Inspiration, Aspiration and Communication at #140Conf NYC | Text 100 Digital Download

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Inspiration, Aspiration and Communication at #140Conf NYC

Media. Medicine. Music. Sesame Street. Sneakers. Prayers. Painting. Farming. Foursquare. Food.

No, this is not my list of personal Facebook interests – it’s just a sampling of the topics touched on at the 140 Characters Conference (#140conf) in New York City last week. My colleague, Allie MacPherson, and I joined the crowd of more than 800 attendees (plus thousands via Webcast on USTREAM) to hear from individuals who came from as near as NYC and as far as Shanghai and Luxembourg to talk about how Twitter and real-time social technologies are changing the state of NOW and affecting their lives and businesses.

We laughed with actor and comedian Romany Malco (aka Tijuana Jackson), Funny or Die founder Patrick Starzan and Ian Spector (creator of the infamous “Chuck Norris Facts”); cried with heartfelt stories from Dr. Krupali Tejura, who used Twitter to grant wishes to her terminally-ill patients; felt inspired with stories from people like Carey Fuller, a homeless mother who is using social media to tell her story; and were challenged by people like Cathy Brooks and Warren Etheredge who told us to close our computers and focus on making strong connections not only digitally, but offline.

It’s amazing how many stories were shared in such a short amount of time; We’re still feeling a bit of information overload from so many thought-provoking ideas. And while the speakers and the audience were undoubtedly diverse, a few key overarching themes resonated with everyone throughout the whirlwind two days.

The power of community

Sharing inspiring stories and facilitating meaningful discourse can drive change for social good. The key to really encouraging action and making a difference lies in engaging and building relationships with the community that develops around your cause or brand.

AJ & Melissa Leon share the story of Ola Nagele

AJ and Melissa Leon took a trip to visit the impoverished Kenyan village of Ola Nagele, surprised to discover that although the village had minimal food, water and shelter, it did, in fact, have 3G service. Tapping into this opportunity, in part with NGO Global Health Network International (GHNI) the couple created a Tumblr page, RSS and email newsletter where they shared stories, videos and photos straight from the residents. GHNI’s mission is to help the world’s poorest villages transform themselves, by encouraging supporters to donate and become part of the “extended village” community. Their real-time updates inspired their community to donate and maintain support. They met their goal of securing 100 individuals for the “extended village” in record time, and the quality of life for the villagers continues to improve as a result.

Or, take the story of Alon Nir, a resident of Jerusalem who came up with the idea behind Tweet Your Prayers, a service that utilizes Twitter to share people’s prayers in the Western Wall. As a historical prayer site, it is believed that placing slips of paper with written prayers will make them come true. Alon wanted to bring this opportunity to people globally who wouldn’t ordinarily have the chance to do so themselves. The premise: people of any denomination could tweet a prayer to Alon @TheKotel , which he would then write on paper, roll into a spool, and deliver to the wall. Within two weeks, his concept was picked up by major media. Inspired by this cause, a number of people have stepped up to help Alon with his mission, even helping to create an iPhone app. While not a business venture in any sense, Alon’s story is a true testament of what it means to inspire and motivate people through the use of social media.

Crafting offline experiences with social tools

Regardless of how digital and social our world gets, nothing can replace the experiences we share with people offline. Lots of conversation at #140conf centered on how to leverage social tools to make these interactions happen.

Peter Corbett, CEO of iStrategy Labs, talked about enhancing a consumer’s social experience. Discussing how there should be more than just check-ins and badges, he said, “we’re inundated with social bling, but it’s not completely fulfilling.” How can social media let users unlock physical places or experiences? For example, a dog food company in Germany recently put up a billboard that dispenses a sample when a user checks in on Foursquare. Brands should be thinking about how they can create a real-life experience like this for their customers.

Tim Armstrong, CEO, AOL

“Offline is the new online,” said Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL, who walked the audience through the founding of his recent venture Patch, a community-specific news and information platform for small towns and cities. Patch hires full-time journalists, photographers and editors in each town to tell the stories and share the events happening locally. Hard-copy information is collected (for example, a flyer publicizing an event at the local church) and digitized “at the zipcode level,” curating information for the residents of the town. By using online tools, Patch is helping people become engaged with their communities offline in a whole new way.

The art of storytelling and conversation

So what happens once you take the experience offline and actually have to talk to these people in real life?

Warren Etheredge, host of The Warren Report, said “A good conversation is the greatest gift someone can give you.” He shared with the audience his tips for how he gets celebrities to open to up to him on his show:

• Prepare yourself to listen – if you’re not attentive, how deep will your understanding be?
• Prepare to be unprepared – do not come with a list of questions. In an agency setting, don’t think about what you want to pitch or sell. Instead, do tons of research ahead of time to really familiarize yourself with someone, and take note of the facts that are interesting to you and spark intrigue.
• The very first question is the most important – this is what grabs the person’s attention. Try to make it something to shock the person into paying attention o you.
• Once you have their attention, win their trust and earn their respect by giving them something back in the conversation. By taking the time to listen, you can truly engage thoughtfully in conversation.

Storytelling expert Cathy Brooks reminded us to “take a step back from the technology” – if we don’t stop and “remember to breathe,” then none of the connections we make even matter. You have to connect with yourself first. Perception requires participation – the more you share your own or your brand’s story, the more people will want to share their stories with you – be ready to listen.

In her talk, “How to get people to do what you want,” Liz Strauss, founder of SOBCon, told the audience how to make others feel comfortable talking to you and appreciate the people who truly value what you have to say. First, talk to the people who are already listening, rather than chasing the people who don’t give you their attention. To really create a connection, “come out from behind the curtain” and open up to people to let them know who you are. And more than anything, if you want to keep someone’s attention, talk about them, not you. Invest the time to listen and ask questions about them and truly hear their opinions.

For more from #140conf, tune in to the session videos on USTREAM, watch our quick recap video, or check out the conversation on Twitter. – by Amber Rinehard, Global Community Manager

*flickr photos courtesy of user bjmccray

Make sure you didn’t miss these great posts on the Text 100 blog! Have an idea for a post? Leave us a comment on the blog, tweet us @text100, post on our Facebook Page, or email Text 100′s Global Community Manager, Amber Rinehard: amber.rinehard@text100.com. We love your feedback!

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