Virtual Conferences need Virtual Communities to boost Virtual Connections

On Monday, February 22, I am going to be at the Virtual Edge 2010 Conference with my partner Kymberlee Weil (@alohakymberlee) who is on a panel speaking to the issue of Online Communities and Virtual Events.

We have been in a constant conversation about this topic for the past several weeks as she has been preparing her thoughts. There seems to be a flux in the force this past several months as we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of inquiry's from clients that want to integrate private social networking technology into a virtual event they are producing.

We first encountered this technology five years ago when Ziff Davis was doing a series of virtual events using the iCongo platform. I believe we did seven shows with them that year. The problem we were solving was simple - connect people that would never meet in person. That's the promise of social networking, making connections with people you do not know (yet). At an in-person event it is easier to make these connections, but just as difficult, as the basic premise is the same - you don't know them.

So, how do we learn more about people we don't know before we meet them, either virtually at one of these events, or in the realworld at a conference? I think that social media has given us some fantastic tools that can help us understand people in ways never before possible. Here are a few ideas that you might use in preparation for your next event;

1. See if there is a list of attendees, either on a Facebook group, a LinkedIn group, a private online community (such as introNetworks or one of the others.) Look for people you would like to meet for whatever reason - business development, professional development, potential employee or employer, or simple peer-to-peer discussion. Make a list of the ten people you want to meet.
2. Armed with this list start by Googling them. You will be surprised how much you learn in one search, but you may need to add Company name, City, Title, to narrow down the results, as you still don't know them, so won't know you have the right person ;-)
3. From these results look for links to Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter or their profile in the private social network, sometimes these are customized to include questions that are specific to the event. Read up on these folks, do your homework. Read their last 50 tweets, see what's posted on their wall, read their blog if they have one. This information will either give you valuable insight that will aid in your first meeting, or let you know that maybe this person will not be able to give you what you think you need from them.
4. Engage them before the event. Write them, email them, call them, @reply them to say that you are looking forward to meeting them at the event (either virtually or live) and give them some indication of what you want to talk about. However, here comes the tricky part, as up to now this has been all about you and if you have been paying attention to the 100's of blogs, articles, podcasts and seminars circulating out there, you should know that it is not about you, it is all about them!
5. So your plan now is find a way to serve them, how can you help them in what they are at the event for? What did you learn about them? What might they be interested in that you could point them towards, or introduce them to someone you know. This concerted effort to focus your first encounter on them, and not you, seems counter-intuitive, yet, trust me, this approach may give you the most interesting conversations that lead to amazing new relationships. Seriously.

People go to events to network and learn. We can talk about learning another time, but as far as networking goes, if you have a well thought out strategy before the event, you will get the most out of your time investment. Don't be the person that sifts through a handful of randomly collected business cards from people you bumped into. Be deliberate and be giving.

Note: I am reminded of my good friend David Nour's book, Relationship Economics, as he talks about investing in your relationships. If you have not heard of the book, you should check out his site and frequent postings on 'meeting people' and 'making connections.