HRevolution and the Wonder That is Social Media

This weekend, I had the honor of meeting 50 friends - for the very first time. Other than HR_Minion, there were 49 other people I had never met before, yet it was like we had known each other for a long time. And in a very real way, we had. From the minute I walked into the hotel on Friday and saw Steve Boese and Joan Ginsberg in the lobby, my Twitter stream starting coming to life.

Many of you get what I am saying - you've experienced it and you know it to be true. Others are shaking your heads. For you I say, stop trying to rationalize it, minimize it or explain it away. Accept it. Embrace it. Seek it out. What is it? It is the wonder that is social media.

Social media connects people and 50 social media connected people converged  on Louisville, Kentucky for HRevolution, the unconference about the future of HR. Who are the fabulous 50? Jessica Miller-Merrill developed this HRevolution Twitter List, check it out! What do we do? We manage HR departments, teams and functions. We own businesses, consult and write. We source, recruit, and retain. We are on-line, off-line and in print. 

The conference discussions were thought provoking and hum of the room was unmistakable. We were in motion, unsettled and inspired. The air was charged with possibility and passion and we are changing the way we do business.  Couldn't make it to the conference? Well, HR Happy Hour is bringing it to you with HR Happy Hour, Episode 18, Live From HRevolution.

Now that the conference is over, that challenge is to continue the conversation in our companies and communities. In my little corner of the world I am going to start by joining Recruiting Blogs, talk or meet with someone new from HRevolution, Twitter, or a blog commenter each week, and SEO optimize my website with the assistance of some yet to be identified SEO savvy person. My kid is my passion and there is a kid-writing-blogging-social media thing for me to do with her that I haven't quite figured out yet so I'll ponder that some.

But first, I unpack and rest up. What are you going to do to change the world today?

Comments

[@HRMargo Margo Rose]

It was so wonderful to meet you Lisa. I too was energized by the interaction with so many like-minded people. Before the conference, I wrote this post http://hrmargo.wordpress.com/ The energy continues to flow through my mind. The questions emerge, "how will I keep this dialogue going with my peers?, how will I commit to apply what I learned to improve my blogging skills? how will I continue to hone these skills and embrace new knowledge?" As I process the knowledge sharing that took place at the "unconference" I will respond and contribute more to offer the community.

[Amanda Hite @sexythinker]

Nice blog! Wonderful meeting you. Thank you for making this possible for us.

[Debbie]

Terrific to meet you Lisa.. Look forward to exchanging book lists with you
Great post! Avatars coming to life -great description.

[Ben Eubanks]

It was fantastic to meet you in person, Lisa. Let me know when you want to rock that SEO. :-)

[Lisa Rosendahl]

Margo, the great thing abou the conference is that the conversations keep going - not many answers yet, but maybe the real value continues to be in the conversation.

Amanda, WOW, do you have presence - I want some of that! I loved your comment about whether or not we are asking the right questions and it is still on my mind. I was checking out your website this afternoon - what a brand you have going on - all you, through and through.

Debbie, I wanted a light read today so started Blood for Flowers. Glass Castles is right after The Sparrow. So great meeting you!

Ben, you were just what I had expected. Full of energy, inquiry and so present and open. I am using Squarespace - can you work with that? Can I afford you?!

[Joan E. Ginsberg]

I am jealous that you already have a wonderful post and I am still pondering exactly what to say! I know this - I am certainly not going to be able to say it better than you just did. Thanks to you and all of the other wonderful people, I am energized for the challenge, though!

[Steve Boese]

Lisa - I have to say that I think I was most excited to finally meet you above just about anyone else this weekend. You were one of my very first true connections in HR/social media and after all this time it was so fantastic to finally meet. You are 100% right, there was so much to think about, and to do that we can all be busy for months just sorting it all out. Great post Lisa!

[Naomi Bloom]

I would never have launched my blog yesterday if not for the "social" journey I began in earnest when Ray Wang and Jason Averbook "pushed" me onto Twitter, and the rest, as they say, is history. I met a few of you at HR Tech, and I look forward to meeting many more. You HRevolutionaries are the future of your profession. If you can't help corporate HR to make the necessary leap, that long-standing function will be disintermediated by a combination of very smart software, greater line management leadership of the HRM strategy, and a raft of 3rd party experts in the various HRM disciplines. What a sad ending that would be, so I'm rooting for the revolutionaries.

[Trish McFarlane]

Lisa- much like Steve said, you are one of the people I wanted to meet the most since April. Although we have never met, you've become a person I know I can count on when I need someone. You are someone I could call without hesitation and ask you to do anything to help me and I know you would. All that from tweets and phone calls. So, the moment you walked into the tweetup, I knew my instinct about you had been right.

Thank you for joining in the HRevolution. Thank you for keeping the conversation going. Thank you for continuing to challenge people in the HR profession to grow, develop, learn, and revolutionize our industry. HRevolution is YOU!

Great post!