Social Media Social

Food, wine, and good company make for a great evening. What's even better is when the "good company" consists of experts in public relations, marketing, and technology who are excited to share their ideas and opinions with you. No, this wasn't Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver---Halifax has had its first social media meet-up.

Organized by Ben Boudreau and Carman Pirie, this event brought together students, professionals, freelancers, technology experts, and many others who can be found blogging, podcasting, and tweeting, among other things. I must mention that the BPR crowd was well represented. Hopefully next time more MSVU alum (and maybe a few staff members) can make it out!

I entered the evening armed with a few web-savvy friends and a stack of business cards. I left with even more business cards, some fresh ideas, and a smile on my face. I was fortunate enough to meet Nova Scotians working in areas that interest me both personally and professionally. Ryan Deschamps was the guest speaker this evening, and spoke of his work with Halifax Regional Libraries. I'm hoping to pick his brain in the future, as archives and libraries hold a lot of common ground.

Colour was very well represented this evening, and I recognized a few people who I might have passed by at the TIANS conference or the World Trade and Convention Centre. Colour graciously picked up the tab for munchies, and announced that this event will hopefully be a monthly occurrence. MT&L was represented by Laurel, and Revolve had a presence as well. The diversity of the other attendees was astonishing... all sectors were present, from nonprofits, to government (well, I think just me!), small business, education, and the corporate all mingled and shared their thoughts.

I must state again how pleasant it was to meet such an intelligent, like-minded group of people. I left the evening feeling quite inspired, and plan on blogging more often---for real. It is a rare thing that I learn so much with a glass of sauvignon blanc in my hand. Thank-you, again to Ben for organizing this event and letting me know about it. Food, wine, good company, and social media... all the makings of a great evening.