Welcome to Day 7 of 30 Days of Networking.
One of the ways that I grow my knowledge is through attending live events and seminars. I’ve travelled all over the world to hear great speakers and thought leaders and have often thought how I’d love to share some of what I learn with my friends and colleagues. I had my first opportunity to do this in March this year when I attended South by South West, a media conference that showcases trends in technology, culture and media. The event was attended by thousands of social media and tech lovers and throughout the conference participants were encouraged to use Twitter during the seminars to journal our opinions, thoughts and views on the presentations. It was awesome to see the crowd-sourced knowledge (which was often displayed on a large screen at the front of the room). During the five day event I took the opportunity to post highlights from what I was learning so that my followers (many of whom, at the time were back in Australia) could also benefit from the gems that the leading-edge thinkers were sharing. Sharing from events I attend has becoming something I’ve repeated again and again, most recently from:
- Small Business Summit (where the Australian PM, Opposition leader and business thinkers talked about small business)
- Marketer Joel Comm’s [@joelcomm] recent presentation in Sydney
- A lunch two weeks ago on Twitter and it’s news in the media (One of my tweets from that day ended up published in The Australian newspaper by a journalist that was there!)
Last week I was at a great lunch on Work/Life Balance. It was presented by @DynamicBusiness but the sponsor for the event was Blackberry and out of respect for the fact Blackberry was buying my a five-start lunch I didn’t whip out my fave Twitter device, my iphone, to tweet during the lunch. So, if your followers have similar interests to you (and especially if they are interested in the subject matter of the event you’re attending) then share the information with them. Now.. obviously you won’t always have your laptop with you at events. So be sure to plug into a mobile phone application that allows you to use Twitter. I use Tweetie. Find one that works with your phone. (Go to your favourite search engine and search for twitter appications for blackberry, for iphone etc.). Sharing from Virtual events Every month Australian Businesswomen’s Network members take part in business-development webinars (web-based seminars). While I’m on the webinars (and while still paying attention ;-)) I tweet highlights from the webinars. Two weeks ago Kate Tribe of Tribe Research (@katetribe) presented a webinar on Market Research for small business. The tips were sooooo good that I wanted to be sure that not only did those on the webinar get them, but that other members who are following me but who couldn’t be no the webinar could benefit. (BTW – the recording of Kate’s webinar is available free to ABN members as part of our video library for members.)
I enjoy wearing my reporter hat to share ideas and information from experts. It means that the information spreads quickly and my community (and network) can make use of it fast. It also helps keep me at the forefront of my game – to be a go-to person for information to help grow your business. This activity supports my networking. Few Australians would have the chance to be at a presentation with marketing great Guy Kawasaki and though leader Chris Anderson (of The Long Tail). I could, however, capture and share highlights of their lively talk about Chris Anderson’s new book – Free (which I’m bursting to read!). TODAY’s TASK If you’re attending an industry or other learning event, then tweet something relevant. If not, then you get a day free from tasks. You can go back and check Days 1-6 tasks and do a little catch up. At the very least, tweet something relevant, today. Best wishes, Suzi
