I want to thank the Aim Institute and Dr. Gerald Wagner, for inviting me out this last week to discuss bringing Web 2.0 from ideas to reality. Dr. Wagner is a Professor in the College of Information and Technology at the University of Nebraska, Omaha and also an entrepreneur with a new product called the Planners Lab. Also, I want to thank David Silver with Santa Fe Capital for creating the invitation.

My talk was on building multi-stream revenue start-ups which was very relevant with our new direction, Artistic Hub. Secondly, we spent a majority of time discussing the best Web 2.0 tools and how to implement them in your business.

So I thought instead of re-capping what we discussed, I thought I would cover how I prepared and give you the outline of my talk. I think the topic was very relevant yet basic enough that a lot of other speakers and instructors could find this valuable. Feel free to even reuse it if you like.

The very first thing I did and always recommend was I requested a sign-up list. Not for contact purposes, but so I know who I was speaking to.

The #1 key to delivering a great speech is to know your audience. People always want this question answered: “How does this help me?”

Second I spent most of my preparation on a what i consider a good outline. For an hour speech, I never write anything word for word word. For one, its boring, and second it’s like a business plan. It never goes the way you plan. One or two questions and you are off topic.

Here is a fun caption I think is very relevant. If you can write a good outline, but deliver a flexible speech you will always be ok.

So here is the outline I delivered. I’m sure I’ll give this talk again and it will improve, but the first time it went well. (I put tips in parenthesis)

Intro/Background ( I try to limit this to 1-2 minutes. Establish credibility then get to the point. They probably read your bio)

Here is what I plan to cover….. (Give your audience an outline of what you are going to cover.)

Social Media: What is it? (Define your topic. Part of your job is to educate your audience.)

• Definition as I know it. I used excerpts from a previous post.
• Tips: Don’t get caught up in the noise. Use a few tools effectively, not all of them. (Give good tips)
• Social Capital vs Popularity (Provide people with knowledge, not updates about your Starbucks trip)

Benefit of Viral Media -> You can establish yourself as an expert very quickly.

How we use Social Media and mistakes we have made. (Give real examples: successes and failures, be real)

• Bad: Facebook and Myspace where a distraction and social, but not a revenue driver
• Good: Blogging, brand reputation and monitoring, connecting with industry leaders

General Tools

• Twitter: Mostly a waste of time except if you are in PR or market research. I recommend setting filters. I used TweetBeep (may be gone now). The problem is twitter apps don’t make money so they go out of business. I’m looking for a new one.
• Blogging: I highly recommend WordPress.com. It’s easy, free, and looks great. This blog is on WordPress. I believe the key to blogging as a professional is to pick one topic or industry and be an expert in that space. It’s good for your company and your career. Make sure you reach out to the leading bloggers in your industry. Don’t just listen participate.
• Linkedin If you don’t have one. Get one now. If you are in sales you are losing business. It is the best sales and bus dev tool I’ve ever used. My one recommendation is use it responsibly. Add people you know and deny people you don’t. Your network is only as powerful as your reputation.

To wrap up. Just get started. Don’t try to do everything. You can’t do everything if you tried. Here are my recommendations on how to get started:

1. Setup linkedin. If people don’t know who you are, how are they going to contact you and/or trust you.
2. Setup a blog or have someone in your company setup a blog. I write this blog about our company, but we have 2 designers who write about design. Design Fix. Remember your goal is to be Googled, become an expert in your field, and build social capital.
3. Setup a twitter account and then find a twitter search tool. Type in your company name and industry terms with auto email updates and then forget about it. If you are in PR then post your blog and company updates. Otherwise use it very little. Your main goal is to see what people are saying about your company. Bad news is better than no news.
4. Email me if you get this far

Here is a review of the talk from the blog Danny not Denny.