How to find the media biz action

THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN CYNOPSIS CLASSIFIED ADVANTAGE

How often have you read a report of a media conference or party and you think to yourself, “Rats! I should have been there, if only I’d known about it.” You look at the photos of the attendees – they’re people you would like to get to know, who work at firms that could so benefit from your skills and experience. But you didn’t know it was happening - so you were left to read the reports, look at the pictures and update your LinkedIn page hoping that someone would find you.

You don’t have to get left out again. There are several sites that can clue you in to what is happening where you are. Start out at Mashable for Social Media events across the country. For film biz get-togethers check out The San Diego Media Communications Association.

“Online sites are great at easily keeping in touch and updating a ton of contacts,” says Gary Sharma, the man behind business events calendar GarysGuide. “However meeting and networking in person is absolutely critical, as that is where some of the best relationships get formed, deals get done, partnerships get forged, hires get made, alliances get built.”

Sharma’s list lists “conferences, un-conferences, forums, workshops, seminars, meetups, tweetups, mixers, parties and more.” A quick look reveals a panel in New York entitled Media In Crisis - Is There a Way Out?, a free Internet Marketing meet-up in Minneapolis and an interactive games conference in Cologne, Germany.

When I asked him why people typically attend these events, Sharma responded, “The program content is typically always very useful. But it is the brainstorming-style discussions around the content and networking with your peers in the industry that can be particularly invaluable.”

Sharma told me that GarysGuide is used by “an astonishingly wide gamut of people in business: C level execs, Managers, VCs, Investors, Entrepreneurs, Marketing/PR folks, technologists, analysts, bloggers etc. Everyone uses it in different ways. Some are looking for conferences, while others for social events/parties/mixers, while yet others are more interested in workshops and seminars.”

So now there’s no need for you to be left out. Wherever you are in the world you too can have the inside track on what is happening and where and when - and next time it’ll be you in those photos!

Michael Pollock is President of Pollock Spark (www.pollockspark.com). He is an Executive Coach and Consultant to Creative and Media professionals. He works with people in film, TV, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success.

© 2009 Pollock Spark