What are Twitter friends for?

The Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer Building, former home to more of us now.

Another bunch of friends and colleagues – all experts, all pros, all good people – got kicked to the curb this week.

I could shake my fist at the owners and managers, though I might as well blame Wall Street or Washington or the Internet of the Tooth Fairy, but I would rather be productive; I feel more concerned with the people. (One of those newly independent journalists is an especially good friend, supremely talented, and without exception, the hardest-working person I have ever known.)

We all have long term needs and goals, but today I was thinking about first aid; the first things we should all do on the first day our friends learn of layoffs, or on their first day out the door. 

Good friends gave me a nice little sendoff when my number came up, so to speak, and I remember feeling uncomfortable either way; I didn’t want to celebrate my departure, but I didn’t want to be ignored either. We all want to be supportive, but how do we make sure it never comes off like a pity party?

Today, since I was otherwise alone at that moment, I turned to my friends on Twitter and simply asked, in 140 characters of less: What’s the best thing friends can do today for a great person and total pro who just got laid off?

By the time I got back to my desk after lunch, I had more than a dozen @replies, including:

- Props for the great past work! Hugs for the spirit & Tequila for the brain

- Be a diversion. Take him/her out for a nice lunch. You pay!

- listen.

- For myself of 12 months, friends just need to be there for you, to listen and to help bring u up when u get down.

- take the friend out for libations and offer to promote them to your network when they’re ready

- Make sure they’re on LinkedIn & using it to it’s fullest, then write them a recommendation & have them request other recs.

- beer

- Take them out, have a little fun time, assure them it isn’t the end of the world and tell them how you’ll actively help them?

- Dig up some of their best work and make both a resume and a scrapbook. Compassionate confidence builder.

- Take him out to lunch and then to the Nickle Arcade. Its a great way to waste time and take your mind off things.

- Lend a sympathetic ear and buy that person a drink!

- oh man. One of the PMH layoffs? Take him/her out for a meal or cook a meal and let them vent for awhile.

- What about writing endorsements on their LinkedIn profile?

- Assure them there’s life after a downsizing. Give him/her networking leads. Buy him/her coffee. And just let ‘em vent.

So that’s it for now: food, drink, distractions, professional support, and lots of listening. It won’t put money in the bank, but it will begin to reinforce that our former employers can’t take away anything that really matters, like our friends, or professionalism, or integrity or humanity. Just ask Johnny Paycheck!

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knetbVx5A-Q

I hadn’t planned a blog post when I asked my question today – I just needed advice from outside my local circle – but this seems like a good place to invite everybody to chime in. Who’s next?