As previewed on Tuesday, I spent the last few days in London, England, meeting the Ecademy team and talking about what we called "social media for business" and "world-class blogging" for a changing Web. Although I was wary of the prospect of speaking to a roomful of people with differing knowledge bases and goals, for what was an intimidating five hours, it seems the day went well Thursday. Through a good mix of prepared slides and flow, social networking demos and fielding questions, the time was filled, without having people feel it fell short.Though I made the long flight back from London this afternoon and have made it back home to the Bay Area (and my wife and twins), the trip is not fully left behind, as I felt very comfortable with Thomas Power, Penny Power, Glenn Watkins, William Buist and the many dozens of Ecademy members I met when on the other side of the Atlantic. As my visit coincided with the official launch of Penny's book, "Know Me. Like Me. Follow Me.", I had the pleasure of seeing her introduce it and talk about the importance of community and networking for business owners. And the more I spoke with the team, and traded business cards, I knew this would not be the last time I would be working with Ecademy, nor the last time I would be making long-distance flights to engage with their team.
In April of this year, I said to stretch me thinner, adding that I was saying "yes to everything". Included in this open-ended proposal was the opportunity to extend the discussions from this blog and the various social networks and take them to dedicated events, workshops or to companies that needed the help.
While I am very much reticent to throw my hat in the ring with the gajillion Twitter and Facebook users who call themselves various words like "social media expert" and "social media guru" (my thoughts here), I have found that the systems I use which I take for granted are still unfamiliar to many, and I remain open to offering my help. Ecademy took a chance on me - extending the offer for me to speak with their team in a way I had never tried before, and judging by the responses in person, on Twitter, and on the Ecademy site, many were reinvigorated in terms of their own approach to blogging and social media.
What did I say? Much of what I talk about here often. Know the tools and the networks. Learn to have a comfortable and consistent pace, and a well thought-out data flow. Make sure not to overshare, and participate where your customers are. The more often I say it, the more comfortably it flows. That's why there will be no sequel to the "International Man of Social Media" with the word "Mystery" anywhere near the title. It just makes sense.
If you want access to the presentation, send me an e-mail. Given that Ecademy members paid to attend, the deck won't be available for free, but I do want it in your hands for the right price. You can also find me on Ecademy here.
Photo Illustration: Courtesy of Johnny Worthington via FriendFeed.