Acquaintence Management

So, I've used Outlook for work for a long time. I use the Inbox like it's sacred - it's sort of my to-do list. (In addition to my other list. Ha :) I also use the calendar. (Even though I did a Google calendar shout-out., I know...) Anyway, the thing is, the Contacts have never been my own. I first inherited my Contacts when I started at my agency in DC in fall of 2003. My boss Christy exported all her business contacts for me and I imported them. About 1,000 people are in my Outlook contacts. A lot of them are internationals - missionaries, leaders in Africa, etc. A lot of them are people in Springfield, Missouri - where my past employer was headquartered.

I don't know most of the people in my Contacts. So I'm deleting them right now. It's extremely tedious and boring. But there are some real people I know in there, so I have to spare those.

Maybe this is a boring post. It's kind of like saying I'm cleaning out the lint in my sock drawer. :-)

But it's true. Soon I will be putting my gajillion new work contacts in Outlook. Emphasis on myyyyyyyy.

The impetus for this massive project was a mega-networking event I participated in this morning. It was like speed dating, only speed business networking. We had 12 rounds. Twelve times you give your 30 minute elevator speech and pass out business cards. Lots of candy and hyper MCs were involved. It was surprisingly fun and surprisingly exhausting.