Live Events VS. Online Forums ?

I agree that meeting face to face is the preferred way to build a business relationship, but with a hectic schedule it is often hard to attend all of the meetings and events that I would like to. I know that there have been a few events as of late Howard that you have either hosted or where going to be attending that I would have liked to attend myself but work/family took priority.

I was thinking that it would be nice if there could be some more events that were family inclusive. We have dog inclusive so why not kid inclusive. Many of us have businesses that are family/child related so perhaps an event where children were included would bring out new members.

Just a thought.

I agree, meeting face to face is the best way to make contacts. But I agree with Elizabeth--I can't always attend the many events offered either.

I would be happy to host a spring picnic this year to get everyone together--kids, dogs, spouses. After all, the only way you can refer someone is if you truly know them and their character!

One of the restrictions of attending many Biznik events is that you must be a Biznik member so events where families can attend I guess would have to be cleared by Lara and Dan. Although I guess I could get my kids to join....more members in Biznik is good :)

Monarchy rules are best.

I think as long as one person is a member, families are included. I will clear it with Lara and Dan.

You don't need to be a Biznik member to attend free events. This is one of the ways that Biznik has grown. A free BYOB picnic sounds like a great idea to me. I also prefer face to face networking but what are you going to do. In today's work world you need both online and face to face to be more effective. Art T.

Online and in-person networking work hand in hand, especially for shy people. For example, Keith Gormesano often posts in the forums. By the time I sat down next to him at Susan Alexander’s event last week, I felt like I already knew him...of course, I’m sure he didn’t have a clue about me. For me, feeling like I already know one person at an event seems to make it easier to meet others like Rob Lindsay who just joined the morning of that event.

P.S. I’m working on curing my wallflower issues with Liquid Trust Spray. I wonder if the enhanced version will clash with my Money Drawing Oil.

Yes, thanks for the insight on shy folks. I am anything but shy, so feel free to attend one of my events I will be more than happy to introduce you around.

I prefer the in-person meetings, too, Howard, yet I agree with Suzanne that the online forums are a great way for people to get a little more familiar with each other, both before and after meeting in person.

There was another BizTalk posting in which someone (Dan?) pointed out that Biznik is such a successful online medium precisely because we all meet face-to-face on occassion, which prompts us to be more civil to each other online.

I like meeting in person because ultimately, the point of all this technology is to connect us, not isolate us.

Well said, Rachel.

I like a good mix of both. While I am inclined to be isolated in my home office on the island, I do like to get out and meet people, too.

I agree with Howard. Online is a good way to meet people and, later, to strengthen relationships. But nothing beats face-to-face for those personal interactions that help pinpoint common interests, services that complement and enhance what someone else is providing, personalities that might work well together, etc. As a newbie, I've already seen a couple of events I've wanted to attend but I'm getting my first e-zine issue ready for publication, so I've been swamped. Hopefully soon I can attend one.

Good point, Rachel. One of the reasons I like Biznik so much is there's such an organic flow between the online and the offline.

Although, admittedly, there's not nearly as much going on down here in PDX, although we're doing what we can to change that.

For me online interaction have done the trick till now but would love to attend a in-person event if a opportunity arises...

-Anita CM

(http://www.siteometrics.com)

Hi guys! Great discussion you've got going here. I just want to jump in and back up with Art said: you don't have to be a member of Biznik to attend a free event (although I know of one person who has been attending the free events for like a year without joining, and that's a little annoying). So the picnic idea is fine, and sounds like a lot of fun.

As it turns out, we are planning to create a way for non-members to also attend paid events, because we've gotten a lot of requests from spouses and such who really have no interest in having a profile on Biznik but who want to occasionally attend an event. So that's coming soon.