I’ve been engaged with social networking for some time now, starting with Myspace and Facebook and just recently (within the last 30 days), Twitter. I’ve jumped on the bandwagon, big time! I have vanity urls setup at just about every site on the web. I love Namechk.com for this. It’s been an amazing experience so far, but the best part are the relationships I’ve built since getting started.
Just this week I met @MarshaCollier, the author of over 25 books on eBay. Marsha is also the host of a great radio show and huge force on the public speaking circuit. She invited me to be her guest on her radio show this week. I’m honored. Hoping for more projects with Marsha in the near future.
Yesterday, I met with @LisaBraithwaite, a local Santa Barbaran. Lisa is a skilled public speaking coach. After our meeting, I offered to allow Lisa to use Make It Work’s HQ for her upcoming classes on public speaking. Our Director of Flow, Heather Burlesci will be attending these courses as she is looking to build up her skills in this area. A great trade!
The day before, I met @bizmike (Michael Lewis), CEO of Suite Arrival. Mike is one of the coolest people I’ve met in long time. He is building a business to combat the challenges we face with TSA when traveling. When Suite Arrival launches, you will be able to login to their site, choose your travel period, destination and toiletry needs and a box will show up at your hotel before you arrive. Gone are the days of 3.4 oz limitations and one quart clear plastic bags. I’m going to throw a clean shirt in my laptop bag next time I travel! Mike will be using a desk at Make It Work to incubate his new company. We will collaborate on ideas and projects. We created Superfriends, a group of local entrepreneurs that will gather to share ideas and help each other grow personally and professionally.
A couple of weeks ago, I met the infamous @jeffpulver, co-founder of Vonage, author of the Pulver Order, and creator of the #140 Conference (the premier conference on Twitter and the real-time Internet.) Jeff was tweeting about needing help organizing and promoting the upcoming #140conf LA Meetup. I responded to his tweet, we chatted on the phone and he asked me to co-host the event on Dec 14th, 2010. I of course agreed to get involved. My first step in organizing the #140conf LA Meetup was to reach out to my contacts to drum up volunteers, sponsors, venue providers, and attendees. As a board member of the Technology Council of Southern California (now an official sponsor of the event), I first reached out to my fellow board members. I was provided with introductions to execs at Myspace, Facebook, Yahoo!, YouTube and many others. The first to respond was @robinzucker of Yahoo! who gladly offered to sponsor the event and provide the venue at Yahoo!’s HQ in Burbank. Yahoo! is providing funds for food, AV, security and an amazing venue at their HQ complete with every amenity one could ever need to pull off a successful meetup. At the same time, I met @idriveskj, @wordsdonewrite, @mojonic, and @DamianPelicione who have joined me and @heysmithers as volunteers to organize the event. They are all rockstars! I’ve never worked with a more capable group in my career and I’m truly thankful to each and every one of them. Finally, we started talking about the event on our radio show, Tech News, powered by Make It Work who is a co-sponsor now. We also got Yelp to throw in 200 eco-friendly swag bags and Kodak is soon to be a swag provider too! Through the use of social networking, we have sold out all 150 spots available for this event two weeks before the date and recently added another 50 to accommodate the demand. We are expecting a full house! Isn’t social networking amazing? I can’t wait to meet all of you at the event!
About a month ago, I met @lewishowes at the Perfect Pitch conference in LA. Lewis is a former pro athlete and author of LinkedWorking, and a true authority on LinkedIn. Lewis and I became friends fast (both from Ohio). As a result, Lewis will be our guest along with @seanmalarkey on our upcoming Jeremy’s Desktop (the online version of Tech News, powered by Make It Work) webinar entitled “Social Media Crash Course.” Lewis has also taught me a ton about LinkedIn and Sean has helped me get a grasp on Twitter.
I’ve also recently met and/or chatted with @guykawasaki @jasonspievak @JeanetteJoy @JessicaGottlieb @acoolong @JeffreyHayzlett @mayhemstudios @TechFrog @Maudeonline @padschicago @kirste @JessicaRandazza @adamostrow @chrisbrogan to name a few. The truth is, this list goes on and on and on. Some have said, “do you really engage with the thousands of followers you have?” Of course not, but I wish I could. I do engage with hundreds, that’s for certain. The best part…I meet someone new every day! P.S. If I missed you, tweet me.
I could go on and on, but in closing, my experience in using social media/networking has been short but remarkably fruitful. When used properly, these tools can help you build relationships, brands, friends and most importantly, knowledge. I’m late to the game, but a fast learner and I can’t wait for what the next year will bring, let alone the next 24 hours.
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I always tell people that Twitter is my most favorite social media site. Yes, I do enjoy Facebook and I’ve had great experiences with LinkedIn, but Twitter has no walls—no barriers. It’s a New Year’s Eve party that is open to everyone!
The power of the platform is amazing! And if those who think it is nothing but an online diary can get past this notion, they will be in awe of the networking opportunities that await.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Eric (and for the shoutout). This is only the beginning of an amazing journey for all of us. I have no doubt that I will one day say, “I knew Eric Greenspan back when he was just getting started. Wow, he has really become a social media SUPERSTAR!” Luckily, I know you’re a nice guy and you’ll still remember us little folks!
Amber @wordsdonewrite
Thanks for the love Eric… you are doing big things!!!