I've had a Twitter account since May 2007. I wasn't too prolific in those early days, but I was fascinated from the get-go. I was preaching the future value of LinkedIn when most of my industry peers considered it "MySpace for grown-ups." And when I discovered StumbleUpon, I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. And then, of course, there's my blog with with I've had a long-standing love-hate affair.
All of these media have brought with them their own brands of serendipity and experiences. Virtual friendships have developed, professional doors have opened, travel arrangements have been made, and new experiences created.
What I'm trying to say is that I'm no stranger to Social Media, or the way it has changed our lives. But the most awesome "social web" experience I had this year had little to do with my OWN activity on any social site. It was realizing that the industry I've grown up in and love (Multichannel Retail) was missing the boat, and that most of my peers in marketing just weren't sure where to start tapping into the power of customer engagement.
With that revelation came a lot of hard work (the paperwork! the financials!), a lot of soul-searching (do we really have the backbones for entrepreneurship?) and the subsequent birth of a partnership with someone I have a gross ton of respect for. On August 27th, TimesTwoMarketing, a marketing optimization consultancy for multichannel retailers became a legal entity, and our website went live.
Four months to the day later, I have to smile when I take stock of what we've achieved. I'm thrilled with the roster of the clients we've worked with, the challenges we've overcome, and the mentors who've taken the time to help us grow. I truly believe we are going to help our industry thrive in these new channels, and make our clients look like heros to their internal organization leaders. These are things to be proud of, and none of them would have been possible were I not as enamored of the social web.
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This post is part of Gwen Bell's "Best of 2009 Challenge"