Here it is…Like I mentioned my previous post, This was a truly inspiring experience and one that I will remember for years to come. Many people said that the LeWeb Conference WAS all about Gary Vaynerchuk ( meaning: his positive energy took the conference by storm). I completely agree. I hope the answers he provides in the interview impacts your life, as it has in mine. Enjoy!

Interview w/ Gary Vaynerchuk

Paris…the city of love. I am thrilled to say that this year’s LeWeb Conference had an amazing energy in the air as the theme of the conference was love. I had the opportunity to meet outstanding individuals, globally network with prominent startups, and enjoy a curious yet exciting new atmosphere.

The atmosphere that I speak of was amazing. Although the language barrier for me caused some issues outside the doors of LeWeb, it was exciting to see such growth and vision for Europe. Entrepreneurs were receiving advice from speakers from a variety of different fields. People from all backgrounds (Psychology, Music, Technology, etc.) were meeting and exchanging ideas about how the internet will change our lives. All of it for me, was truly inspiring.

As you might have seen on other sites/blogs that have reviewed LeWeb, the conference had a few hitches. The internet was down most of the time (hence the reason for me not Twittering, posting photos, and also for this late blog post), there was a food shortage for lunch, and the building’s heating units kicked on the first day. I will say this- Geraldine and Loic Le Meur, the founders of the conference, truly did everything to fix these issues as they came about.  Loic is a great guy (I have had many conversations with him on Seesmic) and he is completely motivated at making others comfortable and happy. Thanks Loic for all your assistance in inviting me to LeWeb!

Now- enough with the bad. The LeWeb conference had a spectacle of speakers, workshops, and competitions. I blogged each day and was sponsored by iContact (my current employer) reporting through WRAL Techwire. If you follow the link below and walk through the three posts- you can get a good idea for what was going on.

Blogging from ‘Le Web’ Conference – iContact’s Taylor Barr

Thoughts on Building a Company in Europe

This is an excerpt from a friend, Dan Martell, of which I meet at the LeWeb Conference. He is a great guy and hits the nail right on the head about the the difficulties of creating a company in Europe. I aslo appreciate his future predictions (reflected with a bit of humor. Kuddos!)

excerpt from Dan Martell’s Blog: Strategies for Fast Growth Entrepreneurs:

“Differences: Building a Company In Europe

1. Localization: Right out of the gate, you need to be ready, even support, up to 5+ languages.
2. Decentralized capital and resources: It’s normal to have to jump on a plane every week to do biz dev, or connect with venture funding partners.
3. Self Promotion, or PR is hard: Unlike the US, if you have an amazing idea, it seems like it’s 10x times hard to get it promoted or recognized.

Top 5 LeWeb 08′ Predictions

1. MySpace Music will be acquired by 2012 (not MySpace, only the music part).
2. ALL books will eventually be freely available to read online by 2015.
3. Virtual goods will be the next major monetization strategy for startups, more so than advertising. (maybe a hybrid of both).
4. Gary Vaynerchuk (www.winelybrary.tv) will eventually (within 1-2 years) do something big with Barack Obama.
5. Marissa Mayer (VP of Search Product and User Experience at Google) will be discovered to be a robot (o.k. you may not believe me, but give it time :-).

Meeting Gary Vaynerchuk

Never in my life have I been more nervous to interview someone. Call it ridiculous but whether Gary knows it or not- he has gotten me through some tough times. I remember when I first came across his winelibrary.tv; I was in between jobs, stumbling to find my passion in life. His energy has been contagious and his knowledge for business has inspired me to “Own” my career.

The interview will be on Seesmic soon and at that time I will do a separate blog post, embedding the video on my site. Until then, here is a great photo Whit Scott took during the interview. Enjoy!

Want to know more about LeWeb from other folks that attended? Check out these great resources:

• Alicia l’Américaine- great video on the fun times we all had at the conference
• Richard’s Blog - Talks about all the great Seesmic people he met ( Wink!)
• Loic Le Meur’s Blog- Found of LeWeb

Both to and from work yesterday, I listened to reporting and commentary on the NPR network of the recent activity surrounding Mumbai and Eastern India. As many of you are aware,  militant forces declared a terrorist attack upon Mumbai, killing close to 195 innocent victims last week.  Many reporters and counter terrorist officials believe that the act was executed by Islamist leaders from Pakistan seeking to push India out of a divided Kasmir.

