140 Character Conference Talks About Character, Social Media and Small Towns
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| Somewhere Over The Rainbow, A Message from Heaven Kicks of the Morning of 2011 #140 Character Conference in Hutchinson, Kansas photo taken by Andrea Cook, 9/20/11 |
Starting with the number one character and founder, Jeff Pulver, I am inspired by his generosity and intrigued by his unique attributes. He has a genuine willingness to invest his time and welcome people from all walks of life to gather to break bread. He rolled out his generosity like a red carpet to the mash-up of presenters and volunteers the night before the event as the VIP reception guests enjoyed steak dinners and conversation.
The next morning, at the historical restored art deco Fox Theater, Jeff shared the stage with Becky McCray. This down-to-earth duo seemed to work in tangent with one another as if they communicated telepathically. Both Jeff and Becky casually would welcome the individual speakers to the stage with meaningful hugs, hugs that appeared to be as intimate and genuine as the presentations.
Although Jeff credited "serendipity" as what brought the speakers and attendees together, and from the calm cool demeanor of Jeff and Becky, one may be persuaded to believe it. However, anyone who has ever organized any event understands the dedication that is needed to bring droves of people from over 18 states and three countries together in the center point of the United States understands that it takes much more than hugs and serendipity to deliver a successful conference.
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| Jeff Pulver and Becky McCray |
As a small town resident of Culver, Indiana and a lover of social media, I expected that the main theme or flavor of the event would be similar to my walk of life. However, the presenters were each unique and there was a wide world range of topics that were shared during each 10 minute segment. Yet, they all seemed to flow well and compliment one another. There were some presenters that shared their success stories on how social media has helped them professionally. For example, Leslie McLellan from Lake Arrowhead who generated economic growth for her community from a minute marketing budget that she invested entirely into social media and discovered much reward for her efforts. Other community developers who shared similar success stories and case studies were Kurt Mantonya, Allen R. Gibson and Tomi Ann Foust.
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| Rockstar Kevin Honeycutt, Keynote Speaker and Change Agent Extraordinaire |
Cody Heitschmidt echoed this need by reminding us that we teach driver education so our children will be safe and have opportunity to drive anywhere their future takes them. How are we developing technology in the souls of our future generation? One of the best lines of the entire conference was made by Kevin Honeycutt, "Technology brings us a buffet of opportunity and we're eating the napkins."
Ed tech and entrepreneurial spirit were not the only powers moving people to action throughout the day. There were also heartfelt stories of personal transformation and triumph. People like Shellie Couch and Joe Cheray shared personal points of their journey demonstrating that they are making an impact and transforming not only themselves, but the world around them through their social networks and communities.
These are just a handful of heroes who presented. For the full layout of the presenters click here >>
A tip for those who value integrity and want to follow people with character, I encourage you to follow these "Characters" and get to know them from their future tweets. You can easily find the twitter handles of each person on the list show below or throughout the 140 Conference Small Town website.
You may also find a takeaway from each 10 segment talk from the live coverage by the Event Correspondent Facebook page >>
Also, you may view the video clips of the conference by clicking here >>
Lastly, I want to share some of the most memorable and thought-provoking phrases of the day shared during the full day. Rich and worthy mentions:
"Unicorns cry when you doublespace." - Tomi Ann Foust as she shares catch phrases she heard when she started to take her first steps in learning about social media.
"How can realtime web change the marketplace for small towns?" - Mark Linder asks realizing the limited dollars in a small town and encourages community growth with cooperative competition.
"Sometimes people are uncomfortable talking to farmers and asking questions about agriculture, but they don't mind talking to a cow." - Val Wagner shares while explaining why she allowed her cow, Betsy to start a twitter account.
"We aren't here to get, were here to give!" - Gigi Belmonico
“Have you taken a stand? If not, make the decision to do it. Take a stand. Stand for something." - Douglas E Stewart
"The single most cause of depression in NY is lack of social contact... Don't just click "like" or "retweet", support and embrace one another.“ - Ron J. Williams now living in Brooklyn, a town of 2.25 million people. But like many metropolitan residents, he was born in a small town and still visits on holidays.
“What brings people to your town? The attractions? No, the people and the culture draws the businesses and people to your town.” - Jay Ehret talks about “soul attraction” and shares how officials in Waco Texas gave $1 million to attract a diaper factory in exchange for jobs. However, the town saw little return on the investment.
