In the About You page, Ryan Stephens wrote he wasinterested in opportunities that dealt with social media, interactivestrategy and community evangelism, and generally passionate aboutand interested in anything marketing related.
His philosophy on leadership is one that might remind you of some things we've discussed here. To lead, you've got to be part of the team, he says. Let's see what else he shared when we talked about his experience online and what he's looking to do with connections.
Why are you online?
I suspect I could write a 10,000 word blog post answeringthis question, but it boils down to connecting with people, and with ideas aswell. Â I have an insatiable desire tolearn more about myself and the things I'm passionate about, and this spaceaffords me the opportunity to do just that.
Everyday there's more than I could ever begin to read anddigest. I try to read everything I can from my personal trusted sources thatwill invariably help me think critically about many of the things I'mpassionate about - connecting people, spreading ideas, marketing, lifestylemanagement, etc.
But it would be boring if I sat at my desk and read all day,and that's where the people aspect comes into play. I absolutely love meetingand connecting with new people who can help me learn and grow, and hopefullyour relationship is one that is reciprocal in that I can help them accomplishtheir goals as well.
Social media tools give me an avenue to consistently reachout and talk with people that I might not get the opportunity to meet inperson, and I say that with a caveat of you should try to connect offline aswell.Â
What prompted to post in "About You" atConversation Agent?
I think it was because I knew your goal for the section wasabout so much more than a back link. I know your passion for connecting (bothpeople and ideas) and your approach was very genuine. I also know from readingthe comments from many of your blog posts that you have a very insightful baseof readers, people that go beyond the surface and really cultivatethought-provoking conversations.
I guess it just seemed like a good foray into connectingwith you and your readers that were passionate about this space in which we'veall become so deeply embedded.
What are you working on that you feel will connect ideas and people?
I'm working hard to cultivate and create conversations aboutrelationship marketing, which is partially (as far as I'm concerned) is a bigcomponent of the architecture that connects ideas and people.
From myexperience, I think it's a discipline that gets glossed over a lot intraditional literature and in academic journal articles. It ends up being asegue into networking or customerservice, but rarely stands on its own, and I want to help change that fact.
I want to define what I'm calling the pillars ofrelationship marketing, explore a lot of the gaps in traditional literature,and really define the constructs of it, and how that applies to the way we dobusiness with one another, internally, etc. I don't want people to take it forgranted as common sense anymore.
Who would you like to connect with?
Anyone and everyone who can teach me something, challenge meto push myself, and/or is passionate about cultivating conversations,connecting, and the spread of ideas - especially relating to how we use new mediaas a platform to engage and achieve these things.
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It sounds like you might have come to the right place, Ryan.