Did we meet at a conference? Stay in touch!

March has been a great month for conferences. Early in the month, I attended FOWA and Barcamp Miami, then this past week I attended SXSW and Barcamp Austin. This post is not going to be about the panels or anything I learned at the events. It is going to be about how I improved my networking skills and talked to more people than I ever have. If you go to a lot of conferences and you are very social, than you can probably ignore this, but here was my strategy to get the most out of the events.

1. Fine tune your personal brand before the event
2. Make a list of people you want to meet
3. Don't pitch anyone, just talk to everyone about anything
4. Find the best places to go, that aren't listed in the schedule
5. Blog about your experiences and take a lot of photos or videos

Fine tune your personal brand before the event

Before I went to these events, I did have a chance to update my websites and fine tune my personal brand. I challenged myself to finally update my website and blog after a 4 year hiatus. This was important because I was also updating my business cards and my brand consistency didn't represent me well.

Make a list of people you want to meet at the events

The panels will educate you, the speakers will motivate you, but you will get the most from people you network with at conferences. I made a mental list of people I wanted to meet and I met them all, plus so many more. When you do meet these people, make sure you have something to talk about. Do you read their blog? Talk about it and give them feedback. Do you watch their videos? Tell them, they love hearing you're a fan. Seriously! To the right is a sample of the business cards I collected.

I admit, originally I was intimidated to meet some people. I thought that they would be egotistical and not want to talk to me at all. Not one person acted that way. Every single people I wanted to meet welcomed a great conversation. A lot of them even knew who I was from Twitter or my website. Here are a few of the people I was able to meet: Guy Kawasaki, Kevin Rose, Chris Brogan, C.C. Chapman, Paul Boag, Jeffrey Zeldman, Robert Scoble, Tim Ferriss, and Tommy Guerrero.

Don't pitch anyone, just talk to everyone (about anything)

We are all trying to market ourselves when we are networking, but don't pitch anyone, just talk to them. I find it annoying when I meet someone for the first time and they immediately try to sell me something. Keep that for trade show floor!. I experienced this a few times, either I was offered a job or they had a product to test/buy. This shut down the conversation and I moved on.

Find the best places to go, that aren't listed in the schedule

The best way to find the unscheduled events is to use Twitter. I found many unpanels and social parties this way. At these unscheduled events I was inspired a lot more than the normal panels in general. To find these events, you can track keywords using twitter, keyword search tools or just turn on notifications for specific people you want to meet.

Blog about your experiences and take a lot of photos or videos

If you really want people to remember you after the conference, make sure you blog about it. Exactly like I am doing here on this post. Also, take a lot of photos and/or video while you are there. Plus tag it with the right keywords. It is possible that your content may be reused on another blog. This could result people adding you as a friend on Flickr or just a traffic driver to your site.

For example, here is a video I took during a BBQ that was held by Robert Scoble during SXSW at the Salt Lick. I ended up meeting the Scobleizer at an unscheduled party the night before.

Did we meet at a conference?

Let me know and let's stay in touch!

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Motivated people inspire me

This weekend I was inspired by some of the smartest people on the internet. From Thursday to Sunday, I attended Barcamp Miami and FOWA - Future of Web Apps. I dont want to review since there are a ton of blogs and podcasts covering the event, plus photos. What I got out the conference was motivation. You see... I am used to being the internet guy who knows everything. But this weekend, I felt I know nothing.

The speakers were (mostly) great, but I really enjoyed the energized Gary Vaynerchuk from Wine Library. His presentation didn't have any powerpoint slides and no internet demo - he just expressed himself from the heart. It's all about being passionate in your work, he said. Making a connection with your community and being dedicated to your cause. His connection with the audience was overwhelming.

Then, when I got home, I decided to finally start my own podcast / web show. I have never done video (at all) before, so I wanted to just keep it simple. Also, my girlfriend said she would do some episodes with me because I am a quiet guy, but my girlfriend makes me talk. Overall this is great motivation for me to try new things and work on improving my personal brand.

Here is the first video. I know I need a microphone. I did video because I will want to keep things visual with screen casts, art demos and interviews. Also, I am looking forward to doing some editing. This will become a podcast feed. Podcast feed is now set up and submitted for review in iTunes, see Alex Designs Podcast Site. Please let me know what you think. Post a Comment



Now I can do some video in Austin for SXSW!
Will you be there? Let me know and lets put something together.

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First impressions on expanding your network

The network of people that I talk to, or work with, has been growing like crazy. If you present yourself the right way, it's easy to find people you want to start a conversation with. The tools just help you self promote your image. The interesting part is when you meet your peers face-to-face at a meet-up or a conference.

It's great to meet a podcaster you have been listening to. Or a company that you have been following. Or a designer's art you really love. Majority of the time, they are totally different that I expected. So, this year I look forward to doing it up with two huge conferences that I have never been to. If you are into web development, design or social media, come and join me. If you are going to be at either, post a comment below or Twitter me.

Future of Web Apps - Miami, Fl.

February 28, 2008 - March 1, 2008
This could be the best event of 2008. Not because it is in my backyard of South Florida. The speakers line-up and the small crowds make this a must see conference. Not to mention the ridiculous parties on South Beach. This will be new ground for South Florida when Carson Systems brings the following speakers to Miami: Kevin Rose - Digg, Cal Henderson - Flickr, Erick Schonfeld - TechCrunch, Kevin Marks - Google, Leah Culver - Pownce, Blaine Cook - Twitter and so much more.

SXSW Interactive - Austin, Tx.

March 7-11, 2008
I have never been to a SXSW, but I have high expectations. Will it live up to the hype? SXSW Interactive The SXSW Interactive Festival features five days of exciting panel content and amazing parties. Attracting digital creatives as well as visionary technology entrepreneurs, the event celebrates the best minds and the brightest personalities of emerging technology. Whether you are a hard-core geek, a dedicated content creator, a new media entrepreneur, or just someone who likes being around an extremely creative community, SXSW Interactive is for you!

Are there other conference worth going to this year?

Let me know - and lets meet up.

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