Dayton Marketing Community - A Social Network with a Local Focus

Several years ago, I created a Squidoo site titled Dayton Marketing Community.  The site was designed to serve as a central hub for Marketing Professionals in Dayton to find information about networking opportunities, job openings, social functions, professional development, and other interesting items about the community.

I was inspired to build the site by Seth Godin, founder of Squidoo and my favorite author.  I decided to focus on Dayton and Marketing, because I had just gone through a job search and was frustrated by how difficult it was to find good information about the opportunities in the community.

The site is still up, and has been very successful over the years in connecting people with opportunities. Don’t believe me?  Go to google and search Dayton Marketing.  As of this post, the site is the number one result.  (Of course that may change over time, but needless to say, it has done well.)  Still, one element, a very important one, was missing.  People.

While the site was about the community, it did not contain a community.   It was flat.  Don’t get me wrong, the site has great information, does fantastic in search, and has helped countless people find opportunities.  Still, I had always hoped that I could somehow build in the element of conversation into the site.   After reading Seth Godin’s book Tribes, I decided that it was time to bring this idea, and the Dayton Marketing Community to life… and now I have.

If you are a Marketing Professional in Dayton, Ohio I encourage you to join the new social network Dayton Marketing Community. I am really excited about this project.  It launched just over a week ago, and already the site has over 60 members.  People are beginning to add events to the calendar, start discussions, upload video and photos, search for jobs, create vivid profiles, make friends, and engage one another in new and meaningful ways.

My hope is that the site can serve to connect our community in new and exciting ways.  From helping people to find job to helping local employers to fill them.  From encouraging people to share their thoughts through integrated blogs to sharing know how through the forums.  From connecting old friends in new ways to making new friends, to creating mentoring relationships and on and on.  The potential of the site is vast.  All it requires is people to care enough to make it something worthwhile and remarkable.

I know that personally, I get multiple emails every week from people looking to fill jobs and people looking to find them.  How great would it be if that connection could be made quickly through Dayton Marketing Community?

This city is a great place, filled with great people.  Now more than ever, we must seek out ways to help one another succeed.  Perhaps this site will further that cause just a little.

Join the community!

Dayton Marketing Community

Cheers! Dayton

Short and Sweet.

I love the show Cheers.  It is the greatest sitcom of all time.  Season after season, character after character, it is simply outstanding television.  I don’t have cable, and have not seen the show in years.  I have wished and wished that it would come back somewhere on local television in reruns again.

Tonight I found it on Fox45 - 2  at 10:30.  Thank you digital broadcast television!

Yes, I recognize that watching a program you have already seen is a collosal waste of time.  However it is Cheers, and I will probably fall asleep to it anyway.  With that discovery, today ends on a happy note.

It’s the little things in life…

Cheers!

Voices - Episode 7: Elizabeth Riley

Elizabeth Riley is one of the most well connected people I know.  She knows how to network; she knows people; and she knows what it takes to run a small business.  Elizabeth and her husband Michael own the West Carrollton based business, Insignia Signs.

In a time and place where the business climate is difficult at best, Elizabeth’s business is enjoying continued growth, largely due to her hard work as a sales professional and her husband’s expertise in the sign business.

In this episode of Voices, I speak with Elizabeth about her secrets for running a successful small business, her involvement in the community, some of trends in her industry, and her outlook on the future of Dayton and the Miami Valley.

Elizabeth and Michael are a great example to two young people who are making things happen in the community.  They prove everyday that “hustle” is a valid and effective strategy for growth.   Thanks to Elizabeth for taking the time to do the podcast.   It was a pleasure.

Voices Episode 6 - Jason Hillard

How far would you go to help a friend?  Would you be willing to have one of your organs removed to save them?  No, this is not an intro to a party game about difficult questions, this is a real question - one that was posed to Daytonian Jason Hillard.  Listen as I speak to Jason, who is about to donate one of his kidney’s to a friend in need.

I found out about Jason’s act of incredible kindness a few weeks ago, when he sent me an email to let me know that he would be closing down his office for a few weeks as a result of the surgery.  He then went on to explain why, and provided some prelimiary details about the pending operation.  I was floored that he was going to actually do something so kind, and I asked him if he might like to do a podcast to share his story with the rest of the world.  Thankfully he said yes.

On Friday, July 25th, 2008 - just a few days prior to his surgery, Jason and I sat down at his home in Dayton’s Oregon District for a conversation.  For me, it was so inspiring to sit across from this guy, a guy I know pretty well, and see him calmly describe this amazing act of generosity as if it were just another day.  Literally, he told me that he was more nervous about recording a podcast than about the surgery.  He really is an amazing guy.

