@shashib at #SMCRVA

First let me tell you how cool it was just to spend some time picking Shashi Bellamkonda's brain. Network Solutions' "social media swami" and I "co-worked" at THP yesterday afternoon and it gave me a chance to ask questions, go to school and validate some things we've been kicking around. He also was able to tailor last night's presentation to #SMCRVA and Hype Richmond which was a must see for folks who want to really get serious about social media, making a case for it in their organization, and who truly want to start building communities. But what really struck me about Shashi is how he has made social media a part of his life.  His key points last night were not all about Twitter and Facebook, but they were life lessons that we can all employ whether we Tweet or strive to build communities, like…

• Never stop learning:  Shashi taught himself HTML by going to the local library
• Never eat lunch alone:  People are more inclined to be themselves and have relaxed discussions over a meal
• Take the lawyers out to lunch:  Sometimes legal is a biggest social media barrier, talk to the lawyers in a laid back setting.

Obviously on the hard-core social media side there were some great tips…

• You can include your company name in your LinkedIn profile by clicking "other" in the setup and adding the name
• A slew of "listening tools" like Backtype, etc.
• Include you company logo and link in your blog whether you blog about your company or not

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The evening was a great mix of socializing and networking with some hardcore social media discussion.  More than one person came up to me after and said they really got a lot of good practical advice that they can take back to their businesses and organizations. If you're looking for all of Shashi's presentations, here's a link to Slideshare that should help. I know he plans to add last night's presentation to the mix. For those who missed it, he's the link to last night's Ustream feed as provided by Doug Meacham. I would love to hear your thoughts on last night and what you took away from it. Thanks again to Shashi for his grace and his knowledge and how he shares them both.