Social Media Two Point Oh How Cool!

Attended AMA's Social Media Virtual Conference (#AMAVESM) today and not only did I learn about social media trends, engagement and measurement I also "met" new friends. I had a true virtual experience.

Started out the morning by joining the first webinar and entering the auditorium live chat. I was immediately welcomed by the 10,000+ registered attendees (and invited to visit the exhibit hall). While keeping my eye on that conversation and my ear on the webinar, I popped onto Twitter and posted my attendance, which linked to and updated my LinkedIn status.

Next thing I know, the Conference site is Tinkerbelling me with a chime. I have a virtual note from an LI contact! Out of the blue! She saw my LI update and wanted to let me know she was also attending. We exchanged a virtual hug and made plans for coffee next week (yes, I do still have a need for LIVE interaction)!

I continued to jump between the auditorium chat and the lounge while listening to the experts. I managed to make a few new connections that I'll hopefully get to know better in the coming weeks.

During the wrap-up session, someone posted a question in the auditorium chat asking where everyone is located. Amongst the thousands of responses, I piped in with "Portland, OR" and that spurned an old colleague to recognize my name and ping me as well. Random! I haven't even talked to her in almost two years (and believe it or not, we're not even LI contacts).

Finally, I posted a note commenting that I needed a beer to download and digest all this great content-rich information (that's the thing you do after attending a conference, right?). You can only imagine the responses I got from that (and you could "hear" the regional differences by the types of beers suggested)!

As my own personal brand trying to find new opportunities, social media came full circle for me (and I'll certainly gain some new friends and projects from today's experience). If you're resistant to social media or think its not changing our world, just read my post - it changed my day.

Told you I was a connector (and I didn't even mention my Facebook hits)!