Oh wow… are you ready for this?
Ok, I’ll keep it brief. After all, I know you are as busy as me, if not busier, eh?
But, something has drawn you to check out this site and see what we are all about, so let’s get to it, shall we?
Where It All Started – #ggchat
My first exposure to Twitter Chats was that of #ggchat headed up by Madalyn Sklar. She demonstrated how fun it could be to get together as a bunch of female (and male!) musicians and just free-for-all chat.
While #ggchat has recently been shut down permanently, as a part of the closing (retiring) of GoGirlsMusic (the parent organization), it will still be remembered fondly.
I took part as a fill-in #ggchat host and was offered the position of taking it over, but it did not fit into my schedule enough to be a permanent gig. Yes, that happens with Twitter Chats.
Fortunately, though, for some Twitter Chats, there are archives of the chats so you can respond to Tweeps even after the Twitter Chat. Where else can you attend an event and still feel like you were involved even after the event? Yes, that is a Twitter Chat.
I walked away from the experience ready to start a Twitter Chat of my own and appreciating all that went into creating a successful Twitter Chat.
I contributed archiving services, promotional services, videos of the Twitter Chat, and started to formulate my own methodology for Twitter Chat management. I also learned about the reminder method that Madalyn used for Twitter Chat promotion. I adopted the same when I started #SocialCafe (but more on that in a bit).
The Next Steps – #MyBlogGuest
Soon after, or around the same time, I met Ann Smarty. She was promoting her MyBlogGuest project and I was participating in the community aspects. Even before I got to know Ann (or even meet her and become dear friends) I was impressed by how much her business endeavor could benefit from a weekly Twitter Chat.
I used what I had learned from #ggchat and applied it to an informal proposal sent to Ann via her MyBlogGuest interface messaging system.
That is where it all began…
It was half suggestion, like, “Hey, you should do this!” and half “Hey, if you need help, I could be hired at a modest price.” She took me up at the latter, hiring me to become the MyBlogGuest Social Media Manager. From there, I was responsible for all things Twitter Chat, as well as other duties that would be included in the role of Social Media Manager for MyBlogGuest.
Arriving at Today – #SocialCafe
After running (and suggesting and promoting) Twitter Chats for clients and other brands, it seemed logical to start our own chat, #SocialCafe in 2012. Fortunately, it has been running steadily, every week, since then. We have covered several different topics related to social media marketing. We have also had guests (in fact, we were one of the first to do that! Innovators in the arena of guests on twitter chats, back in 2012). We started the process of having simultaneous hangouts, beginning in 2013. It was so popular that even Madalyn began doing the same with her #TwitterSmarter chat in 2015. Again, we pioneered a movement.
The only problem is that we didn’t toot our horns enough. We taught other brands how to do it. We finessed the system and developed methods and strategies. We taught these to our clients and competitors. We even hosted a chat for McMillan Publishing! And, we were honored with their highest praise (thanks, McMillan).
So, what was next? It seems that we should present this to you, our public, and help you to learn how to optimize your Twitter Chats and beyond, eh?
And the rest, as they say, is history 🙂 . So, let’s journey the rest together, eh?
