Social Media Breakfast Ottawa #4
| October 24th, 2008
The above video is my thoughts on the way to the social media breakfast.
Social Media Breakfasts are a great way to meet other social media types in a more professional environment than a tweetup. I was fortunate enough to attend the 4th breakfast in Ottawa this past Wednesday morning hosted by Gowlings.
This is the 3rd event I’ve attended and it was a really good one. It had a record crowd of over 100 people. I believe the biggest issue now for the organizers will be finding venues that can hold a group this size or larger.
For the first time they had a panel instead of a speaker. The speakers were great but I much prefer the panel approach. Hearing different panelists’ thoughts as well as those from the audience made it quite interactive and fun.
I found it particularly interesting how they mentioned that ~70%+ (more like 90%++) of visitors to any site are lurkers who seldom if ever participate; never initiating. If you are going to take the time to visit a site; why not participate? Socialize? Network!? Make that small effort to join the conversation and stop lurking; I GUARANTEE that you’ll get a LOT more out of everything you do.
For further details on the panel and the event please visit the Eventbrite page. Mel Gallant also wrote a great detailed recap here.
I highly recommend you search for a social media breakfast in your area; they are well worth it; whether you’re a morning person or not!
All the best,
Hey Rob,
Thanks for this post. I’ve been slow at getting a event post mortem survey, blog recap, etc out but people like you, Mel Gallant & Joe Boughner have been great at turning around nice updates!
Our last event for this year will be on or about December 9th. Hope to see you out again!
Thanks!
Hi Simon,
The way things are looking I’ll be here and most definitely there.
Was thinking today that the size of these events is both a blessing and a curse. Short term it may be difficult to find venues… Long term it may be a great way for getting similarly large venues such as Gowlings. Gatherings of 100 social media types + is something many businesses would love to host. It will build awareness of their company, maybe get mentioned in several bloggeries and early morning is usually a somewhat easy time to schedule a group in.
Thanks for all the hard work you and the other organizes do. We all appreciate!!
I’d love to hear about something similar in London (Ontario) I’m a big fan of early morning meetings too and I agree about people participating instead of lurking.
Have a great weekend!
Thanks for commenting Jennifer,
If one doesn’t exist why not start one? I’m sure the London and surrounding areas have many many social media types. If you are interested I suggest you contact http://twitter.com/bryanperson
Thanks for your comment!
Rob
Hey Rob - you’re very coherent in the early morning hours.
As you say, it may be an early start to your day but SMB Ottawa is definitely worth attending. Great mix of people and knowledge.
Your point about participating vs. lurking on the sites you visit is on mark. Participation is key and I think a huge part in making new visitors feel comfortable to post their ideas and opinions falls on the community itself.
The existing members need to acknowledge new visitors where possible and ensure it is an environment where all opinions are welcomed and encouraged.
Hi Mel,
Thanks for your thoughts and commenting. Also thanks for writing that good recap; I enjoyed going over the topics again this morning.
I’ve found it’s imperative to give every new member a warm welcome. Sadly most new members may not even come back to the thread to see what you’ve written; nothing you can do though. Flip side is you never know when it’s going to be a member of the ~5-15% of truly outgoing social people who really make a community thrive.
Lot’s of forums that I see die off because the admins aren’t active enough. If you are starting a community as the admin you must be the most enthusiastic person out there. If you aren’t excited / participating in the forum regularly how can you expect others to?
Have a great weekend and see you at the next tweetup or SMB!
Rob
Thanks for sharing, Rob. I plan to attend the next one if at all possible.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the comment. I highly recommend it. You’ll meet a lot of like minded people and would be good to chat with you face to face instead of gtalk
.
I’m all for social media activities that have an exponential character to them. Not sharing with just one person but sharing with many. This is a great example. Thanks for ’sharing’.
Thanks for your comment Barry. I noticed you’re from Canada as well; hopefully they have an event similar to this in your area.
Have a great weekend,
Rob
Jennifer: I’m in London periodically - love to support you to get a Breakfast started out there. I know that there are a few tweeps out there - maybe that’s a place to start…
It sounds like a very productive outing, Rob! I have to say I’m one of the shy ones who doesn’t “network” too well, tho. I’m too shy.
C. Carteaux
@C.Carteaux it was a great outing; life is too short to be shy; doesn’t mean you need to be obnoxious but try and make an effort to start a conversation with a like-minded individual. Most people are waiting for someone to start it and glad you did when you do.
All the best and if you are in Ottawa; hope to see you at the next one.