[See the Link Below to Win a Free Full Conference Pass to TS2 in Chicago]
Interconnectivity
By definition, interconnectivity is “to be connected with one another.”
The term interconnectivity fascinates me on a lot of levels ranging from my personal to my business life. So much so, that I have found myself looking for “the connectedness” of things recently. It has become somewhat of an obsession.
Truth be known, I never really focused on it until about four weeks ago when a friend and colleague called out a “connection” that was both timely and bizarre. It got me thinking . . . why and how? And I am not sure I will ever really know.
With the advent of the social networking tools, the clarity of how connected we really are has become more evident than ever . . . though sometimes I think forced. There is a difference between being networked and being connected in my mind, although the line often gets blurred a bit.
A recent Facebook blog noted, “With greater connectedness has come the ability for people to influence one another with more speed and efficiency. We’ve seen this lead to people spreading information and organizing events on a mass scale, often within days and weeks.”
I have personally seen this work with a charity event I recently planned in the Portland area. I posted a group for the charity event on Facebook and sent invites out to 50 friends. Within two weeks, the group had over 200 members who were actively interested in and made donations to the charity event. I was amazed and thought “eat your heart out Kevin Bacon!” I had some 2-3 degrees of separation with some of these people that I had NEVER met . . . yet there was a connection.
The Funny Thing is That It’s Not Very Hard
Do you need Facebook, Plaxo, Twitter, or LinkedIn? No, but they are very helpful tools. Most of us work in very small industries. Sometimes we forget how small the community really is. I attend several industry trade shows for the trade show business, like TS2 and EXHIBITOR. I am always amazed at how many people I know and how many people know me.
Although you do not need LinkedIn or other social media tools, these online social media sites can be very helpful. For arguments sake, look at your LinkedIn account (assuming you have one). Look at your connections and then hand pick 4 or 5 of them and click through to see their connections. You will be amazed to see how many people you know that they know and vice versa.
So here is my challenge to you . . .
Win a Free Full Conference Registration to TS2 2009 in Chicago
In 100 words or less, send me an example from your own personal or professional life of “interconnectivity.” How it happened and how it affected you and others. There will be two winners. The winners will receive a full conference registration to TS2 in Chicago ($1,025 value). The deadline to enter is June 12, 2009.
You can submit them either directly to me at kevin@classicexhibits.com or on the Classic Tradeshow Tales Blog at http://www.classicexhibits.com/tradeshow-blog/.
Get moving . . . you’ve got a connection to make.
— Kevin Carty
http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a
Tags: Exhibitor, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Social Media, TS2, Twitter
My example of interconnectivity is regarding this very message. I received an e-mail from LinkedIn, and an announcement of “Win a Free Full Conference Pass to TS2 ” from one of my fellow MPI group-mates intrigued me. I clicked on the person who posted the announcement and learned that 13 of my friends and contacts also knew my group-mate, although we were not directly connected. So, here I am, learning about a new exhibit design house, making a new contact, and hopefully winning a free admission to TS2, all in a matter of three minutes. How’s that for interconnectivity?