ResearchGoddess

I really love attending meetups, tweetups, SMBs, and other various networking events. I work from home and it gets lonely sometimes, so I take advantage of as many of these as I possibly can. When I attend these events, I typically have a few people in mind that I’d like to meet, and in particular I like to introduce myself to the speakers. As I am the only person representing Waggener Edstrom at these events in the Midwest, I need to make sure that I represent the company well and make the connections necessary to do my job properly.

Oftentimes at these events that were designed for networking, there are people huddled together talking to the same folks they were talking to at the last 3 events. We’re all guilty of doing this from time to time – networking in a brand new environment can be scary. However, to me, that seems to negate the purpose of networking, which is to introduce new people and new ideas. Wiktionary defines networking as “the act of meeting new people in a business or social context.” However, a lot of folks don’t use these events for that.

Imagine this: you’re a brand new person to a networking event. You walk in and see small groups of people standing around talking to each other. You’re a little nervous, as this is your first time with this particular group of people, but you start to mingle. Most of what you get are quick glances, but no one really welcomes you to the event. After about 30 minutes of awkwardly standing to the outside of circles of people who already seem comfortable with each other, and grabbing a glass of water or a cheese cracker, you decide to leave, having concluded that you failed in your attempt to meet new people, and thinking perhaps this isn’t the right organization for you.

How many people have been here? This was a scenario that actually happened to me awhile ago. Let’s face it; for most of us networking is a bit intimidating. You’re putting yourself out there meeting new people, not knowing if you’ll have anything in common or how the conversation will flow. So here, I present a few ideas on how to make your networking experience a better, more productive one. These ideas can apply to both the brand new person, or the seasoned networker.

• Know what your purpose is for attending the event. Networking events come in all shapes and sizes. Some are more professional in nature; others are more ‘happy hour’-like. Before you attend an event, decide why you are going. Is it to learn a new skill? Is it to meet a prominent person in your industry? Or is it simply to mingle with others who share a similar interest?
• Prepare ahead of time. If your goal is to meet a specific person at an event, prepare ahead of time and let them know that you are looking forward to meeting them. Eventbrite.com is a fantastic tool for organizing events, and quite often there is a visible guest list for events where you can see who else will be attending. Before you go to your event, take a look at who else will be there. If you see someone whom you’ve wanted to meet, be proactive and reach out to them. Let them know that you are interested in speaking with them about <insert topic here> and that you hope to grab a few minutes with them at the event.
• For seasoned networkers, mingle. When you only talk to the same people at every event you attend, you’re not really ‘networking’ – you’re hanging out with your friends. That can be accomplished with organizing happy hours after the events. If you are a regular networker, try to make yourself available to people you’ve never met before. If you notice a new person who looks a little lost, go introduce yourself to them, learn a little about them, and then dig around in your brain to see who you know at the event who would be a good connection for them. The same applies if you’ve brought a guest with you. You’d be surprised how much people appreciate this kind of ‘professional matchmaking’. Plus, you’ll meet new people and you just never know what can happen from making a new acquaintance!
• Always – ALWAYS – attempt to introduce yourself to the speaker. It amazes me sometimes how few people will approach a speaker after an event to introduce themselves. Sometimes, it may seem like the presenter is larger than life and you may convince yourself that you have nothing important to say to them. But as someone who’s given presentations before, I can tell you that the role of speaker can be a lonely one. You’re up there all by yourself, wondering if what you’re saying is of any value to the people attending, and you want some sort of validation that you spent your time productively when you are finished presenting. I am more nervous when I don’t have crowd interaction. Most people who’ve done presentations would agree that it’s calming when people come up both before and after their presentations to introduce themselves. So you see – the new folks at a networking event are not the only ones who could be a little nervous

A few additional quick pointers for making your networking experience a productive and happy one:

• For presentations, pick a seat where you can see the speaker clearly. Sitting in a seat where you have to strain to see what’s going on can be distracting.
• Don’t get bummed if you don’t get to talk to everyone there that you wanted to – it’s hard sometimes to get to everyone you want to at large events (see above for preparing ahead of time)
• In that same breath, don’t take it personally if someone you wanted to meet isn’t able to talk to you. You can always contact them after the event and make arrangements to have a phone call or meet up another time. They may have had a specific objective or a time constraint that had to be adhered to.
• Thank the event sponsors – they’re the reason for the event taking place to begin with!

