celebration

Optimization Summits 2011 Day 1 #optsum

I just have to say that today was amazing!  I got to catch up with numerous friends and meet many many new ones. Once again the power of my own personal social network gave me the shivers in a happy way.  I have lost count already on how many people I have never personally met and yet know me through social media tools who came up and introduced themselves. Kudos to all of you. You all rock.

Good friends of mine had rocking presentations today.  Mandy Vavrinak rocked out an awesome session on PR. Mike Whaling and Charity Hisle showcased their social awesomeness as well. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Jay Baer and he rocked out the keynote session with some fundamental points that no corporations can ignore. Jay is a class act and his experience in marketing and people, in general, wowed the audience.

Our customers are using social media and we need to harness it. We need skills. We need training. We need focus. Getting involved in the online world should not take a committee that beta tests this to death and comes out of it with nothing. It is imperative that we use these tools. Social media requires skill so it cannot just be passed on to someone simply because they have a Facebook account.

Powerful messages today for sure.  It is was an inspiration and a reminder to me of the reasons behind my own methodology. I am looking forward to my first national speaking opportunity tomorrow. Thanks so much to Tami Siewruk and her Optimization Summits team for the opportunity. I will be speaking about the crucial elements behind digital communication when there is no face to face to work with. It should be fun. Yes, I have the jitters but it is a topic I am passionate about and I hope those feelings come through.

Big thanks to Jay Baer for giving me his business card as you can see in the picture. Another testimony to how much fun social media should be. It’s about people. Everything in business is about people. That should never ever change.
Crazy classic business card! Thanks @jaybaer !!