![\"\"](\"http:\/\/flybluekite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Turtle-e1299725692132.jpg\" "\\"turtle\\"")
Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 social media is great. You can make wonderful connections that way. I know I have.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 social media is great. You can make wonderful connections that way. I know I have.<\/p>\n
But, it\u2019s only part of the equation.<\/p>\n
The real magic happens when you step away from the computer and transform those online connections to in-person relationships.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve done business with people I\u2019ve met online and have developed a cadre of colleagues and friends through social media connections. But, none of that would have been possible if I hadn\u2019t stepped away from my computer to meet folks in person.<\/p>\n
I know this isn\u2019t always easy for folks, especially if you\u2019re new to social media. Trying to determine when it\u2019s appropriate to ask someone for coffee can be scary if you\u2019ve never done it before.<\/p>\n
But fear not! There is another way.<\/p>\n
Conferences and meetups offer fantastic opportunities to deepen your online relationships and even meet new people you haven\u2019t connected with yet.<\/p>\n
If you haven\u2019t yet taken your online relationships to the next level, there are two upcoming events that I\u2019m particularly excited about that I wanted to share with you.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n Even if you\u2019re not a podcaster, PodCamp has something for everyone \u2013 you\u2019ll hear informative case studies, in-depth how-tos and thought-provoking panel discussions on a wide range of topics from blogging and social media to QR codes and podcasts. I know several of the speakers and I\u2019m confident it will be fantastic.<\/p>\n The sessions are short, but they are jam-packed with information. And, if you find yourself in a session that\u2019s not quite for you, you can just hop on over to another one that\u2019s more your style or even skip a session or two altogether and hang out in the hallways to meet some fantastic folks.<\/p>\n And, don\u2019t wait until PodCamp to start connecting with people who will be attending. Simply follow the #pcn11 hashtag<\/a> to join the PodCamp conversation on Twitter.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re interested in growing your business through online media, you\u2019ll want to attend PodCamp Nashville on March 26. And, don\u2019t forget to sign up<\/a>!<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not in Nashville, there are plenty of opportunities to attend a PodCamp in your area. You can find a full list of PodCamps here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n The impressive line-up includes folks like Jay Baer<\/a>,\u00a0a top marketing blogger and co-author of The NOW Revolution;<\/em> Trey Pennington<\/a>, a professor, author and popular web personality; and Christina \u201cCK\u201d Kerley<\/a>, a renowned mobile marketing expert. You can check out the full agenda here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mark Schaefer<\/a>, who I had the pleasure of meeting last year (thanks to Twitter), is the architect behind SocialSlam and I\u2019m thrilled to join him in Knoxville for this event. And, I\u2019m excited to finally meet a number of folks I\u2019ve been conversing with online for some time.<\/p>\n The ticket price is $59, which is a steal considering the caliber of speakers. And, on top of that, you get a free breakfast and lunch, and a copy of The NOW Revolution <\/em>and Mark Schaefer\u2019s new book, The Tao of Twitter.<\/em><\/p>\n To see what people are saying about the event, you can follow the #soslam\u00a0hashtag<\/a> on Twitter.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Seating is limited and I understand the spots are filling fast, so hurry up and register<\/a> before it\u2019s sold out!<\/p>\n If there\u2019s anyone from Nashville who\u2019s interested in attending, let me know<\/a> and perhaps we can carpool or caravan to Knoxville.<\/p>\n Will I see you at PodCamp Nashville or Social Slam? Don\u2019t miss out on these great events!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Laura Click Image credit: Emples<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 social media is great. You can make wonderful connections that way. I know I have. But, it\u2019s only part of the equation. The real magic happens when you step away from the computer and transform those online connections to in-person relationships. I\u2019ve done business with people I\u2019ve met online and … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,859],"tags":[1139,1140,702,1141,30,1137,1138],"class_list":["post-2807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-lauraclick","tag-events","tag-in-real-life","tag-irl","tag-meetups","tag-social-media","tag-tweetup","tag-tweetups"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2807"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2814,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2807\/revisions\/2814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/flybluekite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/PCN11-e1299725933568.jpg\" "\\"podcamp\\"")
On March 26, I\u2019m going to PodCamp Nashville<\/a>. PodCamp is a FREE \u201cunconference\u201d where anyone interested in online media gather and learn from folks in the trenches who are willing to get on stage and share their insight.<\/p>\nLet\u2019s go to Knoxville for SocialSlam<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/flybluekite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/SocialSlam-Finalweb-300x108.png\" "\\"socslam\\"")
On April 13, I\u2019m headed to Knoxville for SocialSlam<\/a>, a day-long conference where some heavy-hitters in the social media and marketing arena will share their insights about how to use digital media to impact your bottom line.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n