InterNations.

The social networking phenomenon has taken the Internet by storm, particularly since Facebook opened its doors to even us lowly non-Harvard types. But then again, what do I want with a social networking site connecting me to 58 million people I don’t know and don’t particularly care to know? Even when you add the likes of LinkedIn, Friendster and Xing, you just have slightly different variations on the same concept, all with millions of people, the overwhelming majority of whom have nothing in common with me.

The news is this: there’s a site called InterNations that is specifically for us.

Not 58 million people who have nothing in common with you, but instead a small group of people very much like you. Call us expats, hoboes, nomads, roof-hoppers, travelers, globetrotters, “global minds” or the like, but we’re all talking about the same thing: we have been, are or will be living and/or working in another country or culture, with all that that entails. So if you enjoy Hobo In Paris and you like Expats Paris or other similar Meetup groups, then chances are that InterNations is right for you. If you haven’t gotten on the social networking bandwagon or got on it, were disappointed and got off, at least go sign up and take a look.

For the social networking newbees, here’s what we’re really talking about: the site is useful for finding and easily connecting to people you know and people who you have not yet met who have common needs, interests, hobbies, etc. So social networking can be useful for business, for job searching or just for maintaining old friendships or making new ones.

InterNations also has a free “groups” component for organizing online discussions and meetings in person. New InterNations groups include Expats Paris, “Mind Food” (about music and other art events in Paris), Discover Japan in Paris, Paris Adventures, Paris Movie Group and World Cuisine. First join InterNations and then join any of these (or other) groups for online discussion and to take part in events in Paris.

Membership in InterNations is free and by invitation only. But InterNations was nice enough to set up a special link for me to invite all of you, so to join just go to www.internations.org/paris. Pass this link along to your friends and colleagues who you think would enjoy meeting and networking with expats here in Paris or elsewhere around the world.

Another reason to invite your friends to join is that every time you invite an expat, InterNations donates money to the AFS Intercultural Programs, a non-profit organization that provides high school exchange student programs to encourage intercultural learning. So every time you invite an expat to join, you help a student from the developing world study abroad.

I am the InterNations “Ambassador” for Paris, so I’m trying to get the word out to fellow expats here in Paris. This site will only be as useful and as interesting as we make it. The more members we have, the more we will all get out of it. If you have any questions (for example, about setting up an InterNations group), just let me know. You can contact me via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Andy Coyne
		About the author:
		Andy Coyne is from South Carolina, USA. He lives in Ivry-sur-Seine with his wife Mollie and their three children. Andy is an attorney at Crédit Agricole Asset Management, is the founder of Expats Paris and serves as a board member of the Association of Americans Resident Overseas.
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