I got back from BlogWorld in Las Vegas last night. The event was great and the people were amazing. But I'm glad to be home. Four nights in Vegas is equivalent to like 15 nights in other places.
You can see some of my notes here and here. Also, you should check out a series of video interviews I did with 10 really smart people talking about their visions of a killer mobile+social app. If you still can't get enough of my face, you can watch a short video of me being interviewed by Lewis Howes, a star speaker, entrepreneur and author.
I learned a ton and met some awesome people at BlogWorld. It was hard to narrow down my thoughts to just three main takeaways but here's my attempt:
1) Go To More Good Events
I've always enjoyed going to some of the local events in Raleigh but lately have started going to other events outside NC. I've been fortunate to meet some awesome people at these events. No matter how much things are moving online, there is no substitute for meeting people face-to-face. It was great to be able to put faces to names and hang out with some people who I've "known" for awhile online, but hadn't ever met in real life. As many have said before, one goal of online interactions is to create real-world relationships, and going to good events is one way to move things along. It was great to be able to meet people like Beth Harte (community manager for MarketingProfs-even if it was just for 2 minutes), Suhkjit Ghag (social media evangelist at Sony) and David Spinks (community manager for Scribnia).
Hopefully, I'll be able to continue going to amazing events and meeting great people. I should have done this more in the past.
2) Focus More
Amber Naslund said in her panel on time management strategies for social media, "sometimes you have to kill your babies."
She was referring to projects that have stalled or that you're not passionate about.
I've had a variety of websites and projects since I started blogging in 2006. If success is defined as them making money, then yes, some have been and are successful. But I realized there are some projects I have that I'm not that passionate about. They're taking time away from things I am passionate about, such as sports and social media and online communities. I need to focus on things I'm passionate about and phase out of the other stuff.
3) Give Back More
If you look at some of the most successful people in life and online, the common denominator is that they give. A lot.
They give their time and ideas. They give others a platform to speak and be heard. And they give opportunities for other people to shine.
I'll be honest. I've done a crappy job at this lately. I could make excuses and say I've been busy with work, but ultimately, excuses suck. I really need to step up my game.
This has kind of been in the back of my mind for a while. Meeting Lewis Howes in person turned this into something I can't ignore.
If you don't know who Lewis Howes is, you should get to know him. In the last year, he's developed one of the best resources on sports and new media (SportsNetworker.com), co-written a book on how to master LinkedIn, and become an awesome speaker.
While I've been too "busy" to blog or collaborate or shine the spotlight on others, Lewis has been doing just that and has become a force in the sports industry.
I feel lucky to have the privilege to know you, Lewis, and hopefully collaborate on some things in the future. Thanks for being so awesome and making me realize that I need to do a better job at giving back more-my time, attention, thanks and ideas.
Thanks to everyone for reading, and have a good night.