Non-CCG Event: Social Media for Recruiting in Government & Defense Conference

Using Web 2.0 Technologies To Attract, Retain, And Engage Top Talent To Become An Employer Of Choice

WHEN: April 12-15, 2010
WHERE: Washington, DC

WHY: Attend this conference to learn how to incorporate the power of social media into your organization's recruiting strategy.

DETAILS: Hear practical advice, firsthand, on how to attract, retain and engage top talent by using social media from leading government agencies and organizations, including Internal
Revenue Service, U.S. Army, Peace Corps, The Library of Congress, and many others.

Find out more.

Kudos to Clever Tchotchkes... this year, from Fixation Marketing

Let's face it. Any of us who serve clients -- or attend trade shows -- find ourselves facing a huge dilemma on a regular basis: What do I use as as an end-of-year gift, a customer appreciation present, or a trade show giveaway? There are the obvious answers, ones I admit I've used in the past -- the branded pen, the branded memory stick... I remember when branded stress balls were all the rage.

One company I worked for gave away canvas bags at trade shows -- and people loved them! You saw people walking around the rest of the trade show floor stuffing other companies' giveaways inside, which meant great advertising for us, the "little guys" compared to many other vendors. And people would search out our booth every year, asking if we had the bags because they liked them and used them so much.

All that said, this year at the holidays, I received what I think is one of the best end-of-year (beginning of the year?) gifts yet: greeting cards.

Fixation Marketing in Bethesda, Maryland, created a box of greeting cards for unusual holidays -- Groundhog Day, Arbor Day, Daylight Savings, Flag Day... They're cleverly designed. They have cute sayings inside. And I'll definitely use them... and remember Fixation for sending them. (I've included the front of the card for Tax Day -- yes, Tax Day -- to the left. Inside it says, "Set Your Money Free.")

So kudos to Fixation for getting creative and providing me with a giveaway that is: unique, useful, and will earn them attention not just with me, but also with those to whom I send the cards.

So now I want to hear from you. What is the best (or worst) tchotchke that you've received or given away, and why did you like it (or not like it) so much?

NON-CCG EVENT: Meet the Press Event with Walt Mossberg

WHO: Tech Council of Maryland

WHAT: Meet the Press: Leading Journalists Speak on What's News, What's Not and Changes in the Media... with keynote speaker Walt Mossberg, personal technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal

WHEN: November 2 from 8-10:30 a.m.

WHERE: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center

ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Walt Mossberg will share his thoughts on the Cell Phone and the Future of the Internet. Mossberg is the author and creator of the weekly Personal Technology column and is one of the most widely-read columns on technology products and services in the world. He is also the co-creator and co-producer of the technology industry's most prestigious annual conference, D: All Things Digital, and is the co-executive editor of the technology web site, allthingsd.com, which extends the experience of the D Conference to the Web.

You will also hear from a panel of distinguished journalists that cover technology, biotech, telecommunications and general business issues to help explain what they cover, how they do it and educate us on the changing world of journalism.

More info or to register.

GrowSmartBiz Conference: Take 2 -- The Expert Answer Booth

So the brains behind the GrowSmartBiz conference did something very interesting during the conference. They created an Expert Answer Booth and recruited people from all walks of life -- PR, social media, finance, legal, etc. -- to staff the booth. Yours truly was one of the experts they recruited. (Looking back on it, I feel a little like Lucy from the Peanuts...)

The concept was that any of the attendees could get free advice from a pool of talented professionals. What a cool concept! And what a value add for attendees.

Truth be told, the booth didn't work as well as it could have -- great staffing, but poor use of the talent by attendees -- and there are a number of reasons way. Maybe it was lack of advertising to the attendees... Were there signs at check-in promoting our services? (Truthfully, I didn't see any. And I asked one of the people where the booth was when I checked in, but she didn't know.) Did the emcee mention us during his various moments at the podium? (Not while I was in the room, but I was also staffing the booth for some of the time, so perhaps he mentioned us when I wasn't there.) Maybe we should have been part of the program -- before each session, we could have come up on stage and answered a question in front of the whole group. But that doesn't change the fact that the concept is great.

I suspect there are things conference organizers will do differently next time to promote our services. OK, I'm sure there are things they'll do differently. That's the kind of team we're dealing with.

But the point of this post isn't to talk about what was done wrong... but rather, what was done RIGHT. And the idea of this booth had "RIGHT" written all over it. What a great value add to attendees... if they take advantage of it.

My point here? Next time you're planning a conference, think about implementing your own Expert Answer Booth. And thank the brains at NetSol for coming up with that great idea.

GrowSmartBiz Conference: Takeaway #1

So yesterday I attended Network Solutions' GrowSmartBiz conference. And now I have the hard task of figuring out where to start as I blog about it. The fact is, despite not being a "small business," I left with a lot of "takeaways." So here goes with my first one...

"I'd rather work with a passionate amateur vs. a bored professional." -- Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine and author of The Long Tail and Free

OK, that quote may not be word-for-word what he said, but it's pretty dang close.

And I think his point has a lot of merit. It reminds us that when we're going to work with someone -- be it forging a business partnership, hiring a new employee, or creating an event -- we need to look beyond resumes. Why?

Because even someone is the smartest person in the world (or the room), if they're not passionate about what they're doing, they may very well be ineffective... or, at least, less effective.

And just because a resume or a person's experience may not match every criteria you're seeking doesn't meant they aren't the perfect person for the job. Because someone who's passionate -- and eager to learn -- will easily outperform the person who's become complacent.

(Just a few reasons why I so enjoy working on projects with Shashi Bellamkonda from NetSol; Mayra Ruiz; and Bob London of London Ink.)

What do you think? Can passion overcome experience?

-- Robin

NON-CCG EVENT: socStardom 4 with Jason Alba

Don't miss this opportunity to hear social media superstar Jason Alba talk about how to use social media to grow your business!

Jason will talk about how he's used social media to grow his business, and share examples of success stories with Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, blogging, Yahoo Groups, etc.

DATE: Tuesday, September 22
TIME: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus, 9605 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850

Read more about why you don't want to miss this opportunity to chat with Social Media Superstar Jason Alba

(Psst... if you don't know who Jason is, here's the quick version: Jason is the creator of JibberJobber -- an online tool that can be used to manage job searches... and your entire career. He is also the author of I'm on Facebook -- Now What?? and I'm on Linked In -- Now What??)

Let us know if you're planning on attending. (We want to make sure we have enough food!)

Call for Speakers: Social Media for Government Conference

Call for Speakers: Social Media for Government Conference
December 7-10
Washington, DC

Looking for speakers to share best practices and successful case studies on the use of social media in government.

December 7-10, 2009 in Washington, DC

Organized by the Advanced Learning Institute.

Interested? Please contact Amy Gerstein at amy.gerstein@aliconferences.com or 773-695-9400, x20.

Speaker referrals are welcome and most appreciated!