It’s been one crazy month and the year just started! I am very excited for 2013. I couldn’t wait to say goodbye to 2011 and 2012 was really umm interesting. But 2013 is going to be amazing!
MY new year always starts on my birthday. I am not a big New Year’s Eve fan. Kissing strangers while being intoxicated is not my thing. I’ll let the people who enjoy waking up in unknown places handle that experience.
I started my birthday waking up in All Suite Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Now it’s not what you think. Although they say that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas applies to everyone, it won’t be applying to me. I want to tell you about Vegas, all about Vegas! Including my crummy stay at the hotel.
But the crummy story will be posted on Audacity Magazine later on, since it deals with the poor customer service toward its customers with physical disabilities.
I can tell you that I became addicted and it all started with the first “Hi”.
I was looking forward to spending time with some of the people who I met via Twitter and other social media platforms. Some of these people spread the message about the importance of developing friendships offline with the same people we meet online. But a few of them were too “busy” to take five minutes to meet and greet. That’s ok. I am not going to focus on them. They made their actions speak louder than their tweets.
Instead I’m excited about writing several blog posts about the really nice people I met. Some of these people left me in awe at how “real” they were with me and with others.
-
CC Chapman Was All Smiles at NMX One of the people whom I had been following on Twitter was CC Chapman I had been in several Tweetchats with him and he seemed like a nice guy as far as nice guys go via Twitter tweets. After hearing him speak at the conference, I observed the group of people gathering about him. He appeared very much at ease with them. I think he made them feel relaxed. Or maybe I was projecting because he made me feel very much at ease. So much so, that I went up to him to say hi. He gave me a big hug and we were friends. Just like that. On the last day of the conference, I felt comfortable enough to ask him if he could assist me going up a steep ramp. That’s a biggie for me because I hate asking for help. Once again, he made me feel very relaxed. We spoke about life, his family and the conference. We hugged goodbye and I left feeling good about my new friend. CC doesn’t boast on twitter about being a social media guru or preach about how to make your online friends become your offline friends. He is too busy being a real friend. I can say he and his family are welcomed to Miami anytime. Check him out on twitter as well. @cc_chapman
-
Triberr’s Dino Dogan with me at New Media Expo If you’re a blogger then you must know Triberr If you know Triberr then you know Dino Dogan. But do you really know him? He was one of the nicest guys I met at NMX. He had a packed room at NMX and yet, he was nice enough to take the time to explain a few of the questions I had about Triberr. He could’ve made excuses about how he was busy or had a huge ego and direct me to his site’s Q&A. But no, he opened up his laptop and patiently guided me around the site. That’s how you get loyal people to support you! Loved my time with him as well. By the way, he is that nice on Twitter as well.
- The best example of the first “Hi” is my first encounter with Jason Houck I was dealing with what would be my first of many fight rounds with All Suite Rio Hotel when Jason came up to me and said “Hi!” I recognized him right away from his twitter picture. He was an extremely friendly guy online and offline. It’s because of him that I really thought to myself, WOW! I’m glad I came after traveling for over 8 hours. Although I never saw Jason for the rest of the conference, I never forgot how he made me feel as if we had known each other a lifetime.
Maybe it’s my imagination. I doubt it. But these three have something in common. They had no hang ups. There were no egos. Three nice people willing to develop relationships with people they had met online. They all started it with the first “Hi”. This stuff can get addicting. And it did.
- Andre Meadows and I had been tweeting back and forth with each other. The guy is a sweetheart. He was busy on a panel, putting together projects but when he saw me he came up to me and gave me a “Hi”. I’m telling you this stuff is addicting! Super sweet guy and of course, very funny. Want a laugh about the 80s and 90s? Check him out. (See photo at the very top!) We looked great!
- I couldn’t stop there. This was too much to keep inside. I had been tweeting with @CebSilver for a very long time. One of my first Twitter friends! When I found out Curtis Silver would be working at the conference, I went searching for him. He was busy and I was busy but hey, that should never be an excuse when you want to get your next “Hi!”
Curtis Silver aka @cebsilver FINALLY Tweeps Reunited
Where do you get your next “Hi”?
Whew! Long post! More tomorrow!