Okay, we know you already love tech events…but wouldn’t it be cool if the tech events we all went to had food trucks?
Ahhh, the wait is over my friend. On April 25th, at 6PM at the parking lot of the old Amway Arena, join the foodies and the techies as they get together to provide some awesome meals paired with technology discussion and demonstrations.
This event is generating a lot of buzz and shaping up to be quite a turnout with already close to 400 people committed on their event Facebook page with still a month to go.
Who’s going to be there you ask?
Speakers:
Jonathan Taylor – Chairman, CEO and Chief Evangelist at Voxeo
Florida Technology Journal’s inaugural “FTJ Live” event was a huge success for Orlando’s growing tech community. Envy Labs‘ 20th-floor workspace that overlooks downtown was a perfect venue and it played host to some amazing views of the city. FTJ Live Executive Director, David Glass, brought his online Florida Technology Journal conversation to the Plaza Building on Orange Avenue where there are over 100 tech related businesses within a 1 mile radius.
In speaking with David during and after the event, he was excited by the overwhelming support for FTJ Live and what Orlando is doing to rally around their tech community. David has consistently put on events with relevant content that have contributed to Orlando’s Tech boom and the turnout for FTJ Live is an example of just how popular his events are.
If you missed FTJ Live, Orlando-based FilmScape Productions has put together an outstanding video of the event that includes the full panel discussion:
FTJ Live Panel:
(The FTJ Live Panel (L to R) Pete McAlindon, CEO of Blue Orb, Daryl Holt, COO of EA Sports, Ben Noel, Executive Director at Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, Craig Ustler, Developer of Creative Village Orlando, Gregg Pollack, CEO at Envy Labs, Carlos Carbonnell, CEO at Echo Interaction, Kyle Christian Steele, CEO at Doccaster, David Glass, Publisher at FTJ, Sponsors: TriNet and Modis)
B.I.G. standing for Business, Innovation, and Growth is the “biggest” event in Central Florida that attracts entrepreneurs and business leaders for a day of learning, sharing, and discovering new opportunities and relationships with others from within the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Keynote Gary Vaynerchuk delivered an awesome speech to a sold out crowd at the Full Sail Live stage.
Gary shared perspective on the necessity of engaging with your social network, reminding everyone that the rules are changing and interacting with your contacts is as important ever. ”Wake up to 2012 and the ROI of giving a crap about your customers!” Gary said.
To begin his keynote, Gary had asked the audience by a show of hands how many people had actually heard of Gary Vaynerchuk? Obviously, knowing the audience is much different from his normal speaking engagements – approximately 90% of the people raised their hands unaware of Gary and his style. In talking with attendees after Gary’s speech, it was evident that his message resonated with the audience. Many of them said it was one of the best they had heard and felt that they could immediately implement some of his strategies into their business to help them engage with their clients.
Other highlights of the B.I.G Summit were a mock “Shark Tank” with Kevin Harrington where 3 companies got to go head to head in a demo face off competing for bragging rights of being the most shark tank qualified.
Grooveshark Co-Founder Josh Greenberg sharing his insight on competition and the hard work put into making Grooveshark what it is today.
As well as the B.I.G. “Judges Choice” Award that was taken home this year by one of my favorite companies, GroundFlights, Inc. out of Orlando. To qualify, GroundFlights had to participate in a video submission contest that went before a panel of judges to decide who was this years top company. Below is the video that took the honors:
It has been a lot of fun being a part of the B.I.G. Summit the last 2 years. I’m not sure what Orlando Inc. has in store for 2012, but you will definitely not want to miss it! The event continues to sell out, and it’s easy to see why.
For a recap and notes of this year’s event. Michelle Royal, Founder of HDYI (How Do You Innovate) has provided us with a sketch representation of the days activities that you can download here: (big_2011visualizations)
As I explained to one of my friends that still can’t grasp Google’s new social media platform… Google+ is everything Facebook “IS” and “IS NOT.”
There are many opinions about whether Google+ will or will not make it, but I truly believe that both businesses and individuals want the best of their work and personal lives shared on a social platform without risking the two bleeding together. We all have heard the stories about people who have been Facebook “tagged” in photos that they never intended for their work friends to see. Or, feeling pressured to accept a Facebook “friend request” to not annoy the other person, etc. Google+ circles allow you the comfort of filtering the content to whom you want and don’t want seeing it, and in a way that isn’t rude or riddled with guilt.
It is still early, and admittedly I am only 1 week into my G+ era. However, at the rate that the Android units are moving off the shelves and the convenience of Gmail and other applications, we may see a major change in the way that we communicate socially.
Much can be said about attitude, planning, scheduling, etc. However, I believe that momentum is the single most important factor in whether or not I will reach my personal and professional goals each year. Momentum is defined as a “strength or force gained by motion or through the development of events.”
Ironically, there does seem to be a “strength or force” at work when momentum is reached. It’s that feeling when time begins to fly by, weeks feel shorter, and appointments seem to schedule themselves. There is little stress or tiredness, because things are in a groove. Momentum has provided you with an enhanced state of mind, more focus in meetings, and a sense of comfort in asking for the business. Smaller deals close quicker and bigger deals seem to find your desk.
