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MANILA, Philippines—In these techie times, social networking is easily associated with finding your super friends (or making them) via Multiply, Facebook and Friendster. But for Ros Juan, area manager of Figaro Coffee Shanghai, nothing beats social networking in the flesh.

“I came to Shanghai in 2005 to study Mandarin for six months and after that, it just seemed a waste of time to just go home and not practice it.”

Then she was given the task to develop the market for Figaro in China. “You can say that I have to be an all-around kind of person,” laughs Ros.

Her greatest challenge was to get more people to come to the two-storey coffee shop and spread the word. Her initial desire way back in college is to be a librarian—“I wanted so much to fill my library card, what a nerd!”—found some fulfillment here—she devised a book swap. Bringing together people via books was the most natural thing.

“In China, it’s rather difficult to get English language books or foreign books, so I got inspiration from Oprah’s Book Club and decided to start something similar to that, using my store as venue.”

What was even more successful was a book swap that also finds a home every third Saturday of the month. People come in, not just Filipinos, with books they’ve read and they do an exchange. Not only do they meet more people with similar interests; they also have a rare opportunity to build their friendship pool.

Literary events are definitely the passion of Ros, as the book club is held every second Sunday. She even started a writer’s night every Monday. This is the only regular weekly group. Writers—be they freelance, aspiring or professional—hang out, start discussion groups and do writing workshops.

“Before,” recalls Ros, “It was me going out there looking for events or activities to generate business for my store, now it’s people approaching us for events.”

Socializing has gone beyond books and writing. Every second Tuesday, they have “travel guy” John Mckenna, who is known for making custom-made tours to China. There are so many kinds of people visiting Figaro Shanghai that it has been given the amusing nickname of “mini-consulate.”

Growing network

How big exactly has her personal and professional network grown as a result of all her social networking?

“Shanghai is a very transient city, so the groups pretty much maintain an average number of five to 10 people per meeting. So we can’t actually measure growth in terms of numbers of attendees. My growing name card collection is a good gauge for professional contacts and Facebook for more personal contacts like actual good friends and an acquaintance here and there. If you want numbers, I can tell you that more than 1,000 books have been swapped at Figaro.

“We’re very close to the Philippine consulate, and it helps that they make us a must-see when they’ve got guests. I’ve been able to meet and even tour people around which I would not have had a chance to do if I had chosen to work in Manila.”

So what does this 26-year-old “ambassador” have planned out to unite nations?

“I plan to start a Camera Club. All the activities we have at Figaro and events I get involved in are all my interests—books, literary events, writers’ groups, etc. Photography is a passion so a camera club will be a great way to meet other photographers and learn from them.”

What made her successful at being a “Friendster in the flesh”?

“Shanghai’s really been a great city to meet all sorts of people and to get involved in so many different things. Maybe it’s the whole expat culture of being in a new place where people don’t know you and you don’t know anyone. So you have to burst out of your shell, comfort zone, and make an entrance. Have the courage to try new things, pursue your interests and passions and be ready to make new friends. It’s nice to have a fresh start.”

If you plan to visit Shanghai, check out what else (besides coffee) is brewing in Ros Juan’s mini-consulate.