“Promiscuous connector” Chris Brogan links up with Nashville
Along with most of the rest of Nashville’s social media junkies, I attended today’s Social Media Club session featuring well-known social media strategist and bestselling author Chris Brogan. I enjoyed what Brogan had to say, and most of all I enjoyed his candidness. Hyperbole and hype are unfortunately such common occurrences when it comes to social media, and it was refreshing that Brogan was just himself. He answered honestly and didn’t pull punches. Here are a few insights I took away from the session:
- The more you give away, the more you get back in return. I believe that, too, and it reminded me of the famous Beatles quote I included in my Twitter math presentation earlier this year: “And, in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.”
- It took Brogan 8 years to get to 100 readers. Now he has thousands, if not millions.
- The difference between audience and community is how you place the chairs.
- Resist the urge to “use the bullhorn” to post self-serving information.
- Be helpful instead: Answer questions.
- Equipping other people to win is the secret sauce of business (and life).
Brogan also confessed to being a “promiscuous connector” online, especially when it comes to Twitter. While I don’t aspire to attain that status, I did think that was a funny way of describing his tendency to follow just about anyone on Twitter. When you’re fortunate enough to have hundreds of thousands of followers, that’s understandable.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I think that the second takeaway – that it took 8 years to get 100 readers – is an extremely valuable lesson. It’s one that most people don’t have patience for. Thanks for sharing.
September 24th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I think you’re right, Sam. People love focusing on the success while ignoring the hard work involved to achieve it. We love quick fixes!