WhatGives!? Do Something Good…

Joe Waters is the Director of Cause Marketing for Boston Medical Center and a prolific blogger in the “Cause Marketing” field.  Joe has developed and executed cause marketing programs with several local and national companies, and is a well known speaker on the intersection of business, philanthropy and marketing.  Joe has cross posted this story on his blog, SelfishGiving.com.

People think that I go to a lot of conferences, but I don’t. I don’t go for the same reasons they probably don’t.

Conferences are a pain in the ass. I don’t like being away from my family, the office and, in the summer, my gardens. It doesn’t help that my nonprofit doesn’t pay for them anymore. Most speakers are boring and off point. I also don’t want to end up on a plane sitting next to a guy with a bomb in his pants. And I’m just not just talking about the kind that will prompt me to ask to have my seat moved.

But people assume I go to a lot of conferences because I know a lot of people and am knowledgeable about cause marketing. But beyond my own personal experience, which is the touchstone for everything I do, I didn’t learn about cause marketing from glad-handing conference goers or taking notes during presentations. That’s not to say I don’t think conferences can’t be useful or productive. They can be. But there are alternatives.

So when WhatGives!? called me last week and asked me to write about how I choose which conferences to attend each year, I was happy to accept. I get a conference experience every day right from my office chair and every night from my couch. You can, too. Here’s how.

Unlock the power in weak ties. Malcolm Gladwell talks about the strength of “weak ties” in his book The Tipping Point. These casual but influential relationships push our thinking in new directions and drive our growth. I know they’ve helped me think differently about cause marketing and how it intersects with social media. Now we can all tap the power of weak ties through Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc. Just as we used to attend Chamber networking events to nurture these ties, we can build these tenuous connections on social media with out ever getting up early (unless you want to!) for an event.

Go narrow and deep. The strength in weak ties doesn’t come from following a million people on Twitter. I only follow “The 200.” These are the people I can learn the most from and who push my thinking in the most challenging direction. I change-up the 200 every day. Following a small group allows me to engage my followers regularly. No one gets lost in the “stream.” And you can always see its sandy bottom.

My business occupies me constantly. Does yours? I have lots of interests, and used to indulge a lot of them. But not anymore. It’s easy to be an expert in something when you give yourself up to it 24/7. It’s part of my personality to immerse myself into an interest until I become an expert in it. The difference with cause marketing–and social media–is that I’ve forced myself to stay submerged and I like my new world under the sea! But it comes at a cost. Fewer workouts. Less reading. Hiring help for the garden. And, yes, less time with the family.

The glance reveals what the gaze obscures. This is a great line from one of my favorite writers, Ralph Waldo Emerson. He never read anything cover to cover (except the German writer, Goethe. I have no idea why.). He preferred to skim, always looking for what he needed. I share his practice, which makes it easy to read lots of posts and articles–and always in search of just what I need and nothing more.  If I come across something that I do want to read beginning to end I have special folder in Evernote for just those items, although it’s not very thick.

Tweetdeck is the ring that rules them all. I’ve written before about how I used to read three newspapers, a slew of magazines and email newsletters and receive daily Google alerts. Now I funnel all my contacts and reading and searches through Tweetdeck. I still use Google Reader to ensure I never miss a post from a few must read bloggers. But Tweetdeck has become my number one source for getting, well, everything. And it has literally brought Linkedin back to life for me. Like Twitter and Facebook, I can track activities and connections in Linkedin and update my status or make connections right from Tweetdeck. I love it because my Linkedin friends do the work in finding and connecting me with the people I want to meet! I just follow their lead.

It will probably surprise you that my goal over the next year is to attend more conferences. For all the merits of my current form of networking and learning, it has obvious downsides. Balance is important. But for all of you out there who are tired of conferences and networking events and are looking for an alternative, consider what I’ve said.

Also remember that my way is not always easier. My strategies can be equally consuming, demanding and disappointing. But at least when you’ve had enough you can just close your laptop and go play with your kids.