On May 15, 2012, the social world came together IRL (In Real Life) in Montreal, Quebec to celebrate and discover the “State of Now” at the 140 Conference in Montreal.
- @chieflemonhead, @peterfromottawa, @josepf, @gigi_peterkin, @debweinstein, @katmandelstein
The Speakers List (check them out on Twitter here) was packed with social media experts, business leaders and digital visionaries who came together to build a real and virtual network of expertise. The subject matter was vast and included digital media, social media, social PR, brand building, personal stories of triumph and so much more.
Deb Weinstein speaks on Social PR
Our own president, Deborah Weinstein (@DebWeinstein) spoke on Social PR and how it’s sink or swim in the age of instant news. We’ll be posting her presentation and a summary in a blog post soon.
The conference was held at Montreal’s uber chic and trendy Ex-Centris Cinema centre in downtown Montreal. At the 140 Conference, each speaker is confined to ten minutes to share their knowledge and passion on a subject of their choice. The entire Speakers Schedule can be found here.
Many of the speakers met IRL for the first time in April of 2011 when Strategic Objectives hosted a Canadian meet-up for the who’s who of the Twitterverse – from the Twitter tribe #usguys. The #140MTL Conference was an #usguys family reunion that brought together many of these same visionaries to meet, share, and learn all over again.
Beyond the speakers and the rich knowledge shared was a sense of camaraderie among the conference participants. This feeling of family and friendship is one of the biggest takeaways from any spectacular social media conference. Individuals who once only knew each other as @DebWeinstein, @peterfromottawa, @Milaspage and @Josepf were able to meet face to face. This reaffirms our relationships and passion for social media, outside of 140 characters behind our computer screens.
One of social media’s most powerful tools is the ability to network. As social media professionals and practitioners, we reinforce these relationships offline and IRL. As a strictly online community, we can only do so much – by bringing this community together to laugh, share, hug, eat, drink and enjoy each other’s company, we go beyond 140 characters to create new business contacts, friends, relationships, support systems, mentors, and more.
Social media has awesome power to spark new ideas, new relationships and new friendships. The key to maintaining these relationships is reinforcing them by taking the time to meet up, tweet up, and share ideas in person. Social media will bring you together, IRL will reinforce, but your passion will keep it going for the long haul.
We invite all our #140MTL friends & social family to share your fond memories and key learnings from the State of Now in the comments section below the pics!
Check out some of the pics from #140MTL here:
