building your network jenni lloyd / women in media breakfast 21.01.10

nice to see you all so early… good morning!

i’m strategy lead with social consultancy nixonmcinnes one of the UK’s largest dedicated teams of social media specialists i’m jenni lloyd

but really, i’m a designer

i solve problems with a social twist on the web for businesses (generally, but not exclusively)

and i’m a geek

so i solve problems using technology

i’ve been playing with digital stuff for a long time 256 colours? dial-up connections? the <blink> tag?

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i like my job, but…

is good at it? actively likes networking? hands up who…

luckily there’s all sorts of online tools to help us introduce ourselves

firstly though, why are you networking? what do you want to achieve?

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i’m passionate about knitting

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i want to learn from my peers – & be recognised by them

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it we want international recognition as experts in our field

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i want to broaden my interests

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i’m at home with two kids all day – i want to stay sane

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i want a new job

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i want to sell people things

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i want to bring local people together

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i want to stay in touch with people i used to work with

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i want to talk to interesting people (& practice)

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i want to find influencers – and maybe join them

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i want to capitalise on my expertise

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i want to publicise my niche business

I hate ‘networking’ I’m crap at it i want to be a thought leader & build my personal brand

you’ve still got to make yourself do it in real life… so these are all tools to help but…

has given a business card to someone today? has got some business cards with them? has said hello to someone they don’t know yet? hands up who…

introduce yourself to the person next to you and swap cards rinse & repeat til you’re out of cards follow them up! do it now

I’ll get my coat! [email_address]