EventCamp: Just the Facts
Anyone that has spoken to me over the last few months has probably heard me talk about EventCamp. As a co-founder of this event, it is near and dear to my heart. EventCamp is an experiment in meeting planning. While its primary focus is on integrating social media and technology into events, it’s really about experimenting with new formats. EventCamp gives event professionals the opportunity to try new things in a safe environment. I like to think of EventCampers as FEARLESS.
How Not to Work a Room.
I recently attended a networking event for marketers. It was a facilitated discussion and one of the topics was how to help others network. To my surprise, some of the marketers in the room left really bad impressions. As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Here are ways to ensure that you will NOT win friends and influence people.
No Snow Day For Me! The Benefits of Being Virtual.
It snowed today. Again. Schools are closed. Offices are closed. Many, many people are losing productivity and many businesses are losing money. I, however, am toasty warm working from my office. Sure, I had a meeting canceled today, but I am still am able to get all of my other work done. Why? Because I work 100% virtually.
Making Webinars Engaging, Is it Possible?
How many webinar invitations do you get a day? I think I get three on average. There are webinars for everything. Free ones, paid ones, sponsored ones and webinars about webinars. Some have video where you can see the presenter, but many simply contain a voice and a PowerPoint show. My question is: how many people actually learn during a webinar?
Afraid of Public Speaking? Tips to Ease the Fear.
Today I helped my friend Melissa prepare for a presentation. She was asked to present her job responsibilities and background to the CEO and Chief HR Bigwig. Melissa knows her job well and can do it in her sleep yet the thought of speaking in public is quite frightening. When I asked Melissa what she did she was easily able to articulate it, but the thought of doing a “presentation” scared her beyond belief.
How Networking is Like
I am not a fan of exercise. I never have been. For the last seven months I have worked out five days a week on average. About two months ago I started working with a personal trainer. This week he was pushing me to embrace “the burn.” I hate the burn. The burn hurts. The burn makes me want to quit. I just don’t like the burn.
Karma Online and In Real-Life
If you read my 8th grade yearbook, you will see that someone wrote me a note that said “you’re a nice girl, but you are really negative.” For many years I saw the glass as half empty. I can’t exactly say when it changed, but over time I realized the power of positive thinking. I found that the happier I felt, the nicer I was to other people, the better my life got. Good things happened.
Engaging Examples.
This week Midori Connolly and I conducted a webinar that was hosted by Destination Marketing Association International. Our topic was Engaging Technology: Using Social Media to Enhance Your Meetings. Webinars are a great…
Anyone Can Have An Idea.
There are a lot of good ideas in the world. There are a lot of smart people with a lot of good ideas. But, what really makes the magic happen? Passion. I’m not…
As Good As Being There?
In the events world there is a lot of chatter about virtual and hybrid events. Last February I was fortunate enough to be a part of Event Camp NYC which combined a face-to-face…
When Worlds Collide
Every time I speak on the topic of using social media to create relationships, someone, inevitably, asks about the separation between church and state or keeping personal and business contacts separate.
Techy Tools That Are Better Than Cake: Episode #2
Last night at a July 4th BBQ, a group of guests were discussing technology. I listened as one enthusiastic party-goer explained a number of tools to an interested, but much less informed friend. I was partially listening as I heard the conversation move to the topic of Dropbox. I quickly whipped out my Droid and demonstrated what the other person had been trying to explain for the last five-minutes.
Techy Tools That Are Better Than Cake: Episode 1
On Friday I spoke to the NJPSMG group about emerging technologies. The session was basically about the cool tools that use in my daily routine and some that I want to try. My co-presenter, Lisa Kanda, introduced me to a few new ones as well.
I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me…
For those of us that live in a social media-driven world, we might feel like Rockwell in the 1984 hit, Somebody’s Watching Me. Between status updates on Facebook, check-ins on Foursquare and Gowalla and location-based tweets, our lives are everywhere.