I encourage you to listen to this podcast, and share Jason’s inspiring story with others you know.  For anyone who needs to restore their belief in the goodness of mankind, look no further than Jason.  Oh, by the way, when he recovers he and his wife, Ann Charles Watts, who is in charge of Habitat for Humanity in the Region, are hoping to become foster parents.  They serve as an example to us all of how to be Servant Leaders.  I am honored to know them.

If you would like to help Jason and his family or just offer some words of support, contact me and I will forward along his information to you.

Thanks to Our Dirty Friends

As a member of the board of the EFWO and a parent of a child who has epilepsy, I want to say thanks to the record number of people who turned out Saturday for MUDSTOCK 08, the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio’s annual charity fundraiser event.  It was a huge success, drawing in roughly 2,400 people from the Miami Valley and beyond, and raising over $80,000 in the process.   Here are some pictures courtesy of the Dayton Daily News.

Thanks also to the long list of corporate sponsors, the hundreds of volunteers, and to everyone who was involved in making MUDSTOCK 08 successful.  Special thanks to Jim Hausfeld from ClearChannel, who served as the ringmaster for the event, and to EFWO Executive Director Janine Poppa.

The money raised will represent nearly 1/3 of the operating budget for the organization, which serves residents of Auglaize, Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Logan, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Shelby counties in Western Ohio.

If you are interested in getting involved with the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio, contact me or visit the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio home page for more information.  We are always in need of volunteers.

Volleyball players get muddy for a good cause

Obama in Dayton Friday

Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama will be coming to Dayton, Ohio this Friday.  He will be speaking about his proposed energy policy.  The event is free, but tickets are limited.  This is a great opportunity to see a Presidential candidate up close and in person.  I hope that I can score tickets and make it to the event.   I would also like to invite Senator Obama to do a Podcast with me following the event. Hey, it can’t hurt to ask can it?

See details below:

Join Barack Obama at a Town Hall in Dayton on Friday, July 11th, where he’ll discuss his plan for a Secure Energy Future. A SECURE ENERGY FUTURE TOWN HALL Stivers School for the Arts 1313 East 5th St. Dayton, OH 45402 Friday, July 11th Doors Open: 10:00 a.m. This event is free and open to the public. However, TICKETS ARE REQUIRED. To obtain a ticket, please visit one of the locations to the right. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Only two tickets will be available per person. To get two tickets, each person must turn in two names along with contact information. For security reasons, do not bring bags. Please limit personal items. No signs or banners allowed.

TICKETS MAY BE PICKED UP AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS: Montgomery County Democratic Party 131 South Wilkinson St. Dayton, OH 45402 Contact: 937-223-3729 Butler County Democratic Party 633 High St., Suite 105 Hamilton, OH 45011 Contact: 513-371-4756 Miami County Democratic Party 14 North Walnut St. Troy, OH Contact: 937-552-2626 Neuhardt for Congress Headquarters 43 South Fountain Ave. Springfield, OH 45503 Contact: 513-371-4756

Mr. Speaker, Welcome to the Blogosphere!

Ohio’s Speaker of the House,  Jon Husted, has launched a blog (using Wordpress of course.)  I think this is great, and I hope that other public officials take note.  I have met Representative Husted a few times, and he seems to be a great person.  Jon is a young man, but carries himself with a calm that many seasoned politicians never achieve.   He is very passionate about his job, and very focused on improving the economy in Ohio, and in Dayton. Don’t be surprised to see his name mentioned as a future candidate for Governor.

While I disagree with him on some issues, I have a deep respect for his approach to the political process and his accomplishments. I have heard him actually say several nice things about Governor Strickland, who is on the opposite side of the aisle from him, and when Jon speaks he regularly talks about the need to find common ground and use common sense.

I look forward to reading his posts and watching him engage with the public in this forum.  Well done Mr. Speaker.

Jonhusted’s Weblog

If I Was In Charge of… City Life Sculptures in Dayton

For the second year in a row the City of Dayton, along with the Downtown Dayton Partnership, has brought in 20 of the magnificent bronze sculptures sculptures of J. Seward Johnson.  The sculptures are extremely lifelike.  They depict people, sometimes accompanied by animals and props, going about daily life in the city.  The detail is amazing - causing people to double take as they pass just to make sure that it really is a statue.  They have been widely successful in attracting attention and drawing people to visit downtown Dayton to check them out.  The city started a photo contest around the sculptures, which I think is brilliant.

