We're All in This Together

**Image from Learning 2XL

I'm a dreamer, but I'm also a realist. As much as I would love to, I can never change all the blight that exists in our world. It all comes down to the theory of quantity versus quality (this comes up all the time with my clients). You can put a little bit of effort into a lot of different things and nudge the needle ever so slightly in many areas. Or, you can start by putting all your efforts into one area, find others who are doing the same, and come together to make a tremendous impact. I realize this is a debatable topic, but I believe I have many more years of learning ahead of me before I'm ready to "conquer the world".

I never imagined three years ago when I chose to start my career in Detroit that I would meet so many people who shared my same goals and ambitions. I'm sure I sound like a broken record by now, but many creative and talented people live, work and play in metro Detroit. I definitely have social media to thank for connecting me to people whose paths may have never crossed with mine if it weren't for our common interest in the digital world. Many of us have bonded together, but I know there are others who for whatever reason aren't letting their voices be heard.

To tie this back to my original point, I've been investing a lot of my free time to help bring together metro Detroiters with similar aspirations. Communications and social media are very broad fields, so why not reel in all those who fall into these industries and connect them with each other? The purpose is to encourage the exchange of ideas, advice and sometimes even business. Now don't get me wrong - finding potential business prospects isn't the intention of this collaboration, but sometimes it just works out that way. By rallying together, we create new relationships and form new initiatives that continue to propel this region forward.

So what am I involved in? Tweetea and Social Media Club Detroit are the two biggies (these are Facebook links, so you have to log in to view the pages). I wrote about Tweetea before, but SMCD is a newly-formed group that has massive potential. I'm also working on growing a group that met earlier this summer to discuss how social media has impacted the world of communications. This may seem contradictory to the idea of "quality versus quantity" because I'm investing my energies into three separate initiatives. However, the overarching goal is the same for all three: Bring people together to make an impact in metro Detroit. By starting at the core, hopefully our successes and achievements will echo nationally and we'll gain more respect and credit for being a thriving community.

Here are a few other examples of some creative initiatives that focus on connecting people and/or highlighting the positive stories:

• Erin Rose's Positive Detroit site
• Dave Benjamin's and Larry Henry's Voices of Detroit podcast series
• Detroit Startup Drinks
• Motor City Connect

I know there are many more examples, but these are the ones that initially popped in my head. If you're part of a group that's working to advance our community or know of one, please add a comment with the details. I'm also interested to know if other cities/regions are making these same efforts, or are we more driven because we're fed up with all the negative attention Detroit gets?

Hopefully I'll have the opportunity one day to make a big splash on a larger scale. But for now, I'm keeping it simple and local. Each individual person in our community has potential, but together we're much more powerful. So, who's with me?

Collaborate with Metro Detroit's Creatives at Tweetea

Sometimes I wonder if people buy it that I truly believe Michigan is brimming with creative talent. I'm constantly saying people in Michigan have so much to offer and are doing amazing things, but the many dark clouds hanging above us (i.e., all the bad things happening in our state) frequently overshadow all the positive news.

If anyone living here, specifically in metro Detroit, doubts that we're a talented bunch, then I challenge to them to come to the next Tweetea event. They undoubtedly will be proven wrong.

My previous American Idol blogging gig for The Detroit News prevented me from attending these weekly Tuesday night events, but I finally made it to my first one this week. The Tweetea attendees traditionally meet at Goldfish Tea in Royal Oak. Whether or not you're a tea aficionado, the uber-cool, Chinese-inspired decor and friendly staff are reason enough to check out Goldfish Tea.

Hubert Sawyers (@HubertGAM) is the brains behind Tweetea. He organized the first meeting last winter and envisioned it as a way to simply meet people. Hubert is a big stickler on health and wellness and has a passion for tea, so hosting the Tweeteas at Goldfish Tea made perfect sense. He started pushing the word out about these events by creating the #tweetea hashtag on Twitter (you can also follow @Tweetroit on Twitter for the latest Tweetea updates). To his surprise, 15 people showed up to the first Tweetea, and the weekly attendee numbers have been steadily increasing ever since.

Hubert makes this very clear: Tweetea is more than a business networking event. The point is to take something away from the event that you can then share with others. Something educational - not just a stack of business cards that will potentially collect dust on your desk or in your Rolodex. The intention is to meet people and build friendships. Then in time, those friendships may develop into a business relationship. And if that doesn't happen, who cares? You've gained a few good friends in the process.

The Tweetea attendees aim to pick a different discussion topic each week. Hubert credits this idea largely to Dave Murr (@DaveMurr). It's gone over well so far. We initially planned to talk about video blogging (or vlogging for you more techie people) at the Tweetea this week because Hubert's in the market for a new camera, but the discussion topics ended up focusing more on how the fall of the Big 3 is affecting our region and the role social media plays in our world today. Here's a breakdown of some of our discussions:

• Social media is not a natural extension of PR.
• Many companies are jumping on the social media bandwagon without first creating a strategy, which is threatening to ruin social media's credibility for the rest of us that are using it wisely.
• Facebook cause pages are effective in raising money if used correctly.
• The nonprofit industry will benefit most from social media in the future because it's all about advocating, not advertising.
• Corporations would do a lot more in sales if they kept their employees happy.
• We need to find the next generation of corporations/brands that are using social media in the right way for new case studies. 
• Detroit gets so much negative press, but only people who live here truly understand that we have an active core of advocates in southeast MI.

The knowledge I gained in the few short hours at Tweetea is invaluable. It's also incredible how much you can learn about someone during one conversation. Who would have thought that Adrian Pittman (@adrianittman) has a devious plan to overthrow Detroit City Council? ;) All humor aside, Tweetea gave me the opportunity to get inside the heads of some of metro Detroit's most talented residents. Here's a complete list of everyone who attended this week:

@HubertGAM

@3sixteenweb
@tinawebanalytic
@DaveMurr
@jennimurr
@michaelstuertz
@adrianpittman
@khalidh
@montilee

Have I said enough to convince you to attend Tweetea? If you decide to come, what topics would you be most interested in discussing with the group?