People on Twitter connect over shared interests and experiences, even discover new curiosities and hobbies together. Often through conversations they end up forming meaningful connections that translate into heart-warming tales of companionship of friends, life partners, business associates, among others. Time and again, people come across those who proudly proclaim, ‘#WeMetOnTwitter’.
Chandigarh’s Sejal Sud (@SejalSud) and Aastha Johar (@Mainhoonnaa) found a community of like-minded individuals and friends on Twitter, read on –
Sejal (@SejalSud), a student, turned to Twitter to join the growing finance conversation on the service – which had seen a rise of 43% in India between 2020 and 2021 [Source: Brandwatch]. While navigating Twitter to learn more about finance and entrepreneurship, she discovered Twitter Spaces and the power of live audio conversations. Since starting out on Twitter, Sejal has hosted over 100 Spaces sessions, and has also started a book club to build her personal network. Through the intimacy of voice, she not only found a community, but also found friends when she met Aditya (@thefaadguy) and Dr. Tanmay (@Least_ordinary).
Sejal expressed, “I started interacting with people from the finance and corporate spheres, trying to absorb as much knowledge as I could. I started attending and hosting Spaces, and in no time, I’d made several friends and built a community through these conversations. I was co-hosting a Spaces session on startups once, and that’s where I met Aditya (@thefaadguy). After the session, he sent me a DM and proposed that we host a Spaces session together. His background in investment and knowledge of entrepreneurship really intrigued me, and while our initial conversations revolved around startups, we soon moved to talking about movies, food, and other interests outside of work and met after a few months for a start-up Twitter greet and meet in Chandigarh. My Twitter experience or professional journey wouldn’t be complete without his support. I learnt that he was the best advice giver, and one piece of advice from him that I still go back to is, ‘Every day, work as hard as you did on day 0, and you will grow.’”
Talking about meeting and becoming friends with Dr. Tanmay (@Least_ordinary) on Twitter, Sejal further added, “After coming across his profile and learning that Dr. Tanmay was a content creator too, I reached out to him for collaboration through a comment on his Tweet. Thankfully, he shared my excitement and before we knew it, we were hosting our first Twitter Spaces talk about financial literacy. Our Spaces became a bi-monthly activity and were being attended by 1000-1500 listeners. People would reach out to say, ‘I’ve started investing after attending your sessions’, and that feeling is difficult to put into words. I’d found a valuable teammate in Dr. Tanmay, and he has contributed immensely to my journey. He even surprised me on my birthday in a way that is intrinsic to our association — by hosting a Space where all of my friends from our Twitter network joined in to celebrate. That day, I felt so grateful and lucky to be a part of this amazing community.”
While Sejal, Aditya, and Dr. Tanmay’s bond showcases how Twitter has nurtured real friendships born out of common interests and goals through Sejal’s page, the story of Sukrit and Aastha is one tale of near-strangers who met on Twitter, bonded over a photograph and ended up cementing a firm friendship.
Talking about how he met Aastha on Twitter, Sukrit shared, “ I was scrolling down my Twitter timeline on a random day, and I came across the profile of a girl named Aastha. Her profile location said she was from Chandigarh, which is also my mother’s hometown; so I started following her – just like that – on a whim. A few days later, Aastha Tweeted a picture of herself with a stack of chairs in the background, and just to tease her, I replied to her Tweet, saying, ‘If I don’t get one of these chairs, I’ll fall.’ She replied to me saying, ‘Then fall down’ – and that first interaction turned into aimless banter in no time. From then on, every time I uploaded something on Twitter, she would reply with the same thing – ‘I wish you fall,’ and I think I did. I started looking forward to Aastha’s replies to my Tweets, and one day, I thought of connecting with her via DMs. I wanted to do it differently, so I Tweeted, ‘Should I talk to her?’, hoping she’d get it. She did, and replied saying, ‘Yes!’ – and that was the beginning of our beautiful friendship.”
He further added, “While speaking to her, I discovered that we were a lot like each other. We were both extroverts who had tried our hands at stand-up comedy; we were born at the same hospital, and even had the same doctor. Three months of non-stop banter, gossip and study sessions later, I finally went down to Chandigarh to meet her. She invited me over for lunch and I met her parents, too. Not for a moment did it feel like we were meeting for the first time – there was no awkwardness between us. Her family was so warm — her mom and I spoke endlessly. That’s when I learnt that both our moms had studied at the same college, and were in fact, batchmates! That fact blew my mind away, and it seemed like Aastha and I were meant to connect. We started meeting more often, and realised that the best part of our friendship was that we could laugh at and with each other. Such is our friendship – she is my personal stand-up comedian. But she’s also my rock, my support system.”
These stories are testimony to how connections are evolving in the digital age, and on Twitter, we see an endless, multi-pronged thread of conversations bringing people together and fostering connections, reliving them time and again with #WeMetOnTwitter.
