I might have read this post by Chris Brogan about 10 times in the past couple of days. For the article and for the incredibly superior comments!

Please go read it NOW if you have not already done so.

It hit close to home for 2 major reasons -

1. My experience building the Memetales community so far, and what it means for the future of the Memetales Community

2. The strong imagery Chris present in his post. In one of my tweets a long time ago, I talked about my experience of the Memetales community feeling like “sitting down and eating together”.

Here are just some of my thoughts that are merely an extrapolation of Chris Brogan’s post -

Audience

An Audience witnesses a performance. An audience comes, watches/listens and goes. You perform.

Community

A community of people gather around a context. They face each other, sit in groups, share conversations and good times. People come and go, but a few key members stay on. As an enabler you “cook, you serve, you sit down and eat” with the others. Some awesome members help you cook too.

A Tribe

A tribe (thanks Seth Godin) is a special kind of community. This is where YOU are no more just an enabler. You are a true leader because you enable a passion – not just a context. I think so, at least. A tribe is a set of people that WANT to be led because YOU take their cause forward. A tribe is a more a realm of energy rather than that of people – where all energies resonate towards one goal. Seth Godin, in this interview, says “My point is that people don’t become leaders because they have charisma; people get charisma because they’re leaders” …

As someone born and brought up in India, the strongest tribe I can think of is the tribe that Mahatma Gandhi created during India’s struggle for freedom from the British. To get a sense of what he did, I have included a trailer to the movie Gandhi here. As a Leader, Gandhi created such a strong tribe, that even a number of the British were pulled into his tribe. Such is the power of a true leader and tribe!

At some points, it is hard to say, if the tribe energizes him or the other way around. But truly, in a tribe, it cannot be one way or the other – it is both ways. AND, it is for a cause that is above everyone.

THAT is what a tribe is. It has cause, passion, charisma and energy – people come together and bring more because they all share ONE story.

SO?

So, what do YOU need? An audience, community or a tribe?

YOU decide.

Be realistic and listen – but understand that more and more, people want to be heard. So listen and engage for a bit before you decide which one of the above you need.
photo credit: raman..exploring myself..

I came to the US several 100 years ago ( 10 years to be exact) – or it feels that way at least.  And about 99 of those years I was at Columbus, Ohio. Two Masters, few jobs, a home, a husband, 2 dogs, a cat and 2 kids later we decided it was time to move. So move we did, to the land of Mr McDreamy, snow capped mountains and Pike’s Place Market.

But something happened. With my limitations in the area of real world exploration (read: 2 kids under 2 ), I was forced to explore the online world. So there I was, physically in Seattle, but virtually – everywhere – wherever I found my community. And I started to love my  new home online – it let me travel and connect while  I was there for my kids. I started to learn so much online that it was getting addicting.A whole new world, a whole new way of interacting, a whole new science.

So it was much later in the game that I started learning about the wonderful tech/soc media community here in Seattle. I have been connecting with some amazing people/communities out here – incredibly smart, resourceful and energetic. It feels a little silly that I did not know of their existence only a few weeks ago -  but I loved how it all came together now – when I am more ready to learn and more prepared to share.

Perhaps the thing I love best about being a newcomer to the Seattle 2.0 web/tech scene is that I am drawn to people for who they are and what I learn from them as opposed to who/what they were yesterday.

So without futher ado let me list out some wonderful folk here -

1. Daniell Morrill and Brain Westbrook are 2 wonderful and hardworking people. They do a great job of covering and live streaming a number of tech/startup/social-media events around town. For someone like me (mom) with a business (running it alone), they provide a great way to keep up with what is going on and keep learning. Seattle2.0 is a great resource. Inport the Seattle2.0 calendar into your googlecal and you are all set.

2. Veronica tweets for SMCSeattle. She does a great job of tweeting pretty much everything that happens around social media in this corner of the world. If you want to keep up, just follow @SMCSeattle on twitter.

3. I should have realized hat this guy is cool by noticing how many people were hanging around him at SMCSeattle event a few weeks back. But he acts so ordinary (and I am so dense sometimes )! Although I have never said anything to Chris Pirillo beyond a hello, I have heard the greatest things about him and about his annual conference GNOMEDEX. I cannot wait to attend it this year! He is one “small guy doing BIG things” …

4. I met plenty of other super smart and entertaining people at the tweetup including Chris Brogan when he was here last week – for an event at IABCSeattle. The event was tweeted pretty heavily, thanks to all the people attending and following the conference through the stream. To catch the conversation on twitter, go here. Paolo (@tosolini) gave a wonderful and inspiring tak about podcasting – visit his blog here.

