Central Iowa Bloggers First Fridays: Bring a Friend & Listen

By Mike Sansone on June 3, 2009 in Blog Coach, Conversations with 1 Comment

This Friday is the First Friday of the month, therefore it's that great day on the calendar when the conversphere comes to Panera U (map to 6740 University Ave, WDM) in the form of our Central Iowa Bloggers gathering around 8 AM.

This is an informal gathering that pretty much takes over the restaraunt for the morning. And the talk isn't always around and about tech (though that's part of it). These are face-to-face conversations about business, relationships, design, user experience, education, and just about everything under the sun — sort of like the online conversations we see on blogs and around Twitter.

This week, I'd like everyone to invite a friend you've been talking to about the benefits of Social Media. As you come in, stop just at the edge and ask them to listen for a moment.

What do they hear? No, not that confounded buzzer going off in the kitchen – what do they hear amongst the group? Nothin' but din. A whole lot of noise without a lot signal.

But that's because they are not yet engaged. (Whisper that in their ear, then go introduce them to folks — the offline corollary to hyperlinking, yes?)

Once they become engaged in conversations, they will understand. They will see that the conversations are important — maybe even to them. They will connect to people and discussions they want to follow up on. They will begin to see how it's Noise Prior to Entry, Signal Upon Engagement

Every time I share this offline metaphor, light bulbs and a-ha moments come alive. So this week, bring a friend to our gathering — and get them engaged.

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Find Your Social Media ROI

I hear it from a lot of business owners: “Where is the ROI with all this Social Media?“ If this is a question you ask yourself, maybe we should work together a bit more. We can work together solo, or via a professional learning community. Find and increase your ROI. There is a “there” there.

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