Smaller Indiana

Making people and ideas findable

I was excited and nervous when Ade sent me an invitation to Smaller Indiana. I thought, "awesome, another way to meet like minded people in Indiana/Indy and possibly learn some tricks to take back to FormSpring." Then I thought, "great, another network that I have to maintain." I, like most of you, are engaging in more and more online activities all the time, networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Workbench and not to mention our own company blog.

So...my excitement went to fear, fear that I would have nothing else to say, nothing more to contribute. How would I keep my content useful in another network? We all can't be as insightful as Douglas Karr and provide content like water, can we? As I am managing all of my profiles, I aim to add insight and value, so I don't feel like a leach when I take in good content, but how do we maintain it, how do we keep it growing?

Leave a comment if you wish and share how you manage and maintain your networks. How do you provide insight and add to the discussion and not just become a taker of other peoples information, I would love to know.

Finally, I really am glad to see a sight and community like this take off here in Indiana. Congrats to Pat Coyle and everyone else who has had a hand in making this go. I look forward to meeting many of you in person and sharing ideas and advice online.

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Kyle Lacy Comment by Kyle Lacy on January 3, 2008 at 5:30pm
We should plan a little get together in the coming months for the Smaller Indiana crowd (lunch, dinner, drinks), what not. I am sure that Pat has already thought about this and started planning on what we should be doing.
Chris Lucas Comment by Chris Lucas on January 3, 2008 at 4:28pm
These are all great comments and appreciate it - didn't expect such a good discussion on my first post :)!

@Doug good point about variety of posts.

@Pat thanks for the comments, like I said in my post, I really do like this site and look forward to seeing how we can use it and learn from each other. I also agree that one of the goals should be to have good offline interactions as well.
Douglas Karr Comment by Douglas Karr on January 3, 2008 at 4:14pm
Ironic, Chris! I was just talking to Ade at lunch about the content. I've actually been passed on by many sites because my topic range is too wide. I don't talk about WordPress all the time, so they don't care about my site. I don't talk about Marketing all the time, so I don't make many of the top Marketing site lists.

I think the diversity of topics is what makes it easier to write about. I can write about form validation to Google Apps... because it all is within the realm of Marketing and Technology.

My 'old counterparts are learning that Marketing is no longer niche. Everyone in the company is part of the marketing team (Seth Godin preaches this). It's time that more marketers became Jacks of All Trades and Masters of Some!
Pat Coyle Comment by Pat Coyle on January 3, 2008 at 4:09pm
Chris - I'm really glad you started this topic. It is difficult to develop the discipline to post your thoughts on any site, even Smaller Indiana, especially when you don't see any direct return. In fact, it sometimes feels like yet another drain on your time. This is an experiment to see if this fancy (and free) technology can REALLY help us make more meaning and profit from our lives. I THINK we'll find, as with most things, that we get out what we put in. But it won't be for everyone. Most will keep doing what they've always done, hoping things will change. I believe we ALL have music, art and poetry in us which show themselves in limitless ways. My hope (nay, my prayer) is that this site will be a PART of the solution for those of us who don't want to see our talents buried under bushels. But it cannot stand alone. We need to spend time together offline. We need to DO stuff together...projects, parties, partnerships, parenting...life. The online part will sometimes be the main thing, and other times it will be an accent, a garnish. I hope people will use this site in EVERY way they can imagine...and push Doug and me to add new features to support new activities. I also hope that you will find ways to add value the way only YOU can. You're not Doug. You're you. He's got his style. You've got yours. Let it out. You can't do it wrong.
Kyle Lacy Comment by Kyle Lacy on January 3, 2008 at 2:22pm
I agree completely
Chris Lucas Comment by Chris Lucas on January 3, 2008 at 2:20pm
True - but I think finding new ways to say the same thing can also be difficult.
Kyle Lacy Comment by Kyle Lacy on January 3, 2008 at 2:12pm
I don't think it is necessarily a problem when you repeat what you say because of the diversity on social networking sites.
Chris Lucas Comment by Chris Lucas on January 3, 2008 at 2:08pm
I meant that in a good way Doug :), I am curious how you come up with good content - manage your networks and not find yourself repeating what you say.
Douglas Karr Comment by Douglas Karr on January 3, 2008 at 2:02pm
I check throughout the day on a number of sites. I use Snitter to keep an eye on Twitter. With my blog, I have several posts written ahead of time or in progress so I can simply publish them.
Kyle Lacy Comment by Kyle Lacy on January 3, 2008 at 1:47pm
so how do you organize everything? do you check it every day?

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