So what are my takeaways from all these amazing people -

1. Find your passion

2. Work hard and work like hell

3. Help others

4. Be yourself

5. Do not try to fit in

6. Have fun!

7. Learn

Am off to do some learning myself ! Had too much fun myself

photo of chrisbrogan and me : taken by the GeekGiant(eric) at the tweetup

I was at SocComm. And I picked a bunch of what I call Social Media realities and want to share with you. I follow up each reality with a thought on where the money is in relation to that reality. If you choose one of these ways to monetize Social Media then remember to use the “TRUTH” in your USP(unique selling proposition) somehow. And then, when you get all rich, come back and share some with me and donate some to children’s charities or animal shelters

Do not forget to subscribe to the Geekdance feed for a follow up post on the Monetizing Framework.

1.To make real connections you have to be vulnerable - Jeff Pulver

This is one basic truth. The most important one, I think. Connections online or in real life work only if they are real. And real connections are formed when we give a part of ourselves to the relationship – whether it be helping others, sharing our lives or being vulnerable. Connections are all about trust. And there is no trust developed between two people without sharing and giving. You can fake it for a day but building lasting sustainable relationships online or offline is about being yourself and being vulnerable.

The MONEY? Can you find ways to let people be vulnerable and feel comfortable? Can you create communities for sharing? Can you act as a liaison between a product and the market and find ways to establish trust between them? Can you create the next twitter that will let people all over the world connect and form real connections? If you can do one of these you got yourself a business model

Jeff Pulver does this well. With live-tagging, his breakfast sessions and conferences such as this one, he brings together people and lets them open up, interact and be vulnerable.

2. ABC – Always Be Connecting – Chris Brogan

I cannot seem to connect in order to connect because of a strong belief that I need to believe in everything I do to be able to do it. And until I heard Chis Brogan talk, my head and heart were in disagreement about “always connecting”. Watching Chris Brogan, I learned that we should be connecting all the time because the connections are what define his space. Because we are the medium. By connecting all the time, we are keeping the medium alive. Adding value by participating in the fabric of social communications.

The MONEY? Can you get people to connect? Can you do what it takes to join the links? When there are 10 people in the room, how do you get them to talk? Can you teach people the secret to connect ALL the time. And how do you sustain those connections? How do you make it ongoing?  Not easy, but that is exactly why there is the money in the space.

3. We all have vested interests and social media allows us to promote them to each other. We all have our own truths. – Fred Wilson

ME: I think twitter is so widely successful because most people are there for business – to connect and to promote themselves. We all have our own truths and anyone who is setting out to prove that there is one universal truth is just wasting his/her time. I think it is time for all of us to say what Fred said and move on about our business. It is good to remember though that while we all have our truths, the best way to promote ourselves and our own truths is by helping others promote their truths. I know this sounds like an inspiration blog stuff – but I confuse my blogs sometimes.

The MONEY? – Can you let people share their truth and feel valued? Facebook added newsfeeds(to make money) and since then I have discovered some real activists amongst my connections there. Fred Wilson talked about Boxee(he has a stake in it). He says we don’t care about channels anymore – which is true. Do I care if a program I like is on NBC or ABC ? Not really (unless I have a stake in those companies myself). I have to agree with Fred when he says what really matters to me is what other people I connect with are watching/reading/liking. So if you can help people share their truth, you are in business. I do hope I can do this with Memetales. So far it seems to be working well. I am excited and guess what – my truth has morphed into the truths of the people in the Memetales Community. Their cause becomes mine. I am loving it.I hope it works

4. Not everyone is just sharing and caring. @JeffJarvis makes $ selling books; @Garyvee makes $ selling wine …(but) Wealth  is more than just money. Attention and Intention are great wealth engines – Shelley Pamer

If we want to monetize on what is out there today, we have to focus on what creates “value”. Always be very aware of what “value” means to YOUR target market. Can you help people create value of some sorts. Don’t focus on just money. explore any value you can deliver (pretty much the premise of this post). If you deliver here, you can create you own space.

The MONEY - Are you a blogger and can you help bloggers write? Are you a teacher and can you help teachers teach in a new space (online for example)? Did you start your business and can you help small businesses take off? If you can help people focus on their passion by taking the hard work out of figuring out what they find hard (what is not their focus), then you have some ways to make money. People want to focus on their passions, so see how you can do that.