For those like me who are in a long-cycle selling process, my tip for reaching momentum is to partner up with someone in your business that can hold you accountable to your goals and help keep you on track. There are 101 reasons why people do not want/need your products or solutions in this economy. Having a partner can keep you fresh, shares in the workload, and provides a safe environment for constructive criticism to modify best practices.
In my business, the one who hears the most no’s, typically has also heard the most yeses! Some of those no’s take up a great deal of time and can much more easily be forgotten or pushed to a later date with the support of a partner in the deal. Getting caught up in these situations can get you off track and just as easily flip momentum against you. So, team up… and stay on the positive side of momentum. That’s where the money is!
Most people who I meet at networking events admittedly do not have a networking plan. Quick question… Why not?
Before I go off on some 2 or 3 paragraph blog post about networking, understand that I too was this person. I would pick networking events hoping to find a meeting or a sale. I thought the purpose of the event was for me to make a connection that would result in some sort of financial gain for me. As you can imagine, with this mentality…it didn’t take me long to find myself going to events, collecting a ton of cards, but not finding the results that I expected.
Once you have fallen for this trap, it’s much easier to tell yourself that “networking events are a waste of time,” instead of identifying the true cause of failure. So, here is what I recommend…
Have a purpose or goal
Identify verticals & associations to target
Connect with subject matter experts (I prefer LinkedIn for this)
Pick the right events/develop plan specific for that event
Work like hell to get a deal for your new connections.
What was missing from that list of 5? Exactly…nowhere does it mention anything about me and financial gain. I view networking as the best way for me to meet the experts in the verticals that I want to target, and a way to be involved with my connections to bring real deal flow to them and their business. This simple 5-step approach has built great friends, referral sources, and most importantly….clients.
Are you already doing this? Or, do you have a suggestion on ways to make networking more effective? Let me know below, I welcome any/all feedback.
Yes, of course LinkedIn is a great way to build your network of connections in business. However, do you participate in the discussions? Do you take advantage of the Group(s) you are associated with?
Truth is, you probably spend much less time on LinkedIn, and way too much time on other social media sites. This is not to suggest that the other sites are not important. (because they are) LinkedIn provides you with a platform to get involved and have a voice. Your participation shows confidence, expertise, and if worked correctly…can open doors for you with key individuals and companies.
Participating in Group discussions allows your comments to be seen by all group members. Discussions can be started by Group Managers for all to answer, and they can also be started by members within the Group. Typically, these members are business owners, employees, clients, your competition, and prospects in your market. Yes…PROSPECTS! Does this mean that you answer a discussion topic with, “My company can provide you with “x”, when can we meet?” Absolutely not! By steering clear of the temptation of self-promotion, you will be working towards a trusted advisor relationship with the members of the group. The opportunities to set a business meeting will come from being a provider of great content.
So, you now have two windows open on your computer and you are looking at which discussion to participate in right? (lol) Take the easy route; create a topic for discussion that you feel confident you can participate in. For a brief moment, you can be the expert. Get involved, have an opinion!
I would recommend to companies that are sending out packed emails (HTML, graphics, etc.) that they test the compatibility with different devices and operating systems. Most phones do have the ability to see the images, but depending on the image settings of the phone and the orientation (landscape/portrait) can determine whether you see the detail on the screen without scrolling back and forth.
In my opinion, with all the daily distractions in a business…to ask the recipient to “allow images” and ” download more” on their mobile phone is taking a risk that your email will not get read.
I’d like to think that all the time spent on the cool color scheme, the perfect pics and fancy logo is what made someone read my emails, but in reality…the body text is usually what spikes interest. Surely, we won’t have to worry about this in the near future with the technological advances that are being made. But, right now…it still remains an issue that needs to be considered.
In case you missed the webinar, I have provided a quick recap and a link below that will take you to a recording of the session.
Last week, Clara Shih – author of The Facebook Era, teamed up with Burton Goldfield – CEO of TriNet Group, Inc., to share strategies on how to leverage social media networks to attract top talent and effectively generate leads.
Burton Goldfield
In a time where companies are trying to figure out whether to embrace social media, or run from it, Goldfield explains to the audience how TriNet leverages social networks to stay competitive in their market as well as how he personally uses Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
Shih provides an in-depth look at each of the social media sites and shows examples of the effective strategies companies are using to integrate these practices into their business. Throughout the presentation, there are questions from the audience and you can find the answers and the entire webinar here: http://bit.ly/TriNetWebinarTalent
Okay, so I just signed up for the upcoming Internet Technology Summit 2010 that is coming to Orlando June 22-23, 2010. This event is going to ROCK!
This two-day, power-packed event will delve into the latest strategies and tools in mobile, social and rich media technologies including: search, mobile applications, mobile computing, cloud computing, internet security, crowd sourcing, workflow, lead generation, SAAS, online advertising, virtualization, augmented reality and managed services. (Source: http://bit.ly/ITsummit2010)
