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Louisville Meet Up Lights Up Ali Center

ArnoldIT.com’s TheSeed2020 meet up for women- and minority-owned businesses was a hit. The event, held at the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky – attracted more than 80 people. The purpose of the event was to explore the effectiveness of social media marketing. The ArnoldIT.com team – Stuart Adams, Esq., Don Anderson, Constance Ard, Shaun Livingston, Keisha Mabry, Rob Redmon, Tony Safina, and Stuart Schram – used Facebook.com, Twitter.com, and email to announce the event.  The event’s Web site was produced using the SquareSpace.com service. You can look at the information about the events and peruse each of the presentations at http://www.theseed2020.com. A short video about the event will be made available in the next two weeks and posted on the ArnoldIT.com Web site.

Dr. Emeka Akaezuwa and Tess (ArnoldIT.com’s SharePoint expert) argue about the technical nuances of SQL Server 10.

I noted a number of presentations that were outstanding. I want to highlight Dr. Emeka Akaezuwa’s talk about the principles that have guided him through his operation of the successful Gaviri Technologies software company and his role in the Global Literacy Project. The crowd listened with rapt attention as Dr. Akaezuwa described his journey from Nigeria to his PhD in computer science from Rutgers University to his running a software company, raising a family, and working one month each year in Africa to make it possible for children to learn to read. More information about Dr. Akaezuwa’s company Gaviri is here. Information about the GLP foundation is here. Among many wonderful talks, his set a benchmark at TheSeed2020. I was disappointed that local Louisville business reporters did not avail themselves of the opportunity to speak with Dr. Akaezuwa and other presenters at this event. Their loss in my opinion.

Some of the ArnoldIT.com team. Back row, left to right: Keisha Mabry, MBA and Constance Ard, MLS. Front row, left to right: Don Anderson, Dr. Emeka Akaezuwa, and Stuart Adams, Esq.

Key findings from the event were:

1. Social media is as labor intensive as more traditional marketing methods. With carefully tailored social media messages, it is possible to reach a larger number of potential attendees than with more traditional methods.
2. The cost of mounting a social media campaign is the time required to prepare the various messages and materials. An organization jumping into social media marketing without the skill and appropriate human resources may find that the new tools may not be an automatic home run. The ArnoldIT.com motto “Nothing worthwhile comes easy” is a message to consider.
3. The people tracking social media messages who attend the event are definitely technically aware and computer oriented. The companies represented at the event had individuals in their firm who understood and used social media. One surprise was that a number of the conversations among attendees were about information, search, and online marketing. The program was designed to represent a wide range of businesses, technology was a unifying factor among the audience.
4. Sponsors who expect a traditional trade show set up will have to learn new ways of engaging attendees. The emphasis was upon face-to-face conversations and a good social presence. Wall flowers are as forlorn in a meet as they were as at a grade school dance. Attendees were engaging. The two sponsors of the program were out of their element.
5. Attendees appreciated the opportunity to learn and network. Unlike traditional trade shows where grousing is the conference sport, the attendees at this event were enthusiastic. One person told me that the evening was “fun”; another said, “Joyful”. I learned that these comments made me happy to have had the opportunity to support the event.

One attendee—a minority, female PhD in point of fact—point out that there was a single male minority giving a speech. There were two guys. I suppose I will have to muster the strength speak to Ms Ard and Ms Mabry about their bias toward smart, high-powered, successful females.

To wrap up, ArnoldIT.com has refined its social media communications methods. If your firm wants to move forward with a well-organized, effective meet up, contact seaky2000 at yahoo dot com. The managers of the ArnoldIT.com meet up service are Keisha Mabry, MBA, and Constance Ard, MLS.

I will post a link to the video for the event when it becomes available.

Stephen Arnold, November 5, 2009

I paid myself to write this article about my own business. I even pay the people whom I thanked for their outstanding work. To whom do I report this crass marketing work? Maybe I can email the White House. In case this is not clear, this post is an advertisement, a pitch, a shameless effort to hype my colleagues, and a boastful message about a job well done. Too bad the Louisville business associations could not make this type of business program part of their agenda. Guess those outfits are too busy with more important activities than highlighting individuals who are thriving in a lousy economy. Ooops. I am supposed to disclose, not criticize the status quo. Wow, I am sorry.

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