Social Media 101

A nice conference but… did it address the all important “what’s in it for me?” factors?

Social Media I would like to thank Joe Kennedy of Eastside Entrepreneurs and the Eastside Business Journal for creating an event attended by 150-200 inquiring minds yesterday. It was held on the Microsoft Redmond Campus. It was billed as the conference to learn how and why to get your business connected online.

Thank you to the sponsors and the presenters, especially for the nice lunch provided by the sponsorship of Comcast.

I came away with a few new ideas. But, I also have a few questions and a suggestion for the next one.

I’ve been actively participating in online networking for a little over 2 years now. I still have the usual questions of how does this new media affect me and my business along with how do I make the best and most productive use of it.

I think the conference helped a few people understand the WHY you should be connecting online but I think it lacked in the HOW other than showcase a few that have learned themselves.

Joe; I wished it could have been an all day conference with break-out sessions conducted by specialists in each of the different social media tools. The panels were great for general information but I would have enjoyed a learning venue for assorted hands-on break-out sessions.

If I had known a little more about the event prior, I would have became a sponsor and offered some specific action steps a person should take when embarking into this arena. You know, some real 101 stuff.

I was rather surprised while talking with a few of the attendees that they have not created the basic online profile for their business or professional service and they were not yet aware of how to go about it. And, I don’t think the conversations of the panels gave them any more direction other than pointing out a few of the social media sites and reinforcement that blogging was still a viable activity.

The best presentation, in my opinion was by Eric Weaver of Tribal DDB Canada. He made a good case of why it is important to have an online presence no matter if you are a job seeker or a professional looking for contract work.

My favorite thought take-away was that social media is an engagement rather than PR or Advertising. It’s making friends and starting new relationships. It’s really all about sharing. I’m not sure but I think is was Kevin Urie that said that.

I also enjoyed comments from a number of the panelists, including Edith Yeung, Jake Ludington, Jason Preston, Chris Pirillo, Andru Edwards, John Cook, Joshua Dirks, Warren Sukernek, Shauna Causey, and Joe Kennedy.

So, my suggestion for the next conference is to have an expanded program of break-out sessions demonstrating the inner workings and how-tos of global and local online social networking.

Thanks again for the event Joe, and I hope you will do another.

By Howard Howell

Howard is an Internet Sales Consultant. He speaks professionally about Web Marketing and Sensible Selling from an experienced entrepreneur’s viewpoint. He also provides individual coaching, group training, and web marketing consulting services. Contact him now.

139 comments

  1. Thank you for all the great comments Howard. I agree with you that it would have been better to have an all day conference with break out sessions to discuss specifics.

    Perhaps that can be done in the future.

    Thank you again for attending and taking your valuable time to write your thoughts about the event.

  2. I think this is among the most significant information for me.

    And i am glad studying your article. However wanna observation on some
    common issues, The website taste is wonderful, the articles is actually excellent : D.
    Just right task, cheers

  3. After I initially commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify
    me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I get 4 emails with the
    same comment. There has to be an easy method you can remove
    me from that service? Kudos!

  4. Greetings! Very helpful advice within this post!
    It’s the little changes which will make the greatest changes.
    Thanks a lot for sharing!

  5. I have read so many articles on the topic of the blogger lovers however this
    article is truly a pleasant piece of writing, keep it up.

  6. I’m no longer sure where you’re getting your info, however great topic.
    I needs to spend some time learning more or figuring out more.
    Thanks for excellent info I was searching for this information for my mission.

  7. Great blog you have here.. It’s difficult to find
    good quality writing like yours these days. I really
    appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!

  8. Hello, i think that i noticed you visited my blog so i came to go back
    the want?.I’m trying to to find issues to improve my website!I suppose its
    good enough to make use of a few of your ideas!!

  9. Heya i’m for the first time here. I found this board
    and I in finding It really helpful & it helped me out a lot.
    I hope to present one thing again and help others like you
    aided me.

  10. Hiya! I know this is kinda off topic nevertheless I’d figured I’d ask.
    Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest writing a blog article or
    vice-versa? My website covers a lot of the same subjects as yours and I feel we could greatly benefit from each
    other. If you happen to be interested feel free to shoot me an e-mail.
    I look forward to hearing from you! Awesome blog by the way!

  11. Hey! Do you know if they make any plugins to protect against
    hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked
    hard on. Any suggestions?

