Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak to a great group at the 4th Thursday Networking Group at the Fireside Grill & Bar in Marlboro, NJ. I have been a fairly regular attendee at this group get together for years. Thinking through my history yesterday morning, I have followed it through four separate locations over the years. Typically John Kalli has me in each year to share the latest from the search industry after attending my annual SMX Advanced Conference out in Seattle.
This year was a bit more of a challenge as I had a fall in my home the previous Monday and had been dealing with pretty considerable concussion symptoms for over a week that had forced me to reschedule a number of meetings and alter my work schedule to allow me to stay inside in the dark and trying to spend as little time as possible in the light and looking at computer and television screens. Dealing with headaches and the fog that comes with post concussion syndrome, I was a little worried how this talk would work out. I had done a run through on Wednesday that didn’t go well and ended up with a little fogginess and shortness of breath.
The Talk
Luckily, after spending most of Wednesday off screens and in the dark, I felt pretty good on Thursday and excited to try the “outside world” with the friendly faces of this long time networking community. It was a comfortable place to have my first test of continued exposure to social interaction and light. With a warm and accepting crowd, I had a great time and got through the entire talk with some interaction and questions from the group. Though I had a few moments where I felt the need to sit down, things went pretty well and I even had a nice meeting after the formal group meeting before heading back home.
The talk today went over many facets of SEM, including the latest in pay per click and display advertising advances, as well as the importance of expanded content for SEO and making offline relationships show up online in the form of links for site strength.
The 4th Thursday group has always been a welcoming group that helps you come away learning something that can help you in your business and/or personal life, but also gives a great chance to get to know and network with local business owners. I highly recommend. John has been doing a great job running the meeting for years and Bill Atkins has recently begun helping out a bit so John doesn’t have to do it all on his own. It only costs what the restaurant charges for lunch, so come on by some month and check it out. A special thank you to first-time attendee, friend, and hopefully future regular Roderick DeGuzman of Liberty Mutual Insurance for snapping some shots of me in action. Check him out for all of your personal lines insurance needs.
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