After having shared all of these things, let me admit that I’ve made all these mistakes which is why I feel comfortable bringing them up at this point. I’ve certainly been guilty of huddling. I’ve sat with my back to the speaker at many events and gotten nothing out of the message presented. I’ve gotten upset because someone I wanted to talk to didn’t have an opportunity to speak with me. I’ve given those sideways glances to new people and not acknowledged them when they join groups who are already talking. Face it – ALL of us have done at least one or two of these things, because we were all new to networking at some point. And I’m sure we will continue to make mistakes. However, it’s good to know these productive networking tips to try and make each event as beneficial as possible. Hope this helps, and Happy Networking!

One thing that I’ve noticed while having been in a funk for the past few days is how quickly we (yes, I am included in this) jump on a fan bandwagon for someone or something simply because everyone else is doing so. It’s a practice that can get out of hand really fast, especially with how quickly news, rumors, and so forth spread today. Yesterday’s unknown is today’s shining star is tomorrow’s old cast-off. Popularity is fleeting and most people who possess it are simply flashes in the pan. Here are some of my thoughts on the matter.

One of my favorite stories as a young kid was The Emperor’s New Clothes, a story written by Hans Christian Andersen. For those of you who don’t know the story, here is a short version of it:

An emperor of a prosperous city hires two tailors, who turn out to be swindlers, who promise him the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they tell him, is invisible to anyone who was either stupid or unfit for his position. The Emperor cannot see the (non-existent) cloth, but pretends that he can for fear of appearing stupid; his ministers do the same. When the swindlers report that the suit is finished, they “dress” him in mime. The Emperor then goes on a procession through the capital showing off his new “clothes” (though he is actually naked) while the people applaud and compliment them, not wanting to appear stupid or unfit themselves. During the course of the procession, a small child cries out, “But he has nothing on!” The crowd finally realizes the child is telling the truth and laugh at the shamed Emperor.

There are lots of Emperors in every industry – parading around our worlds with fake garments on and telling us that if we don’t see them, we’re idiots. Translation: if we don’t read, listen to, or agree with what they have to say, or jump on their fan bandwagon, then we’re obviously not part of some secret inner circle and we’re morons. I call BS to that – a person is only a “big deal” when we make them into one. And I honestly wonder why we make some folks such a big deal in the first place…

I am drawn to certain bloggers, social media people, PR professionals, researchers, etc. not necessarily because they are “emperors” or because they’ve become big deals in their respective industries. I won’t name them because you need to form your own opinions on those whom you follow, but some of these people are popular while many aren’t. And in fact, some of my favorite bloggers have very few subscribers and are relative unknowns. Why do I like them? Because they’re genuine and they have something to say, even if not many people are paying attention yet. They don’t elevate themselves to a point where they’ve completely lost touch with their target audience. They’re real with the things they talk about, and while they don’t go around poo-pooing everyone who doesn’t agree with them, they are honest about what they think and aren’t always the most “PC”. Simply put – they can be grumpy jerks sometimes. Most of what they write is thoughtful and interesting, but every once in awhile, they have bad days just like you and me. They’re human and they’re not afraid to let it show.

We make popular people popular. We do this by promoting them to others. I would like to challenge you: the next time you consider re-tweeting a link to an article, think about whether you’re re-tweeting it because you found it interesting and informative, or because it’s from some big-shot popular blogger and you want to appear intellectual yourself by re-tweeting it. (did you even read it to begin with?) I challenge you to read unpopular or unknown blogs and promote the writings of someone who isn’t well-known but has some good things to say. I challenge you to un-subscribe to a popular website that you never read but you keep on your blogroll because it makes you look more entrenched in your industry. And most of all, I challenge you to see through the invisible threads of the emperors in your industry and choose not to go along with what everyone else thinks to avoid ruffling any feathers. Don’t fall prey to the opinions and pressure of the masses and become sheeple.