Still, if I was in charge of the City Life Sculptures the first thing I would do would be to create a blog for each of them.  On each blog, the story of the person depicted in the statue would be told day by day.  This could be done as a creative writing project, where students from Dayton Public Schools could compete to earn the right to tell the fictional story of one statue.   The writings could focus on a different area of life each week, creating a framework for the project.  This could start with biographical information about where they grew up, where they live and work, what they see everyday, how they interpret it based on who they are, and what they hope to see in the future.  This would be a wonderful exercise in characterization and imagination.  By placing it in the context of a blog, readers could engage with the statues in conversation - truly bringing them to life.   This would be sort of a Canterbury Tales meets the Internet.  Each statue has a story, and each winner gets to tell it.   I think this would be an amazing opportunity to showcase young, creative talent, while simultaneously attracting additional attention to this amazing exhibit.

What would you do first if you were in charge of the City Life Sculptures in Dayton?

Downtown Dayton Partnership

David E. Bowman - Squidoo Lens Returns

I gave a speech earlier this week to the Dayton LinkedIn Group.  In the speech, I spoke about some easy ways that individuals can use the web to build their personal brand.  One tool I referenced was Squidoo - one of the most useful sites (or grouping of sites) on the web.

Squidoo is a powerful tool for sharing ideas, finding information, and building your personal brand. It is the brainchild of Seth Godin, one of the foremost thinkers in the areas of technology, business, and marketing.  The idea is that everyone is an expert at something, and thus should be able to use the web to help others by sharing that expertise.  Squidoo enables users to easily create a one page web site, called a lens, full of rich content, links, video, notes, polls, rss feeds, and other interesting items.  The beauty of Squidoo is that you don’t have to know anything about writing code to use it, and Google loves it.  It is easy to use, and provides in-depth information on hundreds of thousands of topics, and continues to evolve into a powerful research tool.

Well, many moons ago I built a Squidoo lens about me.  After all, I fugured that if everyone is supposed to be an expert at something, I should be the foremost expert on the subject of me.  It was up on the web for a while, but then I became dissatisfied with it.  As a result I took the site down for a makeover. Then, as happens, I got side tracked with other things, and the lens sat dormant.

Well, after giving my speech, there was a huge interest amongst those who attended in Squidoo.  Most had never heard of it, and many curious people have since emailed me for more information.  All of this reminded me that I still need to bring back the lens about me - and so I did.   View it here or by visiting http://www.squidoo.com/davidebowman.  The lens was very easy to put together, and offers the world a different look at me and some of my work.

They recently rebranded the “people” section of Squidoo - giving it the clever moniker of SquidWho.  Check it out, and let me know what you think.  Then, start building your own lenses.  Share your expertise with the world.

Some other lenses I have built include:

Dayton Marketing Community

Dayton Weblogs - which I need to update

The Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio - a work in progress

David E. Bowman

Help! I Need Somebody…

Do you live in or around Dayton, Ohio?  Are you interested in spending an hour or two per month making new connections and sharpening your professional skills - all while making a huge difference in the lives of people in need of help? If so, please consider volunteering to help the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio.

How can you help? The EFWO has numerous functional committees such as Marketing, Finance and Fundraising, Volunteerism, and Programming, which can serve to connect you with other talented professionals in your chosen field. This is a great way for young professionals to build connections and credentials, and for more seasoned practitioners to stay fresh. And, the time you spend, which is probably only about an hour or two a month, goes to help people with Epilepsy right here in the Miami Valley.

There are also numerous event committees in need of help within the EFWO. Currently, we are gearing up for the annual Mud Volleyball Tournament, July 12. This is an event that always needs helping hands because it is so much fun.  We are always in need of helping hands and creative thinkers, so if you are interested in lending a hand, contact the EFWO.  In addition to MUD, there is Wine and Jazz in November, Mardi Gras in February, and numerous other fundraising events - all of which need people.

If you are a seasoned professional looking to get even more involved in the community, consider applying to join the board.  We currently have a few open seats, and would welcome experienced leaders who are looking to contribute their skills to a great cause.  The process for this is understandably more rigorous than for joining committees, as the commitment and responsibility associated with being a board member is substantial.

Finally, if you just want to help out here and there - without being committed to anything - please volunteer to help our staff.  Like any good non-profit we run a lean operation, relying heavily on the kindness and generosity of others to get everything done.  There is an endless to do list, and a limited number of hands, so any time you can donate, even 30 minutes here and there, would be appreciated.

For more information on how you can get involved with the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio, call (937) 233-2500 or (800) 360-3296 or visit us on the web at www.ohioepilepsy.org

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