“A Facebook connection created the opportunity for a 45-minute breakout session that was leading into a 2-hour keynote presentation.” Mitch Miles
I collected social media success stories while writing the book “Success Using Social Media.”
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@mitchmiles gothe262.com linkedin.com/in/mitchmiles |
Thank You Facebook: Reconnect and Keynote Speaker
On May 11th 2011, I received a Facebook invitation from my preschool and elementary school friend, Carla Harrison (now Turner). Carla and I were born only days apart from one another in Wilmington, North Carolina; we attended preschool, elementary and middle schools together. We had not spoken or even corresponded through email in over twenty two years, and because of the social media platform Facebook, we were able to connect, catch up on careers, share photos, and even see each other’s family in a matter of minutes. The ease and convenience of Facebook allowed this reconnection to happen.
One year later, I received a Facebook message from Carla. She was part of the 2012 North Carolina Association of Public Health Nursing Administrators (NCAPHNA) Annual Conference planning committee. One of her roles was to find conference speakers. Having followed my Facebook posts, comments, and updates regarding the social media classes I teach at local community colleges, she wanted to find out my availability of leading a breakout session on the opening day of the conference. She was comfortable from what she read online that I would be able to focus the session on an overview of social media for nurse administrators. I was thrilled to hear from her and even more thrilled she was asking me to share one of my passions; how individuals and organizations can connect with their patients/clients and employees using social medias like Facebook. I confirmed my availability with her.
Fast forward to the afternoon before the conference. I received several urgent voicemails from Carla and the president of the conference asking me to call them as soon as possible. It turned out the keynote speaker was nowhere to be found and they wanted me to be ready, “if needed,” to take the role as keynote speaker. A Facebook connection created the opportunity for a 45-minute breakout session that was leading into a 2-hour keynote presentation.
As I had hoped, they called me the morning of conference opening and told me I was now the Keynote presenter. I had a great time and I got to reconnect in-person with my lifelong friend. She happily introduced me to the attendees as the Keynote speaker.
Share your purpose, your passion, and heart on Social media – you never know who and when you may see the fruit of sharing – as for me, in this case, it took 42 years.