March 6, 2008 48 Comments

10 Ways To Make Your Next Conference Better

chrisbrogan

Before your next conference, consider these 10 simple things:

  1. Scour the web (technorati and Google Blogsearch) to see who’s coming, and reach out to people you want to see.
  2. Schedule meetings with people on day 1, as soon as you can, because time runs out.
  3. Drink more water than you normally do, and wear VERY comfortable shoes.
  4. Pack business cards. Tons of them. But get theirs, because then YOU can ensure a reply.
  5. Have a really simple, brief sentence to answer: “What do you do?” “What are you working on these days?” “What brings you to the conference?”
  6. Blog a VERY RECENT photo of yourself so that people know who they’re going to meet.

    7. …

Continue Reading...
March 4, 2008 16 Comments

Enabling Peer Collaboration Using Social Networks

technologyA friend from the UK writes to ask me how she might help her somewhat traditional trade association see the value of using a social networking application to facilitate communications between association members, and maybe also as a way to encourage new members to participate. Trade associations are a perfect type of organization to employ social networking tools to encourage conversations and build digital relationships. Here are some potential next steps.

Keep the Technology Part Simple

In situations where people aren’t exactly techies, keep the energy on the benefits of collaboration and cross-team communication.…

Continue Reading...
March 3, 2008 5 Comments

Authority Ownership and Mechanics

paperclip Three things change the way we’re using these tools for social media: authority, ownership, and mechanics. These are three of the five sources of a revolution, as stated by Moshe Yudkowsky in a podcast I heard recently. In the case of my point, let’s say that authority is answering “who has the ability to change things?” Ownership means “who owns what we create?” Mechanics is “how do we put it all together?” If you look at what matters to us in this age of making social media, using the web our way, and sharing information, I believe these are the three forces in play.…

Continue Reading...
February 29, 2008 46 Comments

The Power of Links

networks Kevin Burton’s post about how Google implemented the “nofollow” on all posted links as a baseline behavior on their new Sites implementation. (Briefly, this means, when Google’s or anyone else’s spiders go out and see what’s on a website, they don’t follow links off to other sites to see what those sites are, and index them as well). Now, I’m not a search guy, and so I’m not sure what Google’s reasons are for this. But here’s what this has me thinking about.

Links Signify Intention

This relates to what Steve Gillmor talks about with regards to gestures and attention and the like.…

Continue Reading...
February 27, 2008 47 Comments

The Community Play

community Publishers are scratching at this right now: how do we turn our publications into communities? In the magazine world, FastCompany swapped their magazine site out for a social network with a magazine stuck in there between the member content. Last year’s Gnomedex conference used IntroNetworks to power people-to-people connectivity before the event started. Webkins knows it’s not about the cloth or the stuffing. But they’re just the start. There are too many obvious community business plays laying on the table waiting to happen. Why?

Here are some community options for some organizations not yet doing such:

Hotel Social Networks

Forget loyalty programs and miles.…

Continue Reading...
February 25, 2008 8 Comments

Delivering Content Value to Market Your Product

batchblue Batch Blue knows how to reach out and deliver value up front. I’ll admit that I had no idea who Batch Blue was before this. There are too many great companies out there, and I don’t know them ALL! So how cool is it that Michelle Riggen-Ransom reaches out to me, citing posts I’ve written over the last few months that apply, and then offers me a really informative “blue paper” on social media. (It’s like a white paper – only, blue.)

This turns out to be a great way to deliver value. Brian Clark of Copyblogger has made this his model all along. Deliver great content and value, and then make the ask on the other side of it.…

Continue Reading...
February 22, 2008 50 Comments

Five Things to Do at a Social Networking Meetup

socialgatheringsMeetups are the online manifestation of our social networking efforts. With Twitter and Upcoming.org and Facebook and all the other social networks, putting together a bunch of like-minded people is relatively simple. You find a venue that doesn’t mind a bunch of nerds, preferably with a place you can be loud (because social media types are often the loudest bunch in there, unless there’s a bachelorette party), and hopefully some delightful libations to ease social interaction. But what do you DO there, once you’ve walked in and identified that you’re in the right place.…

Continue Reading...
February 14, 2008 36 Comments

The Value of Networks

neworkPurchase a plane ticket and fly to a new city for the first time. Take a cab to the heart of the city and then realize you’re hungry for a bite to eat. Open your laptop and steal wifi, trying to find a restaurant, and realize you’ve left your laptop power cord at home, and will need to find a replacement. Get a call on your cell from your aunt saying that she needs to buy a new digital camera, and which one should she get, because she’s standing in Best Buy right now. See a new email come in from your boss stating that you’re fired.

Your Network: The Old Days

In the way old days, your network was your family, your neighbors, your coworkers, and a few scattered others.…

Continue Reading...
February 11, 2008 118 Comments

Free eBook on Social Media and Social Networks

book Social Media and social networking can be a tricky thing for businesses and organizations to consider. I wrote about this the other day, and have since decided to make a free, downloadable eBook available for your consumption.

If you’re looking to show your organization how to get into social media and social networking, here’s a downloadable starting points document to open up the conversation.

Feel free to pass it on. File: Social Media and Social Networking Starting Points – PDF file. …

Continue Reading...
February 9, 2008 75 Comments

Social Media and Social Network Starting Points

Organizations have a lot to consider once they decide they want to jump into social networks and social media. There are many opportunities to slide off the rails, or worse, to let the effort fall into disarray. Here are some thoughts based on a question I received recently in email about guidelines, a toolbox, and how to grow a community.

Start With the Intent

First, know what the intent of your social media and networks will be. Are you hoping to improve awareness and open communication about your organization? Are you looking to reach new markets and open channels for sales or membership or market adoption?…

Continue Reading...