Interesting Conversations from Blogger Social’08-2 April 24, 2008
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in Conversations, Digital, Social Media.Tags: Blogger Social'08, New York
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CB, Arun, and Toby, originally uploaded by mvellandi.Mark Goren shared his experiences about being a copywriter back in the days and then making the switch to doing his own thing. I felt so touched when he is took his iPod Touch out and showed me his family pics.
It was so impressive to watch Jason Falls do the rounds with his drink at the Perfect Pint. He connects with people at the snap of his fingers. On the boat, he gave me and Susan Bird a very interesting sneak-peek into his work at Doe-Anderson. I was especially interested in the kind of community involvement they had with their partners at work.
I was so very excited to meet Connie Reece. We couldn’t talk much, but I remember chasing her down the stairs of the Perfect Pint to wish her G’nite.
The lovely diva Toby Bloomberg shared her pink boa with for a group snap with the ever-awesome Christine B. Whittemore. We did the ‘shanti’ pose for Mario. They are so much fun to be with. They have much energy, and so much grace. Both divas rule! And I adore both of them. (The brownies were yummy, TB).
Being with Gavin Heaton can make you feel so special, welcome and wanted. He has an ear for everyone and is a very friendly person. OK, everyone at Blogger Social was friendly, and went out of their way to make everyone else feel special, but there was something very charismatic and genuine about Gavin, that it’s so hard to put down in words about how special he is. I felt like I knew him from ages from the minute I met him. To radiate that feeling, is such a gift, a blessing, in my opinion.
David Reich. I absolutely dig his hair-do and Luc’s as well. (Btw, Cam Beck turned up in this military, macho haircut and 2 weeks later, I’m sporting the same look here in Muscat which has got people asking me what’s behind this inspiration!). David is New York’s resident angel and like Nathan Snell says, he has an insane knowledge of New York.
Drew, CK, Katie, Cam, Nathan, Gavin, David, Luc and I went hunting all over New York city for a diner that would be open at 3am. We had so much fun in the process and more memorable social time.
Marshall Sponder was by my side for dinner. We spoke a lot about art and web analytics, two of his greatest passions. He had one of the catchiest business cards in the crowd.
I had such a great time hanging out with Ryan Barrett and Slava Menn. We covered so many topics under the sun… that I’m having difficulty recollecting what we didn’t talk about. They make such an awesome pair. Oh yes Ryan, we are soon going to talk about Austin.
Marilyn Pratt and I hung about a corner in the Perfect Pint and looked at the magic that was happening in that room. We were too shocked and spell-bound to take in everything. I particularly had a nice time sharing what I knew about a few bloggy friends who had gathered out there. Marilyn told me about her work at SAP where she plays an important role in driving social media relationships within people her organization. We of course spoke about India, a country which she is passionate about. Marilyn, it was so much fun being in your company!
More conversations are on its way…
Arun, Nathan & CK, originally uploaded by dougmeacham.
Arun Rajagopal 
Ooh.. Now I need to see your haircut! 🙂
The funny thing is that when I was still active, my hair was much shorter. I would have considered the do I sported at social to be insufficient. 🙂
Your synopsis of the event is spot-on.
I, too, was impressed with Jason’s ability to make the rounds. He really has a knack for it.
You have no idea how much I appreciated the conversation we had. It was one of the highlights of my weekend. (BTW, to answer your question, those pictures were on my iPod Touch!)
Oh, I missed this photo of you in the pink boa — it’s fantastic! Toby shared her boa with me earlier since I had left mine at home. So much fun. 🙂
@Connie: Hi Connie, I was actually surprised to see you at the event without the boa. And even more surprised to see TB with the boa. I think the boa rocks. So nice to meet you!
Arun, what a wonderful post! You capture the intensity of the interactions and the magic of the connection. I’m so glad you were able to make the trek from Oman. You are amazing.
And thanks for including my favorite picture of all time.
Arun, guess what? I got a haircut. (It’s still kind of long, though.)
Thanks for making the journey to New York to be with all of us. It was great meeting you.
Arun -Dahling, you look mahvalous in the pink boa framed by the incredible CB and moi. Everyone who missed “The Social” .. Arun is as gracious, sweet and kind as you would imagine .. well maybe more so. Thank you for making the trip to NYC.
Arun,
What a wonderful series of posts you are sharing with us (again… your eyes and ears always bring unexpectedly touching gems). Thank you so much.
That late evening (should say early morning) was surreal… and will stay in my memory forever. Like a bunch of old friends trying to find a spot to spend a little more time together, then going through the difficult “goodbye” moment. Precious moments.
Then I must say it is also a pleasure to read here (and in the comments as well) that there is still a lot of fun running in the “Hair”. ; )
Hard to believe that we could NOT find an open cafe at 3am in NY!