Comments on: SMC Dallas and Chris Brogan: a Night of Great Disappointments

By: 3 Words that Sum Up My 2010 | MarketingInProgress.com by Brett Duncan

3 Words that Sum Up My 2010 | MarketingInProgress.com by Brett Duncan — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:48:59 +0000

[...] here. I’m talking about good ol’ fashioned networking with actual people. You can see here that I started the year in utter frustration, but I think it was the impetus I needed to get my head screwed on straight and actually improve [...]

By: Brett

Brett — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:17:07 +0000

Angela – I’ve heard from a few people that were disappointed there was no Q&A. Of course, now that I think of it, we should’ve just tweeted them his way before his presentation, or during. But yeah, having a Q&A would’ve been nice.

OK, I’ll be looking for you at the next event.

Tyler, you just scare people off cuz your arms are too dang big! The ironic thing about having trouble networking is that it was a SOCIAL NETWORKING event. Go figure.

By: Angela

Angela — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:03:59 +0000

Hi Brett,
Thanks for checking out my blog post on the SMC Dallas event! Although my post highlighted all the positives, the people I was with, and myself included, were disappointed when Chris didn’t take questions after his presentation. Like you mentioned, I also found myself thinking back on some of his points and evaluating my approach to social media – definitely a good presentation.

I’m also totally with you on the awkward instances that occur at these types of events. If the people I usually hang out with at these events aren’t there, I feel very uncomfortable. Hopefully you and I will run into one another at a future SMC Dallas event and we can avoid solo networking.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:13:36 +0000

@Brett – RE Solo Networking: AGREED! If I’m with folks I know, I’m good, but having to “work a room” of mostly unfamiliar faces by myself, forget it. Next time we can be each other’s wingmen!

By: Tweets that mention SMC Dallas and Chris Brogan: a Night of Great Disappointments :: MarketingInProgress.com -- Topsy.com

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:41:41 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mike D. Merrill, David Swinney, Cynthia Smoot, bdunc1, bdunc1 and others. bdunc1 said: My recap of #smcdallas with @cbrogan: a Night of Great Disappointments: http://ow.ly/ZDhq [...]

By: David Burrows

David Burrows — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:52:29 +0000

Thanks for posting an interesting perspective of the evening. I had planned on going, only to learn I’d be out of town, only to find out Wednesday I’d be staying in town, lastly to discover the event was sold out. There’s my disappointment.

So, now I’m catching up on the Brogan SM event via pictures, blogs and video… online. How unintentionally apropos.

By: Brett

Brett — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:51:32 +0000

Yeah, I’ll take a few bucks!

By: @MarketingChief

@MarketingChief — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:54:38 +0000

Nice clarification rebuttle. In the end it was your experience and feeling so it cannot be wrong. And making connections with intelligent thought and intent is all we can truly hope from social media. And maybe a few buck along the way.

By: Brett

Brett — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:41:33 +0000

Bob – I’ll definitely have to come find you at the next event. And it’s encouraging to to hear from a few who wrestle with the same “knowing vs. doing” thing. Of course, that’s probably what separates those who really get the most out of any area of life: turning just a fraction of what we know into doing.

@MarketingChief & Isis – OK, good point. However, I can assure you when I originally wrote the title to this post, it was not motivated to bait anyone. This was honestly the oxymoron that described the night best for me. Looking back, I probably could’ve picked a better word than “great;” I was using it as “better than good,” but obviously it can read as “huge.” I’ll admit, once I was done, it did hit me that the headline might cause some double takes, but I ran with it. I certainly didn’t intend to burn any bridges (in fact, none of these bridges were in place to be burned anyway), but I know my motives, so I’m cool with whatever. Hopefully you don’t feel too alienated; I’d love to keep the conversation going.

Cynthia – first, thanks for everything you did to pull the event together, and thanks for the encouragement. I promise I’m not the wallflower this single post makes me sound like. I’ll definitely be coming back whenever I can. Maybe I should learn some magic tricks or something to break the ice …..

By: Cynthia Smoot

Cynthia Smoot — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:22:48 +0000

Brett, I feel your pain. It’s awkward walking into a networking event without having a few people there to use as a home-base hub. I hope you’ll come back to the SMC event next month and give yourself a chance to get to know a few more of us. I meet one or two new people every meeting. So, every time I come back, my circle of friends is greater! Before you know it, you’ll know everyone in the room. It’s really helpful to plan on attending the tweet-up after the event. There’s only 30 minutes or so prior to the speaker at each SMC meeting. While I always enjoy the speakers we host, it’s the meet-up afterwards that provides the real networking opportunity. This is where friendships/partnerships are made!

Cynthia Smoot, Gangway Advertising and SMC/VP of Events