“100% job creation comes from entrepreneurs and startups and adds flavor, character and culture to a community.” - Jay Ehret recommends that more emphasis needs to be placed to recruit, embrace and invest in entrepreneurs.
“I'm smart, but my network is brilliant.” - Kevin Honeycutt
“Technology brings a buffet to us and were eating napkins.” - Kevin Honeycutt
“Every civilization has turned their tools into toys so they can develop their future.” - Kevin Honeycutt
“We’re all the same size on twitter, and have just as much of an opportunity to make an impact as we do in more populated areas.” – Dorthory Barnett
“The most social way to engage with community is by breaking bread with them.” - Dennis Deery
“It doesn’t matter if you’re from rural or metropolitan areas, we all are concerned for safety, education and the quality of life.” - Kurt Mantonya
“If you can't engage kids in the classroom, they will power off.” – Tammy Thorn
“My small town is where my hashtag is that I follow.” - Fernando Fonseca
“The person I am online, is the person I am in real life.” - Fernando Fonseca
“Find the real people who influence regardless of their Klout score.” - Fernando Fonseca
“When you live in a city, you still are living in a small village.” - Fernando Fonseca
“We all succeed when we put our differences aside and we focus on what needs to be addressed. When you follow a hashtag, you focus on something that fascinates you, and you aren’t dissecting the person and your differences first.” - Fernando Fonseca
"If you lead a business or community and find yourself in the midst of a disaster, be sure you have a single person assigned to social media. This allows the person in charge to speak to media and verify all facts." – Kirstie Smith, Director of Crisis Communications for Joplin Chamber shares advice on how to manage a crisis using social media.
“Key to share stories online: get information out from credible sources and web sites. Verify. Verify. Verify.” – Kirstie Smith
Gigi Belmonico
Twitter: @GigiBelmonico
Becky McCray
Twitter: @BeckyMcCray
Patsy Terrell
Twitter: @patsyterrell
Jeff Keni Pulver
Twitter: @jeffpulver
Cody Heitschmidt
Twitter: @codyks
Kevin Honeycutt
Twitter: @kevinhoneycutt
Janice Person
Twitter: @JPlovesCOTTON
Douglas E Stewart
Twitter: @dscweb
Kurt Mantonya
Twitter: @HappyTrailsKurt
Cheryl Lawson
Twitter: @Partyaficionado
Shellie Couch
Twitter: @Taegus
Greg Falken
Twitter: @GregF
debworks
Twitter: @debworks
Joe Cheray
Twitter: @wildheart4vr
Gloria Bell
Twitter: @gloriabell
Sheila Scarborough
Twitter: @SheilaS
Jon Swanson
Twitter: @jnswanson
Ron J Williams
Twitter: @ronjdub
Jay Ehret
Twitter: @JayEhret
T-Rave
Twitter: @t_rave
TakeCharge!Challenge
Twitter: @takechargeks
Leslie McLellan
Twitter: @LeslieMcLellan
Laura Girty
Twitter: @LauraGirty
Joplin Area Chamber
Twitter: @joplinchamber
Naomi Shapiro
Twitter: @superdumb
Jennifer Lynn Keller
Twitter: @JenniferLKeller
guavalicious
Twitter: @guavalicious
Ryan E. Cole
Twitter: @ryanecole
MilliGFunk
Twitter: @MilliGFunk
Shane Helton
Twitter: @nwoweather
Allen R. Gibson
Twitter: @starmediaguy
Jennifer White
Twitter: @JenWPortraits
Linda Gregory
Twitter: @lgphotography
Dennis Deery
Twitter: @DDeery
J.D. Patton
Twitter: @jdpatton
Fernando Fonseca
Twitter: @fjfonseca
about.me/fjfonseca
tammy
Twitter: @threegypsies
ICT S.O.S.
Twitter: @ICTSOS
MB Linder
Twitter: @mbl
Bill Genereux
Twitter: @billgx
jiggyjaguar
Twitter: @jiggyjaguar
Mark Vierthaler
Twitter: @AgHipster
Jen Lee Reeves
Twitter: @jenleereeves
Michelle Barry
Twitter: @MichelleBVM
Val Wagner
Twitter: @wagfarms
Mary Klaebel
Twitter: @mklaebel
Todd Randall Jordan
Twitter: @Tojosan
mskonfa1990
Twitter: @mskonfa1990
Scott Wendling
Twitter: @CommercialScott
Tomi Ann Foust
Twitter: @BBBSRenoCounty
Katie Lukens Pinke
Twitter: @katpinke
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