“You are not here because of your Klout score.” Words from Peter Shankman’s welcome speech at his fabulous 2010 holiday party at the Hudson Terrace in New York City. True to his word, the room was packed with not 250 top-tier executives or corporate suits, but those up and coming social media-lites like SavvyAuntie and PublicityGuru.
“You are here because you are passionate about helping others by sharing what we know.” Sponsored by top names like JetBlue and the Venetian Vegas Hotel, we filtered in from the cold NYC streets to the terrace, which featured a step and repeat for photos instantly transferred to thumb drives courtesy of Sprint, tables littered with tequila shots and shrimp cocktails floating through the air. The clincher? Custom Peter Shankman chandeliers and a wall filled with the Klout scores and pictures of all the attendees. Now that’s classy.
“We consider friends and followers a privilege, not a right.” Friendly bartenders and top-notch DJ Gravy made it easy to mingle amongst the crowd, though there were too many people to count and I was sad I missed a few, such as unmarketing. Maybe next time. Meeting people who had used Vocus and PRWeb was a pleasure, and I was glad to offer my advice to anyone–whether they bought our product or not. The networking factor of this event was awesome and I was truly glad to be a part of it.
From left to right: Jiyan Wei, director of Product Management, PRWeb; Phil Braden, VP, Product Management, Vocus; Gary Lane Gibbs, VP, Business Development, Vocus; Stacey Acevero, community manager, PRWeb; Peter Shankman, founder of HARO
Here’s a great video of Shankman’s speech at the party: