.