5. Life is a beta. Make mistakes – make them well. - Jeff Jarvis

Jeff Jarvis called life a beta. So true. So so true. Don’t wait for the day you feel perfect and ready. You will never start making money that way. You will never start doing what you love. It is time to play along and make mistakes. The web lets us do that. It is time to take advantage of that.

The MONEY? This truth can make you money by saving you LOTS of it. Making mistakes does not make money directly, but it creates a great path towards making money. It is also a wonderful way to save money. I have been an open business at Memetales from day 1. If you have a question and I have the answer – I tell you. This approach has been wonderful and it has started working in the other direction too. If people in the community have an idea then they speak up. I have been getting some awesome ideas for Memetales from the community. And I really would not get such ideas even if I paid big bucks for it. And will I make mistakes along the way? I hope to apologize when I do and move on. I am a real person just like anyone else, right?

6. Making a human connection, at the end of the day, that’s what social is all- Kenny Miller, EVP, MTV Networks Global Digital Media

There is nothing more to say, is there? Kenny Miller said it well. When I stayed home after I quit my job and moved cross country, I started an inspiration blog. To put down everything in my head. But what ended up happenning was real connections.

The MONEY? -Real connections give you a wonderful opportunity to better you social proof because of the trust element due to the human connections. Word of mouth works wonders to build a strong brand – especially when your business is taking off or you are in trouble. You can certainly make a LOT of money if you can teach someone or a company how to make a :”human connection” as opposed to a “connection solely for maketing purposes”. Can companies and brands do that? And how? In a world where people primarily communicate over virtual channels, how do we figure out how to make a human connection?

7. Be passionate about helping/community.  – Katja Presnal on the panel by  Lindsay Maines, Katja Presnal, Audrey McClelland, Beth Feldman

Katja is such a great example of success doing what you love. She is what she called a perfect example of “promotion through anti-promotion”. I call this “pull” vs “push”. You do not promote yourself – instead you project yourself as a helpful person involved in community and truly connect people and do it long enough and people will start thinking of you as a connector. It is hard work wither way – so you might as well promote yourself by helping others rather than just markeing yourself directly.

The MONEY? - I don’t have to say anything here. There are enough and more people that have done this and proven that the money will follow. Choose who you want to help and go for it. Help them for free while you have a steady stream of income and very soon you will quit your full time job because people  will want to pay for your help.

8. If you are not doing what you are passionate about, you are an idiot -Gary Vaynerchuk, Wine Library TV

GaryVee truly rocks. When he talks, you cannot NOT listen. Although there were parts fo his talk that I would have not agreed with, there was no point challenging him – he was passionate and he was speaking his truth. And I have to say – if you watch Gary speak live, you will realize, even if you are doing something you trulyl love, that there is more of yourself that you can give to what you are doing. This guy shook me up.

The MONEY? - There are 2 parts to the story – do what you love but be smart about it. Doing what you love is great but you will not make the money unless you create value and tell your buyer (either explicitly or implicitly) why they should buy from you and not anyone else. Be smart about executing it and find a partner with a business head .

9. Fans (People) crave authentic interaction- Laura Roeder

Laura is a gentle soul. She drew our attention towards the fact that it does not matter if you are a celebrity or a normal person. Everyone craves authentic interaction. This is no great secret.

The MONEY? The target for this service is the “rich and famous”. If you (or somebody) is already in business and making money figure out how you can be authentic in your interactons and grow your business – at evry touch point – on your blog, in your advertising material, in every email and in every conversation. Teach the stars, the heroes, the celebrities how to maintain an authentic channels for interaction and help them share their wealth with you

10. Listen to your employees. There is a marketplace of ideas within the company. – Peter Hirschberg, co-founder + Chairman,The Conversation Group

This is so true. Just like Shelly Palmer brought our attention to the fact that not all wealth = money, not all satisfaction comes from money. A big part of the satisfaction in life comes from getting feedback, appreciation and being concerned. So when you have a problem in your organization and you think you cannot fix it without bringing the next big consultant and paying him big bucks, think again. We have incredibly talented people who are passionate in our own organizations. Think of what you can give them if you cannot give money. Yes, money goes a long way but money alone does nothing. A little money and a LOT of something can produce big results. Talk to your employees and community. Let them come up with the ideas to fix problems.

The MONEY? – With this attitude built into your orgnizational management from day 1, you are all set to make smart financial decisions all along. You will save money and build an organization with a higher collectuve satsfaction. And the company will belong to the commuity – and believe me, you do not want it any other way!

