At the core of Social Media is a connectedness between people who share at least something in common. Whether the connection is personal, professional or both, social networks serve as a platform to create value out of our relationships with others. Sometimes the value generated by our social networks is simply fulfilling the basic need for communication. Other times, social networks expose us to new relationships that themselves may become strong and valuable. I have found this to be the case with a quite old form of social network -- the regular poker game.

Compared to many of the young guns dominating the poker world these days, I came to poker late in life... just eight years ago. I was immediately drawn to the complex strategies and subtle tactics of the game but only more recently have developed a deep fascination for the human element of the game. And while I appreciate that the art of deception and the craft of reading other players as crucial elements of the game, I am most fascinated by the way Poker can forge relationships between players.

Two years ago I began hosting a monthly low-stakes poker tournament, "Poker 2.0", with the intent of fostering relationships among Seattle tech entrepreneurs and investors. Recently, I have begun partnering with other tech startup organizations to bring the networking power of poker to a broader audience. This past Monday, I took Poker 2.0 on the road to Silicon Valley for an extravagant networking event for tech founders, CEOs and investors called Founders Feast. The event was a huge success -- not only did attendees have a great time playing poker but the conversations around the tables were clearly connecting people in a powerful way. On the following night, I was invited to play at another long-running Silicon Valley poker game among venture capital folks and investors and once again established the beginnings of more relationships that some day may prove fruitful for all sides.

My next challenge is to bring poker to physicians across the country as a fun way to connect the physician community. That experiment started tonight as we invited Seattle area physicians to join us for a friendly poker tournament as our first-ever Physician Appreciation event. Over the coming year, we'll be hosting many Physician Appreciation events around the country and some of those will include poker tournaments. We will keep you posted on these events as we travel the country meeting our physician members where they live.

As online social networking approaches adolescence, many are asking "where's the value?" While there is some value in satisfying the natural human need to connect with others, that isn't always enough to justify the time and energy required to participate in a social network. This is especially so when you factor in all the "noise" of a typical social network like Facebook -- the inane comments of friends of friends, the popup ads, the invitations to become friends with people you don't know, or to join a mafia family, or to fend off a pillow fight, or to accept a virtual cocktail, or a new fish for your virtual aquarium... who has the time for so much nonsense?!

Komi came highly recommended and in some DC circles is currently rated the hottest restaurant.

The experience started out on a humorous note. My very close friend, in fact my college roommate, suggested we go for sushi. Never one to turn down sushi I was prepared to see what sushi in the District was all about. Komi is located in the trendy Dupont neighborhood of DC and is a low key, clean simple place.

Upon receiving the menu my companion mentioned we were in the mood for some quality sushi. The waiter wasn't quite sure how to respond except to inform us Komi was a greek restaurant. The sushi mix up may have been the result of the fact that some dishes involve raw fish. This is akin to saying that Thai food is basically the same as Italian because some dishes involve noodles.

Komi is very simple....and very expensive. You choose from one of three main dishes. Aside from that, everything is selected for you. They begin almost immediately serving bite size dishes called Mezzethakia that do include lots of raw fish oriented treats. The main dishes are a selection of rustic meats or fish that are truly unique.

All in all, Komi is interesting...not a place I would frequent on any regular basis...especially considering the prices ($125+ per person with one glass of wine). I also wouldn't claim to have liked every single morsel. However, the dishes were one of a kind and for a once every few years experience, Komi should be on your list.