SOBCon08 - Have We Met? May 7, 2008
Posted by jerikpotter in SOBCon, Uncategorized.Tags: Connections, SobCon08
trackback
Is “life altering” an overused phrase? Well, I don’t care. This past weekend at SOBCon08, I was able to match flesh to avatar in downtown Chicago. Folks I’d only met through the written word were within sight. It amazed me how easily it was to find the folks I’d had the most online conversations with. Robert Hruzek was easy to spot in his traditional Texas head covering. Joanna Young was equally easy to find with her signature red hair (it helped that she was standing next to Robert at the time, too). And then there was Brad Shorr, yet another of the early faces who was spot-on to his avatar.
Now while recognizing faces from avatars might not seem that strange, this next part was. EVERY person I met at SOBCon08, who I’d had an online conversation with, sounded EXACTLY like I’d pictured in my mind. Liz Strauss sounds like Liz - not Fran Drescher (thank God). And while Terry Starbucker may have a passing resemblance to a short-haired Agent Smith, I can assure you he sounds nothing like him.
Some other random observances:
Christine Kane’s first name is Christine, not Carolyn. My apologies once again! I’m blaming it on the Fat Tire.
Jen Knoedl is the nicest person you’ll meet next to Buddy Elf.
Chris Brogan doesn’t like the song “Freebird”, but is good at flipping the bird to cabbies without GPS.
Phil Gerbyshak is the most genuine person I’ve met in an age.
I highly recommend a walk through the park with Chris Brown.
John Hong and I have very similar green raincoats.
Timothy Johnson and Stephen Smith were separated at birth. They could have easily given Lindsey Lohan a run for her money on The Parent Trap remake if Disney scouts had met them.
Sandra Ponce de Leon and Dawud Miracle need to form a secret society of kick butt names.
Rick Mahn knows how to talk politics and religion AND keep it civil.
Wendy Piersall is the real deal.
Stephen Hopson is the best listener I’ve ever met.
Pete Jones makes me want to work out. And get a new phone.
I like playing devil’s advocate with Kristen King. Shareholder theory rules!
I expect great things from Bryan Kress.
Shashi Bellamkonda is a multitasking monster.
And Thomas Knoll has the BEST bar game on the planet!
The weekend was enough to keep even my ADD in check (no small feat). Thanks for memories everyone!
Photo courtesy of Chris Garrett - Flickr
Erik,
It was a blast to meet you! My only regret is that I hadn’t run into you online earlier. After rectifying that oversight on Twitter and my feed reader, I’ve stopped over to find you gave a shout-out to so many great people!
I sure hope to see you at SOBCon09, and maybe through social media club as well. I’ve been contacted locally about that right after I got back to MPLS after the weekend.
Good luck in all your working in, and take care!
Regards,
Rick
Hi Erik with a K,
Nice post and you have good memory. it was fantastic to meet you. I enjoyed being there. I hope my wife doesnt read the “multi-tasking monster ”
Let me know if you come to DC.
Shashi
Hi Erik - it was a blast traveling to and from the conference with you and Pete. And I’d like to think that Stephen and I could outperform Lindsay Lohan, since neither of us would be distracted by “obvious downfalls” of her personality. I’m glad you found the experience … well… life altering
It was great to meet you, too, Eric! You’re right - it IS an interesting exercise to match flesh to avatar. Great weekend, and hopefully we’ll see you next year!
Cheers!
Thanks so much for sharing yourself with me this weekend Erik! You’re a great guy, and I am blessed to be able to have spent a weekend with you! Let me know when you get to Milwaukee for deep fried, beer battered, cheese curds!
Erik:
You have no idea how much I enjoyed meeting you, especially with a last name of Potter. I enjoyed called you Mr. Potter because, well, I am sort of a fan of the Harry Potter series but you looked nothing like Harry Potter (which I think you didn’t want to be, right?).
Anyway, thanks for the compliment on me being a good listener. It’s ironic, isn’t it? Being deaf yet I “hear” better than most. At least that’s what people tell me. Thanks for reminding me to keep listening.
Last but not least, I enjoyed the time we spent even though it wasn’t long. There were so many of us to meet. But you’re now permanently a fixture in my mind.
Hey, can I get in on the beer and cheese curds?
Erik, I have to confess I’m, not a Matrix person, so I had to check out the video to “get” your Agent Smith reference. Scary
Thanks for coming, it was a pleasure to meet you, and your wonderful observations of SOBCon08 were spot-on. See you next year!
Terry
Erik,
It was a pleasure meeting you this weekend. I hope you are doing well. I like what you are doing and if there is anything I can do to help please let me know. I look forward to staying in touch with you.
Hi Erik, thanks for sharing. I am looking forward to collaborating with many of you SOBConners and getting to know you all a lot better.
And I must agree, for a “quiet and reserved” guy, Stephen Hopson is quite a talker, as well as a listener.
PS I wanna change my name to Ponce de Leon!!
Rick - yes, strange we haven’t crossed before. Thanks for stopping by.
Shashi - I’ll actually be in Wash DC (well Alexandria) the week of May 20th of you want to meet up.
Tim - as always, I’m indebted to you for getting me into this whole blogging thing
Robert - catch you at the next WILF
Phil - mmmm. . .cheese curds
Stephen H - I’ve had a love/hate relationship with my last name since the whole Harry Potter thing. I’ve grown to accept it though.
Brad - what kind of beer would you like?
Terry - absolutely, I’ve already planted the seed with my wife
Bryan - I just might have a pitch for you once I’ve sorted through everything from the weekend
Stephen S. - no doubt, the Tim’s twin thing must be overcome!
Thanks everyone.
Ah, at least your last name isn’t as bad as “Putz!”
We’ll have to take some time to chat next year!
Really great to meet you, and I’m very glad that you had a good time. : )
Erik,
Wow! It looks like you had an amazing time and got to meet some amazing people! I am definitely going to have to “make time” next year for SOBcon ‘09. I’m glad to hear you had a great trip!
Erik, did we meet? If not I’m sorry and hope to get that chance at SOBCon09.
Loved this write-up. Very funny.
Karen - I’m not going to touch that one! See you around Open Mic Night.
Chris - thanks for making SOBCon08 that much more special
Eric - Absolutely! I will accept no excuses! You are going!
Easton - Not sure? Too many people, your face definitely looks familiar. See you next year for sure.
Thanks again everyone.
I don’t know. I can see Terry as Agent Smith. Just don’t tell him. Oh, damn, I guess it’s out there now.
Erik, we bumped into each other a few times, but didn’t get time to chat. Wish we would have. Perhaps next year?
Erik, it was great to catch up with you too. Esp as we managed to have a ‘proper’ conversation together (with Rick) - helped me make sense of a lot of things.
Best wishes
Joanna
[...] J. Erik Potter - SOBCon08, Have We Met? [...]
Joanna - meeting and conversing with you was a highlight for me. Thanks for making the weekend a special one.
Dawud - absolutely! Thanks for stopping by and for the link back.