Swapping LinkedIn at the tech-meetup bar
A real situation from the OGIMA community · Expat Life
The scene
The second beer is in front of both of you. You open LinkedIn, she scans the QR, and you promise to ping each other about the thing neither of you actually remembers.
Why this moment is tricky in Germany
Tech-meetup LinkedIn swaps function as professional infrastructure in Berlin, Amsterdam, London, and San Francisco — the bar, the badge, the scan, the message that never arrives. German meetup culture tends drier and more substantive in conversation; US meetups optimize for fast connection counts. The second beer is the decisive variable — after one drink the meeting stays transactional, after three it becomes friendship or nothing. The promise is usually broken, and both parties know it as they are making it.
Rehearse it before it happens
This situation is practised out loud in OGIMA: you speak, an AI conversation partner answers back, and you rerun it until the real thing feels routine.
Prefer to read first? Our guide covers this territory: How to Practice Speaking German