Friends

December 10, 2009 By
woman with @

Giving thanks …
friendsOver this past year I made the decision to embrace social media. And with the help of Twitter and WordPress, I have been able to build a community of new friends and acquaintances. I want to thank them for their participation and comments on my blog. They are always challenging me to think bigger and better.
My community has helped me with humor. And as I have needed it, they have been there with guidance and encouragement. They have introduced me to more people and helped my community grow. So I want to make sure that they know how much they are appreciated, and I am sure that they know who they are.
In 2010, I want to continue to grow my community and the relationships I have already established. I also hope to help others the way people have helped me.

Filed Under: social media, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

The Season of Giving

December 2, 2009 By
christmas tree

christmas treeTis the season. The season of giving. The season to be thankful. So I have decided to spend the next 25 days thinking about all of the things I am thankful for this year and how I can pay this forward. A year ago, I barely knew what a blog was, let alone all of the amazing things that I could accomplish with my blog. A year ago I didn’t understand Twitter or the many ways it could enrich my life. My interest in blogging and social media was a result of writing my first book, EVENTually Perfect. And while I never thought about writing a book, it opened a whole new world for me. And these are the things I am thankful for.
I think about what I have learned this past year. The learning curve was amazing! And while I could have sat back and continued on the path I was on, I realized that I was at a fork in the road. I chose to embrace the new technologies and all that it had to offer. And along the way, I made new friends and acquaintances. I forged new alliances. And I even wrote two more books, The Small Business That CouldTM and The Small Business That Could For Women.
I am currently working on a membership website, and that was what sparked my desire to write this post. After several months of searching for the right tools to create this website, I sought the advice of a friend and mentor, Jen Bonnett (@jen_bonnett) of Startup Chicks (@startupchicks). She shared her insight with me and motivated me to move forward with this project. And while I spent a significant amount of time and frustration, not to mention excuses on why I couldn’t do this, I also knew how important this project was to me. So today I started. I knew WordPress. I knew membership site plugins were available. I just had to find a plugin that could offer the database function I needed. And I had a friend who was helping me with the theme.
So over the next 25 days, I will take a few minutes off from this project to share what I have learned about these new technologies and how they can build a community, a business and most of all a circle of friends. And at the end of the 25 days, I will launch my new website. It is my present to myself. The best gift I can give myself, the gift of satisfaction and accomplishment.

Filed Under: Business Services, social media, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Chatting on Cliqset

October 21, 2009 By
cliqset-w[1]

chatThere’s a whole lot of chatting happening on Twitter. I participate in a few of the chats, and some I just try to follow. I say “try” because that’s what it is. If someone is participating in the chat and has a great comment, but forgets the chat hashtag, most people following the chat miss it. As I continue to join more chats, this particular problem becomes more frustrating. There has got to be a better way to do this. And I think I found it.

I have been thinking about starting a chat group for a while, but because of the issues stated above, I changed my mind. A few weeks ago, I joined Cliqset. (http://cliqset.com). I am still getting used to this new program, but have quickly learned how fabulous it is many things, including “chatting”. Here is what I l have earned:

  1. Cliqset is real time, so I can chat with people just like I would be if I were having a live conversation, no delay.
  2. My conversation flows in a stream on Cliqset and does not appear on Twitter.
  3. You get 200 characters per comment on Cliqset vs. the 140 in Twitter. And since you are following the conversation on Cliqset, you don’t need the hashtag, which saves even more characters.

I have to wonder, why wouldn’t everyone want to move their chat conversations to Cliqset? In order to participate in the chat, you would need to be registered on Cliqset. Not very difficult, and well worth it. You would have to be following the person holding the chat on Cliqset. Again, not very difficult and well worth it.

Social media is about engaging with others. And building a community is critical to the success of your business. Since the internet is every changing, new services are constantly evolving to help make tasks easier. Through the use of a service, like Cliqset, your community can start to form and become active, without you having to spend too much time on upkeep. The user-friendly features of this program will help you enhance your current social media program.

So now, I have decided to launch my #partychat. It’s the holiday season and we are all thinking about social events. What better way than to share our ideas through social media. I hope you agree, because this is your official invitation to follow me @eventperfect and join me on Cliqset for #partychat on Monday night at 8pm EST.

Filed Under: Business Services, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

What Price Reciprocity

October 1, 2009 By

What Price Reciprocity?

Networking, online or in person, has become even more prevalent in business today. We look at social media as a norm of online networking, and attend “in person” networking meetings at an amazing rate. New meetup (http://www.meetup.com) and ning (http://www.ning.com) networking communities pop up daily. Traditional networking groups now have competition for our time and efforts as we all work together to help each other through this economy.

But what price reciprocity? As you recommend a fellow networker, do you have expectations that they will return the favor? After all, if you don’t have that expectation, what is it that you hope to gain from networking other than meeting new people? While many established businesses have been networking for a while, they are much more proficient in their methods of garnering referrals. Perhaps the reciprocity could be as basic as showing you the ropes and helping you learn how to garner referrals.

As you follow people on Twitter, are they following you back? Do they see value in your message? What did you see that made you follow them? Have they delivered on that value? Sometimes we go to tweetups and other networking events and quickly follow people we meet. Once we have time to review their profiles and reflect on their message, we realize that they really aren’t part of our community. We don’t share the same values. Do you unfollow them? Only you can answer this. But if they are not following you, the answer is evident.

A community, in person or on-line, is built on reciprocity. We all help each other. We are building relationships and sharing ideas. A member of the community who doesn’t join in and reciprocate is not adding any value to your community. Their authenticity is questionable and they have chosen to be an outsider. But as your community continues to build, they may decide to be a part of it. Now the choice of reciprocity is yours.

Filed Under: Atlanta Networking, social media, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Building a Community

September 28, 2009 By

Until recently, I had never heard of co-working space. Co-working space is a new concept for entrepreneurs that works on a membership system similar to health clubs. You pay a monthly membership fee for the level of service you require for your business. If you only need to work outside your home a little bit, you can typically purchase a membership on a daily basis. Regular use requires more of a financial commitment.

I recently visited Ignition Alley (http://ignitionalley.com) in Atlanta. Mike Schinkel and Tim Dorr worked hard to bring their vision of co-working space to life for the many start-ups in our community. A converted storefront, the space offers two options. One side of the space is more social and noisy, while the other side is quieter. Reminiscent of my college days, I quickly dubbed them the study dorm (quiet and a place to contemplate) and party dorm (much more social, to share ideas).

So why do I think co-working space helps to build a community? Unlike traditional or virtual office space, co-working spaces tend to be open and sociable, giving you the ability to interact with others while building relationships and sharing ideas. There are quiet spaces for when you need to think or host meetings, but the name itself speaks volume for its value. The long hours of self-employment can prove to be lonely and sometimes difficult. A co-working space offers an alternative as an affordable option.

For more information on co-working space:

http://blog.coworking.info/

http://coworking.pbworks.com/

http://ignitionalley.com

Filed Under: Business Services, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,