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Social Media Club NYC Recap – Business is Personal
Tonight, hosted by Cooper Union in NYC, was the latest edition of the Social Media Club. After the previous Social Media Club event I covered in June, I was very much looking forward to tonight’s event. Last time there were over 50 people from a diverse set of backgrounds and careers which gave me an opportunity to network with folks I might not otherwise meet. Tonight’s attendance was 18 with a couple of late-comers added to the counter later during the event. Last night was the SMC event in San Francisco which judging by the Twitter messages appeared to be very well received.
The topic was listed as "Join NYC chapter leader Howard Greenstein in a conversation with SMC Co-Founder Chris Heuer about how Social Media is making business personal again." The evening began with each attendee sharing sites that they found interesting or exceptional. I won’t list them because I am certain you know all of them.
Overall I found the discussion dull and lackluster compared to other SMC nationwide events. Chris had a batch of slides (embedded below) but didn’t really go through them other than the first few, other slides he just seemed to slide through. Howard sat in the front but I couldn’t really tell to what position he was taking (moderator, leader, etc.).
An alternative would have been to start with the slide presentation, and then open it to discussion topics with Howard and Chris (both bright guys) discussing their opinion on the topic and then group chat. It just seemed like the chat was moving in too many directions with no central focus. I think concrete examples of good and poor executions of Chris’ topic would have worked well too. Personally I think Chris should have stood as it would give him additional focus as the topic leader.
Anyway check out the presentation slides below and I look forward to reporting on the next event.
No worries about not being able to see me, I never worry about that – as long as I can hear you, I can take notes. I do agree that the Howard co-presenting part was a missing opportunity. I don’t think you overpowered the lead.
One other note, maybe put the drinks and food in the back or away from the presentations – this way if people want a drink, they don’t mess up the flow.
Thanks!
Thank you for the feedback – I was more bummed about my rambling opening where I was trying to make a point about the importance of language and getting past initial misunderstandings/misinterpretations. You are probably right though, it may have been a lot better if I started with directly going into the presentation, delivered it and then opened conversation.
As for standing, I see your point – unfortunately, you were the only other face I could not see from where I was sitting, so I am sorry about that, I should have moved. I purposely chose not to stand because I wasn’t trying to be the “authority”, I was trying to encourage a peer conversation, which we had, which was messy (the point I make on slide 14).
This is also related to not clearly understanding that Howard and I were really co-presenting/leading the conversation – it was made less clear by my overpowering the lead (something for me to learn to do better) but also about coordinating better in advance rather then flying by the seat of my pants…
Very helpful suggestions all around – will hopefully see you next time I am back in NYC somewhere…
Be well.
Allen:
Thanks for the coverage, and the feedback. We can’t improve without feedback, so we will seek to change some of this in the upcoming events.
I was in the front to help facilitate and make sure audience questions were heard – the intent as we stated was discussion.
There was a bit of lower energy, which partially was due to the classroom fixed space – it really didn’t let people see each other, which we always try to get. We appreciate Cooper Union’s hosting, but it wasn’t the best space for this discussion.
That said, we welcome other discussions and topics.
I think Brett does a good job at the meetups with a more presentation-focused style, which is kind of what you asked for.
Chris’s presentation was intended as a conversation starter only- and the fact that there were many questions and comments speaks to that as being at least the right direction.
I’ll ask him to comment as well.
Again, thanks for attending.
Thank you for the feedback – I was more bummed about my rambling opening where I was trying to make a point about the importance of language and getting past initial misunderstandings/misinterpretations. You are probably right though, it may have been a lot better if I started with directly going into the presentation, delivered it and then opened conversation.
As for standing, I see your point – unfortunately, you were the only other face I could not see from where I was sitting, so I am sorry about that, I should have moved. I purposely chose not to stand because I wasn’t trying to be the “authority”, I was trying to encourage a peer conversation, which we had, which was messy (the point I make on slide 14).
This is also related to not clearly understanding that Howard and I were really co-presenting/leading the conversation – it was made less clear by my overpowering the lead (something for me to learn to do better) but also about coordinating better in advance rather then flying by the seat of my pants…
Very helpful suggestions all around – will hopefully see you next time I am back in NYC somewhere…
Be well.