Last Tuesday I spent a total of three hours on buses from Pomona to Santa Monica to hear women speak on social media. Yes, I was that excited about the event. It was Social Media Week in 14 cities worldwide, including Los Angeles. To me, it would be crazy to not go to at least one of the many classes, seminars and panels. The event I went to, titled “Females Forging LA: A Social Media Showcase,” was organized by Girls In Tech Los Angeles. Five experts shared how they use social media both in their companies, as well as the ups and downs of their careers.
The panelists were:
- Tatiana Simonian , Vice President, Nielsen Entertainment – @tatiana
- Lee Ann Daly, Media Executive | Connector-Investor-Advisor, Partners + LAD, Garden Organics, Inc., POPTIP – @leeanndaly
- Katie Ann Rosen Kitchens, Editor in Chief and Co-founder of FabFitFun – @katieannro
- Tara Tiger Brown, Tech. Director, DML Research Hub & Connected Learning Alliance Founder LA Makerspace – @tara
- Karina Kogan, SVP Digital, Participant Media, TakePart.com at Participant Media – Participant Media @_Participant
And the event was moderated by:
- Karli Henriquez, KIIS FM On-Air Personality / MTV Host – Karli Henriquez
I learned a lot from what everyone had to say, including audience members asking questions. A lot of things being said were pieces of advice I had heard before, but it was still good to hear again whether it be about company strategy or professional growth. All of the women had great things to say.Their jobs were fairly different, so it felt like their answers about social media management for companies varied more than that of their careers. Each company is different, but there are common threads in our lives. In my notes I didn’t write down each person’s name next to what she said, so what I learned will have to be lumped together.
Here are my favorites:
1. Focus on the people who get you and laugh at the people who don’t care.
2. Don’t make excuses for yourself.
3. The less self interested you are on social media, the better you do. On a related note, be authentic to the audience you’re serving.
4. Recognize that you are a brand. If you work in anything entertainment related, be careful of what you say. It could come back to hurt you.
5. Help others and let others help you in life. Ask for what you need.
To be honest, I knew a lot of what they said about social media already, but of course it was still good to hear everyone’s perspective. I did hear of two new to me websites, Topsy and Awe.sm, which I will be trying out and I encourage you to try too.
Overall, it was a pretty awesome event. Unfortunately, I did get nervous and only ended up talking to two people (none of the panelists) during the networking portion. I’m working on being less shy. Sometimes it’s still hard though. Also, sorry no picture. Although I had my DSLR I was so into taking notes that I didn’t even try snapping a photo.
This post is kind of a week late because I’ve been busy with other things like starting school and … okay, excuses are lame. Whatever, I just haven’t written it until now.
Modern Notebook 