“If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.” ~Epictetus

Our SMB’s (Social Media Breakfasts) in Cincinnati have just kept getting better and better. This month, our scheduled guest was Tim Westergren, founder of Pandora, the internet radio company that has been destroying (in a good way) terrestrial radio, and is starting to take its toll on XM radio as well. Pandora allows you to basically customize your musical experience using their Musical Genome Project. Tim talked with us this morning about his background, why he started Pandora, and gave us a glimpse of the company’s business model and what they’ve accomplished since their official launch back in 2005. There were approximately 100 people in attendance, and we broadcasted the discussion live via Ustream.tv.

Tim is a musician himself and he employs 30 musicians who listen to music and analyze each song, breaking it down into the basic ‘building blocks’ that make up Pandora’s musical genome. Those of us in attendance got to see these basic elements in a PPT presentation, but Tim made our camera guy turn his camera away so that those viewing through Ustream would not be able to see this fantastic breakdown of musical elements. This information is used to categorize and score each song so that when we give songs a thumbs up or a thumbs down, Pandora essentially learns our true musical taste and tailors the playlist to suit what we like. The way this system works is really fascinating and it was great to have him break it down for us.

It’s hard to remember that Pandora has only been around for about 3 years, as it has already begun to shake up terrestrial radio. I don’t know if you can see on this picture, but Pandora AQH (average quarter hour) listening stats are higher than radio in most of the areas where data was collected. Tim’s goal is to have a sort of Pandora “musical digital cloud” that will follow you from mobile device to automobile to home theater to PC. He jokingly said that in the future, all cars will have a “thumbs up and thumbs down” on the steering wheel  

I was particularly interested in the digital presence that exists to spread the word about Pandora. Tim stated that they have an average of 45,000 new listeners register every day, and this has been accomplished through zero advertising. New listeners are brought in through WOM, viral, SEM, and what Tim calls “Town Hall meetings” – gatherings in random cities where he talks about Pandora. Interestingly, he said the first town hall meeting he held was attended by 2 people – in Manhattan. He said the last time he visited Manhattan, there were about 300 people in attendance, with another 200 waiting outside to get in. The average listener, Tim said, refers about 8 new people, and they have a Twitter handle at @pandora_radio which is run by a community manager who is highly interactive with its followers. In addition, Pandora has created a cool iPhone app and has designs in place for a Blackberry app as well as an Android app for the G1. This company is highly interactive, and high-touch with their audience.

From a business standpoint, Pandora is still operating on VC funding so they haven’t become profitable yet, but their profitability model is pretty neat. They use visual ads that can be targeted to specific audiences, much like Facebook ads, based on the very detailed information that is known about each user. As these ads are visual, they don’t interfere with the auditory user experience. He said it’s kind of like reading the back of the box while you’re having a bowl of cereal. Tim expects Pandora to be profitable in the very near future, and is committed to employing other musicians to help them earn a living while they pursue their musical dreams (a very nice gesture, if you ask me!) They are also fiercely dedicated to helping out independent musicians and building what Tim calls the “musician middle class”. He announced to the audience that if anyone had a CD they’d like to have put on Pandora that he’d be happy to receive it.

As an added bonus, Bryan Person made a surprise appearance this morning, and was sitting at the table with me! Bryan Person is from Austin, and he is the guy who actually started Social Media Breakfasts, the first one having been held in Boston back in the fall of 2007. SMB’s are now being officially held in 15 cities in the US and internationally. I had heard that he might be here, and it was a treat to sit with him. I had a nice opportunity to chat him up after Tim’s presentation and find out a little about what he does with SMBs.

I’m interested to see who we’ll have in March! I think it might be hard to top this month’s, but our organizer, Kevin Dugan of Bad Pitch Blog fame, always does a fantastic job of getting great speakers for us.