  12. You really make it seem so easy along with your presentation but I
    to find this matter to be actually something which I think I would by
    no means understand. It kind of feels too complex and extremely huge for
    me. I’m having a look forward for your subsequent post,
    I will attempt to get the grasp of it!

  13. Hey! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new iphone 4!

    Just wanted to say I love reading your blog
    and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the excellent work!

  14. It is in reality a nice and useful piece of info. I am glad that you just
    shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us informed like this.
    Thank you for sharing.

  15. obviously like your website however you have to take a look at the spelling on several
    of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to inform the reality however
    I’ll certainly come back again.

  16. Hello, yeah this post is genuinely fastidious
    and I have learned lot of things from it on the topic of blogging.
    thanks.

  17. You can certainly see your enthusiasm in the article you write.
    The sector hopes for more passionate writers such as you who are not afraid to mention how they believe.
    Always go after your heart.

  18. I’m not sure exactly why but this blog is loading very slow for
    me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a issue on my end?

    I’ll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.

  19. It is not my first time to visit this site, i am browsing this site dailly and get pleasant facts
    from here all the time.

  20. Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular post!
    It’s the little changes which will make the biggest changes.

    Thanks for sharing!

  21. May I simply just say what a relief to discover a person that
    truly understands what they are discussing on the web.
    You definitely realize how to bring an issue to light and
    make it important. More and more people need to read this and understand this side of the story.
    I can’t believe you aren’t more popular given that you surely have the gift.

  22. Good way of describing, and good post to take facts on the topic
    of my presentation subject, which i am going to present in school.

  23. hello!,I really like your writing very so much! percentage we keep
    up a correspondence extra about your post on AOL?
    I need an expert on this area to unravel my problem.
    May be that’s you! Taking a look ahead to peer you.

  24. If you desire to increase your knowledge just keep visiting this
    web page and be updated with the most up-to-date information posted
    here.

  25. Hello! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering
    if you knew where I could find a captcha plugin for my comment
    form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours
    and I’m having trouble finding one? Thanks a lot!

  26. What i don’t realize is if truth be told how you are not actually much more smartly-appreciated than you may be right now.

    You are very intelligent. You realize therefore significantly with regards to this subject,
    made me in my opinion consider it from numerous various angles.

    Its like men and women aren’t interested unless it’s something to do with Woman gaga!
    Your personal stuffs nice. At all times maintain it up!

  27. I would like to thank you for the efforts you have put in penning this website.
    I am hoping to view the same high-grade blog posts by you in the future as well.
    In fact, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own, personal site now 😉

  28. Whats up are using WordPress for your site platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you need any coding expertise to make your own blog?
    Any help would be really appreciated!

  29. I am extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your weblog.

    Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself?

    Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to see a great blog like
    this one these days.

  30. Asking questions are truly fastidious thing if you are not understanding something
    totally, but this article gives fastidious understanding even.

  31. Hello! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick
    shout out and tell you I truly enjoy reading through your posts.
    Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same subjects?
    Many thanks!

  32. Useful info. Fortunate me I found your site by
    chance, and I’m surprised why this accident did
    not came about earlier! I bookmarked it.

  33. Heya i’m for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful &
    it helped me out a lot. I hope to give something back and aid others like you helped me.

  34. This is a really good tip particularly to those new to
    the blogosphere. Short but very accurate info… Many thanks
    for sharing this one. A must read post!

  35. Very soon this website will be famous among all blogging and
    site-building people, due to it’s nice articles or reviews

  36. This design is steller! You definitely know how to keep a reader amused.
    Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my
    own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Excellent job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that,
    how you presented it. Too cool!

  37. Definitely believe that which you stated. Your favorite justification appeared to
    be on the net the easiest thing to be aware of.
    I say to you, I definitely get annoyed while people consider worries that
    they just do not know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and
    also defined out the whole thing without having side effect ,
    people can take a signal. Will probably be back to get more.

    Thanks

  38. An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a colleague who had been doing a little research
    on this. And he actually bought me lunch due to the fact that I discovered it for him…
    lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for
    the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending some time to discuss this matter here on your site.

  39. Just wish to say your article is as surprising. The clearness in your post is simply nice and i can assume you
    are an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission allow me to grab your
    feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please carry on the gratifying work.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *