At its best, social media is like a continual 24/7 cocktail party, with discussions about this and that and the opportunity to get to know new people and become involved in interesting discussions.
I spotted an event on Twitter
It all began from a tweet. Tuija Aalto had listed social media events on her blog and she tweeted the link on the last day of December.
I then decided to investigate, whether there were any particular social media events that would be of some personal interest during the springtime. And there was: at the beginning of February, a Social Media Week. The event in London was the closest geographically, so I subsequently used the like function for the event on Facebook.
In order to receive every single bit of information possible, I also created my own column # smwldn on TweetDeck. With this, I was able to start following discussions involving people from all across Europe. From there, I also spotted a tweet a couple of weeks later, where one of the event’s organisers tweeted in passing to someone else, that he would actually be present in Helsinki at the weekend.
On a whim, I suggested a meeting with the individual, Adam - and we had lunch the following Monday in my local neighbourhood.
This is how Twitter works: people snatch discussions from out of the air and new opportunities open up for those who are watchful.
Free Think - Free Drink
Picture: @TheRealAdamVessey is organizing Free Think – Free Drink event for Social Media Week London
I prepared for the lunch by learning that the creative digital agency that Adam represented, Thin Martian, is making campaigns for Windows, Pepsi, Microsoft and LinkedIn, to name just a few. The exciting application, Tweetminster, helps people follow political tweeters and politicians can engage in debates with the public. And then, I was already at the same table with @ TheRealAdamVessey.
- Hello Adam. Tell me something about the Social Media Week- event.
- Well, last year's event in London was still relatively small in size. Now, the Social Media Week includes more than 50 independent events, which are organised in different parts of London. Thin Martian’s project manager, Adam Vessey, began the conversation.
For the Social Media Week London, Thin Martian organised the networking Free Think - Free Drink event, on Wednesday 9th February, next week.
The panel discussion at the event addresses a number of topics concerning current social media marketing. The event also includes the publishing of England’s most comprehensive ever research on social media marketing professionals, "The Value of Social Media. What Marketers really think." This is the kind of research which will be talked about for a very long time, even in Finland.
- The industry is developing so fast that there is continually something new to learn and new cases, of which companies and organizations want to hear. Therefore, these are the very events which are sorely needed. Think Free - Free Drink is an important event for us.
Participation
On Tuesday, Adam sent me a message, that there were two tickets for me for the Think Free - Free Drink-evening event on Wednesday. I therefore will(!) participated in the Social Media Week, IRL (In Real Life) in London, just like thousands of others in Rome, Paris, Istanbul, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Sao Paulo and Hong Kong. I only had to find some friend to accompany me to the event.
Tens of thousands of individuals who are interested in social media activities participate in the Social Media Week events in ten different cities. Why not you as well? If you participate virtually, you’ll be one of the hundreds of thousands who virtually participate in the SMW-event from all over the world. I promise to tweet from there and answer your questions, if you can come up with something to ask.
Social Media Week:
Social Media Week London:
Kristiina Pääkkönen @ MEMEgroup
This is an extract from a blog, where experts write about social media.