What are your thoughts? Questions?

Put your thoughts in the comments or @thinkmaya on twitter and we can talk about how YOU can make money in the social media space

photo credit: udono

I saw Chris Brogan last week. At SocComm. I talked with him for a couple of minutes and heard him talk at the summit. Here is my account of what I learned and experienced that day -

NOTE: SKIP TO THE SLIDESHOW IN THE END IF YOU WANT A QUICK RECAP OF THE NOTES I MADE FROM THE CHRIS BROGAN TALK AT SOCCOMM

Chris Brogan’s first question to the audience was “Why are we not connecting all the time?“

I am sure I missed out on the next couple of minutes of his talk as I wondered why I do not connect all the time? Maybe I equate connecting to schmoozing/selling? I cannot seem to connect in order to connect because  I really need to believe in everything I do. And until I heard Chis Brogan talk about why we should connect, my head and heart were in disagreement about “always connecting”.How can I do something that I believe in my heart to be sleazy??

Watching Chris Brogan, I learned a simple truth. (The following paragraphs are my thoughts – not things Chris said ) . We should all be connecting all the time because the connections are what define the social media space. Without us, there is no medium. We are the medium. By connecting all the time, we are keeping the medium alive. Adding value by participating in the fabric of social communications.

We are all the system. Does that make sense? Social Communications is not about a bunch of social networks or facebook or twitter. It is all of that along with the people in it. Social media will work best when the people become the medium because that is the way it is meant to be. By accepting the fact that we should connect because connecting is what defines the space, we will make the space more effective, add value, share value and help others connect.

Why am I picking on Chris Brogan?

I don’t know. Because he gave a talk so close to a talk about life, maybe? Perhaps because, amidst all his social media geekiness, he first and foremost appears like a person? Maybe I pick on him because he is the perfect beauty of paradoxes… because how much he taught me so much in such little time. I pick on him because he knows how to be BIG by being small, really small.

This is one guy who has gotten it. He floats seamlessly between the real and virtual worlds, the digital and the analog. He seems to tweet all the time but manages to be present wherever he is.Brogan is a genius. And a real person.

I wish I had spoken more with Chris Brogan. Especially after his advice about connecting. But it is hard. For someone like me. To hang around a multitude of people waiting to talk with Chris. The conference space was crowded enough and there were bigger crowds around people like Chris. I stopped to say hello to Chris. I did not know what to say – we might have had 20-40 seconds between us.Some highlights of the 5 minutes I hung aorund him:

• Chris looked me in the eye while he talked. He does that with everyone.
• And he says people’s names. Multiple times.Every time he talks to them. Perhaps 5 times in 40 seconds?
• And then, when other people jumped in to say hello or were lurking around, he pulled them into the existing conversation, ever so gently, by introducing us to each other.
• In the few minutes I hung around him, he had introduced me to 2 people that I’d have never met otherwise. Chris is not just a person in this space – he is THE space – the medium. Guy Kawasaki introduced me to someone the minute I told him about my startup, Melanie Notkin did that too. On Twitter. These people get it. They are the space. They define it and help it evolve. And they don’t make a big deal about it.

Here is why I wish I had spoken more with Chris Brogan. I came home and watched his talks at the Tools of Change conference that took place in New York the same time that SocComm took place. I was following the #toc updates all day on twitter (thanks @writermama!). If I had just hung around Chris longer, would we have been able to talk about #toc? What would Chris Brogan have to say about my startup dealing with children’s books? My startup that is leveraging the social, the collaboration aspects and the new trends in publishing? If I had hung around Chris a little longer the conversation would have perhaps steered that way?

But then, as Chris Brogan says,“always think about what will be”.

The next time I meet someone like Chris or Chris Brogan himself, I will have a lot to talk about. But then, I wonder how much I will say because I will be busy being the medium – helping others connect. And who knows, perhaps we ALL will have an enlightening discussion and people I never knew existed will give me the greatest insights into what I am doing! I await this magic of the Social Media space.

So there – be connecting, all the time. Magical conversations and learning happens from connecting. Connect for the sake of yourself, connect for the sake of the others and connect because you cannot be a lurker in this space.

Enjoy the little presentation I made with a few other things Chris Brogan taught me that day. I will put a follow up post and a presentation with what I learned from the other speakers with my take on Social Communications.

image by chrisbrogan

Lessons for Social Media — From Chris Brogan

View more presentations from thinkmaya. (tags: soccomm chrisbrogan)

Were you at SocComm? What did you learn?