After the event: IABC Seattle Social Media Seminar

Chris Brogan doesn't scare us with tips about how to implement social media strategy because he's a really nice guy.

As an associate working on behalf of Shiftpoint Strategies today, I had the opportunity to attend the International Association of Business Communicators social media seminar "Harnessing the Power of Web 2.0".

It was my job to help with set up, Tweet, and interview speakers and organizers from the event. I I went into the day intimidated by some of the blog personalities and Twitter presences I'd be interviewing, but as it turns out, the real people behind @shellyshelly (Shelly Farnham, PhD), @Tosolini (Paolo Tosolini) and @Chrisbrogan (Chris Brogan) are very real and very helpful. After all, they're in the business of network building, information exchange and relationship development too right?

What do I take away from the event beyond the social media tactics? How fun these people are! Chris Brogan and I talked about our favorite movies (his: Fight Club, mine: Life is Beautiful); Paolo Tosolini shared how he gets excited when he can blog about Italy and travel. I guess what it comes down to is that online tools can only take you so far--people need personal interaction. Dr. Shelly Farnham, a luncheon panelist, referred to this as neighboring. Neighboring is to what extent we go to one another's homes. It's what real people do.

I won't recap the whole event because you can watch it for yourself here, but if you're in Seattle I will encourage you to check out Biznik, a social networking site similar to LinkedIn. If you're like me (a freelance professional or small business owner), Biznik provides you with a place to network both online and in person through local events. The site's co-founder, Lara Eve Feltin, spoke to the value of connecting. My favorite quote was: "Collaboration beats competition." She proved this truth by citing the fact that professionals joining Biznik jumped from 40/month in 2008 to 100/month in January and February 2009. In a rough economy people rely on their network and the more widely accepted social media becomes the more people will turn to platforms like Biznik.

Me with social media experts: Dr. Shelly Farnham (social media consultant), Lara Feltin & Dan McComb (Biznik founders), Chris Brogan (president, new Media Marketing Labs)

Look at how excited Brian Westbrook (@bmw) is to show off this new flip stand to Paolo Tosolini (@Tosolini)--they're just people who have fun with technology!

Thank you, IABC Seattle, The Adobe Group, Watchdog Graphics Production, Shiftpoint and Digital Marketing. This was a fantastic event!

Three Words

I learn a lot about social media and current events through blogs.  One person in particular, Chris Brogan does an excellent job of teaching through examples and providing additional resources online.  His blog entry from January 1 was helpful as he differentiated between setting resolutions and setting three word goals for the new year.  

Brogan wrote, "Think of how you want to be successful in 2009.  Then, thy to think in even broader terms.  Extrapolate on the broader terms, and find one word to hang the idea on."  

So he follows up by explaining his words for this year- equip, armies, needles- and how they apply to the goals he has set for 2009.  

Despite my 2006 and 2007 resolution successes, I failed miserably with my 2008 goal to take a daily multivitamin.  Plus, when it was all over and the ball had dropped, I wouldn't have been that much better off because of that measly resolution.  I tend to eat a balanced diet.  

So, I have three words for you, 2009.  They are: cross. catalog. carrot.  Don't mind the alliteration.  

Cross represents my idea of finding a stronger faith this year by daily reading of the Bible in chronological order.  I wanted to use my Bible in a Year book to set a devotional habit years ago, but I always seemed to fail by the time I got to Exodus.  This year the cross will remind me of both this goal towards a more faithful lifestyle as well as a motivation to connect with the church community in my neighborhood.   

Catalog is the goal to organize my free time towards the future by studying for the GRE.  It is a goal to improve my vocabulary and quantitative reasoning skills with the hope of finding professional development opportunities.  

Carrot is for cooking.  Chris Brogan has nothing on my mom, who constantly challenges and inspires me to improve my life regardless of what day of the year it is.  This idea for a nutrition goal comes from her resolution to try a new recipe each week.  I will use my carrot motivation to help remind me that learning to cook using fresh foods will not only help me avoid the multivitamin fiasco of 2008, but also help me improve my hosting capabilities.  I would like to have more 'cross' people over this year.

I'm rather visual so the idea of having words that I could easily associate with images seemed like a great way for me to remember the goals.  

What are your 2009 words?