The Best Conversation About LinkedIn I've Ever Had

This is a guest post by Bill Seaver of MicroExplosion Media. While attending BarCamp Nashville, I saw Bill give an outstanding presentation. I enjoyed meeting Bill and other talented members of the Nashville technology and media community. Bill and I had a great conversation about LinkedIn and other social media tools. Thank you to Bill for compiling this blog post and producing the accompanying video:

That title pretty much describes my feeling about this conversation with Jenny DeVaughn of Social Precision in Atlanta. I met Jenny at Barcamp Nashville last month and realized she has expertise in LinkedIn…something I have been less than enthusiastic about in the past.

In this video, Jenny provides excellent insight into how to think about LinkedIn.

The biggest takeaway for me is that LinkedIn is NOT a communication tool like Facebook or Twitter. It’s a research tool. If you make that distinction, it changes everything. Jenny shares some of the ways (some of which are almost scary) you can tap into LinkedIn for business research, business development, networking, and competitive intelligence.

If you’re trying to figure out where (or if) LinkedIn fits into your social media strategy, I think the 12 minutes in this video will be helpful. I know it’s got me rethinking LinkedIn.

What You May Have Missed In LinkedIn from Bill Seaver on Vimeo.

Light Bulb Moments from BarCamp Nashville

As promised, this is my second post about my thoughts regarding BarCamp Nashville. The experience from this event has sparked a new creative energy and exposed me to some non-conventional ideas.

For those of us who create and post content online, do we live forever digitally? – Dave Delaney

People abandon Google searches. In 48% of the searches, people didn’t click on any of the results (2008). Instead, they put in more keywords. – Matthew Freeman

Social media is like a coin. One side is cost and the other side is time. – Bill Seaver

If you really want to know how your business is run, do a Google search with your name and then the word “sucks”. Then do another search with your name and the word “awesome”. – Scott Gordon

Cash is no longer king. Community is king. If you are in HR or recruiting, seek out additional characteristics in the talent pool to match the shifting culture. – Adrienne Corn

Two Wiki Secrets: A Wiki is NOT one website. Every entry is a website.  – Rex Hammock

Entrepreneurs + Technology + Funding + Thought Leadership = A Great Startup Community  – Marcus Whitney

Thank you again to the organizers and sponsors of this event. I can't wait to return next year.

Highlights from BarCamp Nashville

BarCamp Nashville was filled with interesting conversations regarding social media, technology, blogs, marketing, innovation and even HR/recruiting. I was one of the few guests who were from out-of-town.

The event was well-organized. The location, Cadillac Ranch in downtown Nashville rocked - literally. The volunteers were easy to find in their bright yellow t-shirts. The informative program guide included pre-determined hashtags for all 50+ sessions. Every session left you wanting to hear more from the speakers. The after-party included Ignite Nashville presentations and kept the conversations going!

With one click, you can follow all of the talented folks who tweet that I met at BarCamp Nashville:

 

Here are the great photos taken by @JoshtheOak from the event as well:

I'll have another blog post soon with my notes (all nuggets of insights and inspiration) from BarCamp Nashville soon!