Months ago, I heard the story about how someone’s Twitter network rescued him. He was about to go into a meeting in LA and had left some techno gadget  back at his New York office. Sure enough, someone in an office just around the corner from his hotel was able to help him out. Someone who only new him as a Twitter follower.

I remember thinking: No way!

But now I’m a believer, because it happened to me.

A few weeks ago, I was working on a news release about a client who is now selling compressed natural gas to the public. Their first customer is a professor from The University of Michigan. I had a last name, but couldn’t find him listed anywhere with the University.

As a member of Linkedin’s University of Michigan Alumni group, I sent out a call for help.

The next day, a woman in Ann Arbor sent me an email saying that she remembers the professor, who’s now retired. There had been a story back in 2003 (honestly, I’m not making this up) about him and his CNG vehicle. She looked up his address and phone number in the local white pages and… you guessed it… I was able to connect and interview him.

Turns out, he’s a self-proclaimed “cng evangelist” with a wealth of information about alternative fuels and their use (or lack of) in Michigan.

Thank you, Linkedin… and the group member who helped me out! The power of Social Media knows no end.