You may know Western Michigan University grad Erica Finley as a journalist-turned-PR professional in metro Detroit. You might also know her as an avid animal lover – her anticipated Detroit Dogup event is just around the corner.
I first crossed paths with Erica on Twitter. Whether it was our similar professional backgrounds, personal interests or close proximity here in the metro Detroit area that encouraged our first contact on the site, I’m just not sure. I do know she’s making serious waves in Michigan’s digital community.
As she packs her bags to head off to Jeff Pulver’s 140 Characters Conference next weekend, I’ll be virtually and vicariously experiencing it too. If you’re interested in the latest social media news, you won’t want to miss out. I’ll let Erica explain why:
UrbaneLife: When did you become familiar with The 140 Characters Conference and what drew you to the upcoming New York City event in particular?
Erica Finley: “I always have my eyes peeled for opportunities to learn more about social media, specifically, how it’s used in a business setting. I learned of the 140 Characters Conference last year because I was following its founder, Jeff Pulver (@jeffpulver). Unfortunately, I found out about it too late in the game, but I vowed to try to go at the next available opportunity. I try to pick and choose which events I attend because often they end up being a Social Media 101, and after looking at the speaker roster for 140 Conf, I knew this was much more than that. And I was attracted to the NYC event in particular because I’ve never been to the city and wanted to work a mini vacation into my plans!”
UL: Are you doing anything special to prepare for the conference?
EF: “I’m doing a lot of tweeting about the conference and trying to connect with others who are attending. I’m also hoping to steal a few minutes with conference founder Jeff Pulver to fill him in on both the accomplishments and future goals of the Detroit digital community. I think a lot of people have started to take notice of us after Team Detroit’sbig win in the Chevy South by Southwest Road Trip Challenge, and it’s important to talk to more people about what we’ve been doing here.”
UL: Which speakers you are most looking forward to learn from or connect with during this event?
EF: “I’m looking forward to hearing from Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu), an NYU journalism professor, because my background is also in journalism, and I’m fascinated by how that field and social media intersect. Twitter especially has revolutionized the way people report and receive news. There will also be a Twitter and News Gathering session with Andy Carvin (@acarvin) of NPR and Ryan Osborn (@todayshow). Ann Curry (@AnnCurry) is a high-profile journalist that has really embraced the social media space – she’ll be talking about Twitter and the Evolution of Emergency Communications.
“I can’t miss Gary Vaynerchuk’s (@garyvee) 140 question-and-answer because he’s Gary V, and I’ve never seen him speak but have heard great things. Same with Liz Strauss (@lizstrauss).”
UL: Briefly describe your personal experience with Twitter – how long have you used it and in what ways has it impacted your life and your work?
EF: “I’ve been on Twitter since 2008, and it wasn’t love at first sight by any means. I tried it out for a few weeks, wasn’t really seeing the value in it, and then left it alone for awhile. I jumped back in it a few months later when I was working for the Michigan Business Review and was amazed by the direct connections I could make with people, not only as sources for stories, but simply people in the field of journalism, PR and beyond. It became an essential tool later on in my job hunt, and I was even offered a full-time internship with benefits as a result of my presence on the site. Soon I began learning as much as I could about how businesses were using it to connect with customers and improve their bottom line. It’s hard to fully articulate the positive impact it’s had on me and how many relationships it’s helped foster, but one thing is for sure: I’m hooked, and I don’t see it going away anytime soon.”
UL: Is there anything you’d like to add?
EF: “I’m very thankful to Eric Brown and Urbane Apartments for giving me the amazing opportunity to attend this conference and use it as a way to learn and build on my current skill set. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about social media, it’s that it’s constantly changing, and the right and wrong way to go about it isn’t always black and white. I also hope to connect with people who maybe don’t know all of the amazing things happening in the Detroit digital community every day, and start a dialogue about how much we have to offer.”
Follow Erica’s updates from New York City and the 140 Characters Conference between April 17-21. She’ll be tweeting @ericafinley and blogging here.
