In the OKcrushIT! Afterglow…
- Brian Blake
- Nov 23, 2009
- 2 min read
Friday, November 20, 2009 – Mark that date in the history books because something changed in OKC that night.
It was with a bit of trepidation that I attended the OKcrushIT! party at the Will Rogers Theatre Friday night. I knew that it would be a showing of the who’s who among the local social media scene, and I’m always interested in building those relationships ‘in real life’.
My real concern was with what I perceived to be ‘hero worship’ for Mr. Gary Vaynerchuk, the special guest of the evening. Sure, he runs a highly profitable business. True, he has a mammoth internet following. Agreed, he has written a “best-seller list” book. OK, OK, OK… I get it. The guy’s kind of a big deal. But do “I” really need to hear what he has to say?
YES!
Gary Vee (or @GaryVee on Twitter) spoke with passion, which was expected after seeing clips of him on www.winelibrary.tv . His message, though, is what really grabbed me. He spoke extensively about what he calls “Small Town Rules” (http://garyvaynerchuk.com/post/247583674/small-town-rules). His take is that social media is making our world feel like a small town. It’s easy to communicate… And that’s what people are doing. Everyone knows what everyone else is doing.
Although this can sound a little daunting, the beauty of it is that if you are taking care of your customer – I mean, REALLY taking care of your customer, not just paying lip-service to the idea – then people are going talk about you. And, as Martha herself would say, “This is a good thing.”
He spoke at length about how important it is to build relationships… To take care of your customers… To be involved! I love this stuff! That’s exactly how I feel, too. And, I think social media is the perfect vehicle to push this idea forward.
Gary ended his presentation by challenging OKC to Crush IT! Are we, as a community, ready to do that? Are we ready to embrace our passion, meet the obstacles and make something happen?! I think we are. At least I know I am.
Let’s do this!
I would like to give a special shout-out to the many sponsors who donated time, money and services to make this incredible event happen. And, an extra-special thanks to Daniel Gordon from Samuel Gordon Jewelers for coming up with the idea and ‘rallying the troops’ to get the support needed to get this off the ground. He truly Crushed It.
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