Jillian Godsil: Online networking is fine, but we still need to meet in person

Screens are excellent at transmitting information, but not always connection. It is difficult to build trust, friendship or genuine rapport when every interaction is confined to a rectangle on a screen

President Catherine Connolly (left) and Jillian Godsil (right) at a garden party in Áras an Uachtarán where the President mingled freely among the guests, speaking with warmth and humour.

Much of the world has moved online. Meetings that once required flights and hotel stays now happen on Zoom. 

Business deals are negotiated over Teams. Friendships are maintained through WhatsApp groups. Social media keeps us connected to hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people at the touch of a screen.

There are obvious advantages. Online communication is faster, cheaper and more convenient. Geography no longer matters. Time zones can be managed. A conversation that might once have taken weeks to arrange can happen instantly.

Yet something has been lost along the way. Screens are excellent at transmitting information, but not always connection. We see faces, but rarely the whole person. We hear voices, but miss the subtle cues that come with physical presence. 

It is difficult to build trust, friendship or genuine rapport when every interaction is confined to a rectangle on a screen.

During the pandemic we became accustomed to seeing colleagues, friends and clients through screens. It worked remarkably well at the time. 

Yet convenience and connection are not always the same thing, and as restrictions lifted many people found themselves drawn back to in-person events.

Networking organisations continue to bridge that gap. Some, such as BNI, have built successful businesses around structured referrals and early morning meetings. Others focus on mentoring, awards or women-led networks. 

Each has its place. Yet the most memorable connections often happen when networking stops feeling like networking at all.

A couple of months ago I attended the fourth Digital Assets Garden Party in London. Held at the Ham Polo Club in south-west London, it was an oasis of calm amid the bustle of the city. 

Professionals from across the digital asset industry gathered not for a conference or a sales pitch but for conversations. Business was discussed, certainly, but friendships were renewed as well. The setting encouraged something often missing from modern professional life: time.

That gathering reminded me of another extraordinary event. In 2024, a marketing company decided to test the limits of networking by bringing together some of the most influential figures in blockchain and artificial intelligence. 

Jillian Godsil: 'The most memorable connections often happen when networking stops feeling like networking at all.'

Around 250 founders, investors, journalists, influencers and industry leaders were invited to Dubai ahead of the annual Token2049 conference in Singapore.

The event began with a reception at the Burj Khalifa before guests boarded a specially chartered flight from Dubai to Singapore. The stated aim was to "put crypto in the air" and create one of the industry's defining cultural moments. 

It sounded more like a publicity stunt than a serious business event, yet it proved remarkably effective. For 10 hours, people who would normally interact through social media posts, Zoom calls and conference panels found themselves sharing meals, swapping stories and building relationships. 

At one point a karaoke machine appeared and much of economy class turned into an airborne party. The flight crew eventually persuaded everyone back into their seats by citing turbulence, though many suspected the real turbulence came from enthusiastic dancing.

It was impossible not to talk to people. We had all joined an exclusive network that bonded over the multi-city and multi-country travel. Long after the event ended, many of those connections remained. 

It remains one of the most enjoyable business trips I have ever taken, producing friendships that continue to this day.

Just recently in London, yet another example of human connection came up. Separately, I met up with fellow graduate recruits from my first job with JP Morgan, some of whom I had not seen for 39 years. There were six of us around the table. 

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Despite the decades that had passed, conversation flowed effortlessly. Within minutes it felt as though no time had elapsed at all. We had all travelled different paths, built different careers and lived in different places, yet the connection remained.

Then, just last month, I attended a garden party at Áras an Uachtaráin. President Catherine Connolly mingled freely among the guests, speaking with warmth and humour. 

I was fortunate enough to present her with a copy of my novel  Running Out of Road whose proceeds are being donated to the Arklow Cancer Support Group. She graciously accepted it and said she hoped to read it during her holidays. That small exchange could never have happened online.

Technology has transformed how we communicate and rightly so. It allows us to maintain relationships across continents and conduct business at remarkable speed. But the moments we remember are rarely the emails, messages or video calls.

The organisers of that blockchain flight understood something that many digital-first businesses forget: networks are built online, but relationships are built in person.

They are built over coffee, at a polo ground, on a flight, around a dinner table, or during a conversation in the President's garden. For all our digital sophistication, human connection still works best face-to-face.