Every once in a while I have one of those months where it seems I spend more time on planes than on the ground. September was one of those months for me, 34,534 kilometres to be exact. Needless to say, I’m happy to be back and adjusted to one consistent time-zone.
As I’ve written before in my post “How I learn“, one the big benefits of travelling and speaking to different industries for me is absorbing knowledge from others. Last month, in addition to holding my own seminars and workshops in various cities, I had the privilege of speaking at the following events that fell completely outside of my own industry:
- FIDIC World Consulting Engineering Conferece – Seoul, Korea
- Canadian Dental Association National Conference – Regina, Canada
- Farm Credit Canada Annual Marketing Branch Meeting – Saskatoon, Canada
- Dentists by on-line reviews that affect their personal digital footprints
- Consulting engineers by new forms of collaboration and the extra layer of transparency that is required when working in developing countries with rapidly rising internet and mobile penetration rates.
- Farmers by new forms of micro-financing, crowd funding and mobile payments disrupting traditional models
The far-reaching business effects of what I like to call the “social layer” of the internet are evident at nearly every industry event I speak at or attend. I’m happy to see that in many industry verticals, the “social media” space has evolved far beyond creating a Facebook account and is now focused on addressing pressing business needs instead. The way it should have been from the start.
I’m looking forward to finally catching my breath and sharing some of the widespread progress I’ve seen in this space over the last few months, especially in the public sector here in Canada. Stay tuned.