Events

The topic will be:
"HOW TO STOP THE INFORMATION ECONOMY FROM LEACHING THE VALUE OUT OF YOUR HARD-EARNED EXPERTISE"

As we close up this first decade of the 21st Century and prepare to step into the next, our local, state and national economies are rocky - at best.  Business models and ways of relating that worked well during the final quarter of the 20th Century just don't work like they used to. And, as much as we might enjoy fantasizing about the "good old days," there's no way we're going back there. The Internet has changed our lives forever.

Many people are feeling really frustrated and confused - even worrying about going broke - as they're watching the value of their lifetime of experience getting lost in translation into the 21st Century global information economy.

That's why I have invited Meri Aaron Walker, Ashland's own "Virtual Meeting Coach," to join us. Meri has been watching, listening, and coming to the aid of small business owners who are feeling this way for the last several years. With her hand firmly on the levers and dials of social media and free virtual meeting tools, Meri has been showing Baby Boomer thought leaders the ropes for the last several years and, on December 16th, from 4:30-6:30 pm in the Ashland Public Library, she will share with the Ashland Internet Marketing Group.

Meri is a master coach, facilitator, and amply awarded business communication strategist and designer who moved to Ashland four years ago from Austin, Texas. She spent the previous 25 years helping technology companies collaborate and communicate across company boundaries, across cultures, and across language barriers - at the speed required for continuous, profitable innovation. (In other words, she's been working online for over 20 years.)

Like many of us, Meri moved to Ashland to slow things down a bit and enjoy the beauty of our Rogue Valley. But soon after arriving (late in 2006) Meri began noticing that many Baby Boomer small business owners didn't really understand how to use virtual meetings and other kinds of social media to

1) work with their clients and customers in sustainable ways and
2) stop leaving so much of their profit on the table.

So, since early 2008, Meri has focused on coaching Baby Boomer thought leaders to use FREE virtual tools and other kinds of Web 2.0 and social media to work, play and learn with their people anytime and from anywhere - they can get online.

She works with clients online and she's also holding a small, local coaching group (in Ashland). In this local group, people who have made considerable investments in researching and developing their own intellectual property are learning to use new tools - and work in new ways - to engage their clients and customers in ways that generate high profits without anyone having to leave their own office! (I am participating in the current group and it's my excitement about what I've been learning that spurred me to invite Meri to speak to AIMG this month.)

A $5-$10 donation is suggested.