Productive networking

FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS DIGITAL ADVANTAGE

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Getting "the inside information"
By Michael Pollock

I always have productive encounters and learn something new at local media industry meet-ups.

For example there is Digital Wednesdays in New York's trendy Gansevoort Hotel. It happens every Wednesday evening and is free of charge. Sign up for information at www.digitalmediaevents.com.

I've met content providers, ad agency principals, publishers, dot com entrepreneurs, filmmakers, photographers, designers, marketing and HR people - all working in the online world. I have met people who came looking for opportunities and people who came specifically to recruit. Everyone is there to meet and share ideas, opportunities and experiences. It's a no-pressure environment: just buy a drink and introduce yourself.

Max Ramirez, who founded Digital Wednesdays, told me that it is becoming popular with radio and TV people looking for connections in the online world. "I see a smoother natural fit for people going from TV programming or ad sales into online programming or video ad sales. Video is one of the hottest topics right now."

According to Ramirez his guests include upper management from Google, Yahoo and MSN. This is a place "where you hit it off with the senior HR manager of Conde Nast and you have built a relationship that you would normally have no chance of doing. Only so much information is available publically - here you can get the inside information about what is really going on."

There are industry meetups all over the US. I did a Google search for "marketing meetups Phoenix" (try it for your town) and found that, among many others, the American Marketing Association has regular monthly events - open to non-members for a nominal fee. So use your search tools - you will find like-minded souls and, more to the point, hiring-minded souls. You can meet them in the flesh and practice your elevator speech on them. Ramirez tells me that CEOs from across the country visit Digital Wednesdays when they are in New York. Now he is broadening it to include the fashion business and he tells me that he is in talks to start up Digital Wednesdays in Paris - I'll see you there!

Of the current economy Ramirez says, "2009 is testing the best. The digital media ecosystem of 2010 will reward the tenacious." So get out there and get meeting - let's see some tenacity!

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.