BizConf here I come

So as you’ll see in my previous post, I was trying to win a trip to BizConf in Florida this August. 

Well, guess what?

 

I’m excited to go, and I’ll be sure to report back with some of the valuable things I learn.  Thanks to BizConf and Jason at IWearYourShirt.com for this opportunity!

Okay, Twitter, you win

For the longest time I have been avoiding Twitter.  I set up an account about a year ago and simply never saw the point.  Those of you who are unfamiliar with Twitter should just know that it's a micro-blogging platform (140 chars or less in a post) where you simply answer the question, "What are you doing?"  I know...it sounds really really stupid.

But now that I've taken the time to set up my profile and actually "follow" some other people, I absolutely love it.  How did I live without this?  Let me explain further.

I did a few searches for other development firms or companies whose applications I use frequently (FreshBooks, 37Signals, FreelanceSwitch, etc) and added them to my "Follow" list.  In turn, a few people have started following me as well.  Now when I log in to my Twitter account I can see the recent "Tweets" for each of people I am following.  I can even send them reply Tweets if they are asking questions or talking about something I'm interested in.

Still sounds stupid doesn't it?

It's not!  Trust me!  Because here is the thing that's great:  By following individuals in the same general profession as myself, I am able to keep up with the latest and greatest talk in the "biz."  I can now keep up with the newest Web 2.0 apps, programming platforms, design standards, etc without even putting much effort into it.

What has made it SUPER easy is the TwitterFox plugin I set up in my Firefox browser.  Now as I'm in front of my PC during the day, I can update my status easily, and other people's Tweets come across the bottom of my screen as they are posted.  It's incredible: I feel well-informed without even really thinking.  And that's what we all strive for, right?!  :-)

So if you are looking into Twitter, be sure to follow me at http://twitter.com/daveyank  I apologize in advance if following me is a complete bore, but try to find people with similar interests or professions as you and you'll love it.  It's a great way to publicize your company and stay informed with the concerns of your client-base.

Building your professional network with LinkedIn

In my industry, referrals and customer references are important. In fact, at this point I haven't had to advertise my services yet and most of my work has come through referrals. One of the great tools for this has been LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is basically the MySpace or Facebook of professional networking. It allows you to list your education credentials, job history, and areas of expertise. It also allows you to "connect" to past colleagues, clients, friends, etc. By connecting to these people, their connections become extended connections of your own and you can find people offering services you might need, or vice versa.

One of the great things about the site is that people can write up recommendations for you, thus giving your work ethic some credibility. I know that on liftdevelopment.com I list some quotes by past clients, but how do you know I didn't just make those up? (I didn't by the way) With LinkedIn, each person that writes up a recommendation about me has their own profile, their own history, and their own connections. Therefore I cannot write up some bogus recommendations, and potential clients are assured that real people have recommended my work.

I encourage you to set up a profile on LinkedIn if you haven't already done so. One of the fun things is finding people you may have lost contact with. It's a great way to keep in touch and be assured you've always got their most up-to-date contact information.

My profile on LinkedIn is availabe here. Feel free to add me as a connection if we've interacted in the past.

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