It was a Newcastle Brown Ale on draft poured at the Barking Dog Bar & Grill in Amesbury, Massachussets. I ordered it from my living room in Tallahassee, Florida, just 1,339 miles south. I had no choice.

The post from @chrisbrogan read:
I’m going over to the Barking Dog for lunch. If you’re there, I’ll buy you a beer.

The post wasn’t addressed to me. It was a general, Brogan-esque offer to make human contact, the very theme of his post, Cafe Shaped Conversations. If you’re one of close to 39,000 twitter followers or 17,000 email subscribers, you know this is just his nature.

Almost immediately after Chris’ open invitation, a seemingly thirsty @rfpdatabase asked where the Barking Dog is located. Chris wrote back:
@rfpdatabase northern mass, in Amesbury.

I knew I wouldn’t make it to Amesbury in time. The layover in Charlotte alone would do me in.

I Googled “barking dog amesbury”. First hit. I picked up the phone and dialed.

“Barking Dog Paul speaking.”

“Hey, Paul,” I said, “I’m calling from Florida and I want to buy a beer for a guy there.”

Paul didn’t hesitate. We were off searching for Chris even before — unbeknownst to me — Chris had actually arrived. Imagine: I’ve got Chris’ homepage on my computer screen, and I’m describing his photo (sure I know what he looks like, but I couldn’t rely on my memory at that specific moment):

ME: Sandy brown hair, a Van Dyke, light complexion.
PAUL: About how tall is he?
ME: One hundred-fifty pixels, give or take.

I could hear the background noise change as Paul walked through the place. He asked the names of a few men in the restaurant who fit the general description. He even found a Chris, but he was a Brown, not a Brogan.

After a few minutes of search and no discovery, I said, “Let me leave my credit card number and just make sure Chris gets a beer or two.” Paul obliged and took down the number. I thanked him profusely for playing along. He said, “No worries, we do weird stuff like this all the time.”

I hung up and wrote:
@chrisbrogan i couldn’t be there because i’m in florida, so your offer of a beer is now working in reverse. enjoy it.

Chris chimed in on my twhirl app about a cheeseburger later:
How cool is this? @michaelcalienes in Florida just bought my beer in Massachusetts at lunch. Cheers. :)

THE END?

Is every post an opportunity this juicy? Probably not. But it’s proof that following your gut is sometimes the best thing you can do in such a fast-paced space. I’ll be honest: part of me feared the whole thing would backfire in some way. Fortunately, that’s the part I ignored.

Sure Chris made the offer, and I saw an opportunity, but the big hero is Paul Landinis for facilitating a connection like this. If you go eat there, give him a wicked big tip. (And wouldn’t you know it: the restaurant is located on Friend Street.)

Barking Dog Bar & Grill
21 Friend St
Amesbury, MA 01913
(978) 388-9537