|
The latter half of April is easily the busiest Ignite season ever! The word is spreading. If you
don't have an event coming up, let us make your area the next one!
Listed below are Ignite events over the next few months in
Northern Virginia, Richmond, Petersburg, Raleigh,
Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale!
|
| |
|
NETWORKING IN HISTORY - March
Congratulations to our March winner,
Mark Deutsch of
Central Virginia BNI
!
He was the first person to give the correct answer for the historical figure whose networking
prowess was a determining factor in the American Revolution: Paul Revere.
On April 18, 1775, William Dawes and Paul Revere set out in opposite directions to warn of the coming British troops.
Paul's network was well connected and deep. Those he warned knew and trusted him. The same could not
be said of William - his efforts resulted in a miniscule turnout comparatively. No doubt because the people
he came across did not really know or trust him.
(Further reference:
The Tipping Point
by Malcolm Gladwell
and
The Paul Revere House
)
Congratulations Mark - look for your super-secret prize shortly!
(It's smaller than a breadbox and very yummy.)
|
| |
|
NETWORKING IN HISTORY - April
Six Degrees of Separation is a term that refers to how closely
connected we all are in the world. A set of experiments that
started in 1967 at Harvard helped the "six degrees" term gain
acceptance. Interestingly though, the experiment papers never
actually mentioned the phrase.
What was the name of the experiment and who conducted it?
Extra Credit Winner: How many degrees away are YOU from
Kevin Bacon? Closest one wins.
Send me your guesses!
|
| |
|
NETWORKING TIP
Permanent Name Badge
Create your own permanent name badge. It will come in handy when
the event you are attending isn't providing badges, has only
hand-written badges, or just for better branding. At most it will
cost you $20 to order a single badge.
Make sure your name is very easy to read and your branding
is clear.
(Full disclosure: I have yet to do this myself. Do not let
procrastination get the better of you! Do a quick Google search
now for "permanent name badge".)
|
| |
|
"I made contact with over 50 people in only one hour, and was even able to set up a couple group outings for our season!"
Lisa Washington - Richmond Flying Squirrels
|
| |
|
EVENT TIP
Expedite Participants' Followup
The "networking" that is happening at your
event is really just a series of introductions. The true networking
happens after the event. (But you knew that.)
It is an important point when trying to make your event successful. The real
value for your participants is actual successful networking - how well
they are able to connect with and maintain relationships after your
event is over. For most organizations this means a quick reminder
of "remember your followup" and perhaps scanning all the business
cards.
The truth is that just does not cut it. If you want to truly differentiate
your event and organization, you need to provide a truly beneficial way
for people to stay in contact long after you brought them together for
the first time. It is negligent and sloppy to assume the entire followup burden
rests on the participants.
How? There are all kinds of things you can do here, including the short list below.
It has to be what works best for your participants. And there are lots of room
for creative, unique solutions - use your imagination!
- Single event Facebook group/subgroup.
- Twitter hashtag and tweets sent by you to encourage involvement.
- Forum on your website.
- Email the Ignite Speed Networking table-by-table report to everyone.
(Bonus: this also strengthens the association between your members successful
networking and your organization!)
|
|
|
| |
|
EVENT: Ignite Speed Networking with Poken
HOST:
SELF-INDULGED
WHEN: April 22, 2010
4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
REGION: Triangle Area, NC
WHERE:
Six Strings Cafe
Raleigh, NC
COST: $25.00
MORE INFORMATION:
Event Page
|
| |
|
EVENT: Reliability 2.0 Conference
HOST:
Reliability Web
WHEN: April 20 - 22, 2010
REGION: Florida
WHERE:
Hyatt Regency Bonaventure Conference Center
Fort Lauderdale, FL
COST: Conference Attendees Only
MORE INFORMATION:
Reliability 2.0 Conference
|
| |
|
EVENT: BlackBerry WES 2010 Conference
HOST:
RIM
WHEN: April 25, 2010
REGION: Florida
WHERE:
Orlando World Center Marriott & Convention Center
Orlando, FL
COST: Conference Attendees Only
MORE INFORMATION:
WES 2010 Conference
|
| |
|
EVENT: Swaders Sports Park - Chamber Networking
HOST:
Swaders Sports Park
WHEN: April 29, 2010
5:00 - 7:30 p.m.
REGION: Central Virginia
WHERE:
Swaders Sports Park
Petersburg, VA
Colonial Heights, VA
COST: $20.00
MORE INFORMATION:
Petersburg Chamber of Commerce
Colonial Heights Chamber of Commerce
|
| |
|
EVENT: Entrepreneur Fair
HOST:
The Venture Forum
WHEN: April 30, 2010
8:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
REGION: Central Virginia
WHERE:
Capital One - West Creek Campus
Richmond, VA
COST: Member $20
Non-member $30
MORE INFORMATION:
Event Page
|
| |
|
May Events
|
| |
|
EVENT: Allstate [tentative]
HOST:
Allstate Insurance
WHEN: May 11 or 19, 2010
REGION: Northern Virginia
WHERE: [TBD]
COST: [TBD]
|
| |
|
June Events
|
| |
|
EVENT: RichTech Networking
HOST:
RichTech
WHEN: June 8, 2010
[tentative]
REGION: Central Virginia
WHERE: [TBD]
COST: [TBD]
|
| |
|
Follow Us on Twitter
IgniteSN
|
|
|
|
