Now I know how the other side lives

After attending a whole whack of Third Tuesdays Ottawa and Social Media Breakfasts over the past few months (years?) I got a crack on the other side of the mic tonight, sitting down as a panelist for a Third Tuesday entitled “Social Media for Fun and (Non-)Profits.”

Man, that was some good times.

In a true hair club for men type revelation, I should note that I wasn’t just a panelist, I was also a (sort of) organizer, in that I suggested the topic to Joe Thornley and he was kind enough to let me run with it. So, first and foremost, I want to openly and profusely thank Kim Elliot of rabble.ca and Phillip Todd of University Affairs and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada for offering to share their stories. I can’t speak for the audience but I certainly learned a lot from them.

I think there’s real value in coming together as a community and sharing ideas and experiences and I hope that everyone who attended felt this session did that. I think as a community we tend towards seeking out experts (even though most are reluctant to adopt such a title) and while they certainly have a lot to share I hope tonight’s session gave people a chance to explore the experiences of those of us who work on the ground, trying to put theory into practice.

The questions from the audience were fantastic and I am sorry I couldn’t get to everyone afterward to follow up on a more personal level. Rest assured you all gave me food for thought even if we couldn’t flesh it out in more detail.

So, at the risk of this ‘afterglow’ post becoming any more self-interested, thanks to everyone who came out and made this event useful – at least to me – and I hope you were able to take something away too.

PS – I meant to mention this during the event but it slipped through the cracks. Amy Yee has created an awesome service called OttawaTweetVols – a Twitter listing of volunteer opportunities. It’s a great example of how social media can help non-profits.