As these allegations are yet to be confirmed (and the defense minster of Pakistan claims they had no real involvement), there is still unrest amongst many citizens of India. A protest rally yesterday, drawing thousands and thousands of individuals to the steps of the Taj Mahal Hotel, was meant to bring those citizens together and project their feelings to politicians about the turmoil.

So what is this so called weight of restraint? Five years have passed since the peace talks between Pakistan and India (In 2003, both were on the verge of a fourth war). Both sides, In my opinion, are now fighting the weight of restraint to go against all that was accomplished at the time of those peace treaties. Breaking that somewhat unsteady vow, would be detrimental to the future relations between the two entities.

How do you feel about the state of India? What do you think the outcome will be between all of this? PLEASE share your text/video comments below. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Best Wishes,
Taylor

I recently attended the 2008 Internet Summit in close by Chapel Hill, NC. The line-up for the event was somewhat impressive for the Southeast- bringing in Gian Fulgoni Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, comScore, Tim Schiegel CEO of ShareThis & Mike Doernberg CEO of Reverb Nation.

One of the speakers that really struck a chord, and delivered such a compelling speech was Bob Young.  Bob originally co-founded Red Hat and then moved on to build one of the most successful self publishing companies in the world.

One of the best attributes I think Bob Young posses is the ability to be REAL.  What I mean by real is that there is no false facade when he speaks… heck, he doesn’t even really get dressed up to speak in front hundreds of professionals!  and with that, he speaks humbly and gives great sound advice. Here is some bullet points I learned:

-Bob Young explains, “I am lazy. I must have a coping mechanism to get out of bed. So I figured I would  only do the things I love.” Define and concentrate in on your coping mechanisms. Never waste time doing things you don’t want to do.

-There is not one way to do things. Yeah, there are tips and pointers that are always good to follow, but there are different road maps to any one destination.

-Mistakes will happen. Even when you think you have everything figured out, you are probably going to miss the boat on something.

Hello!

Here is the latest Seesmix which sadly, is Giselle Kennedy (the stellar host of Seesmix) last Episode. I had the amazing opportunity to meet Giselle when I went out to San Francisco for the TechCrunch conference. We are all going to miss her being away from Seesmic, but I am truly happy that she is taking the time to do some freelancing, explore the world, and enjoy life.

If you have never met Giselle-you should! She has an amazing spirit and overall, is just a fun loving gal. My best wishes go to you Giselle, and hopefully we will cross paths again!

Seesmix: November 13th, 2008

Am I going to the LeWeb Conference in Paris, France on December 9th and 10th of this year? Watch the video to find out…

I think one thing that I failed to capture in this video is the amount of excitement I have for receiving this opportunity. Also, I want to further highlight how thankful I am for having iContact sponsor my trip. I have such enormous respect for my employer and truly want to extend a true “thank you” for this wonderful opportunity (special thanks to Ryan Allis and Chuck Hester for all their help). I will be working as a representative for iContact while I am there- so if any of you have questions regarding email marketing, be sure to hit me up!

I would also like to take time out to thank Seesmic- Loic and Geraldine, for all their help with logistics. You have made a tremendous impact on my life in the last few months, and I would like to thank you for your kindness. I can’t wait to go to LeWeb and report back to the lovely Seesmic Community!

As I mentioned in my introductory post about LeWeb, I am overwhelmed with passion for changing the world. Please do not hesitate to contact me at  Taylorhbarr@gmail.com with any questions, suggestions, or anything you want me to spread to others while over there.

A HUGE thank you to my kind friends Krissi, Julie Sanders, and Matt Miller for either contributing or doing an awesome job of spreading the word. You all rock- but then again, you all already knew that.

Thank you and Cheers to all your acts of kindness!

Regards,

Taylor

Links

“Paris on Le Mime” Created by David Parsons

I recently took a trip up to Washington D.C. to visit a few friends while celebrating Halloween and overall, basking in the beautiful weather. On Friday the 31st, We ventured downtown to take part in the riff-raff. Someone managed to snap a picture of me in my Hugh Hefner outfit, right as we were about to board the metro at 2:30am. Classy, right?

Amidst the holiday weekend, I wanted to share a few thoughts with my kind readers.

1) I found that spending time with ones you love, friends old and new, makes life truly inspiring. This year alone I have had the great privilege to enjoy my free time with good friends and colleagues (despite how busy life has been).

2) Complain only when it is necessary. When I was younger, I made a mess of complaining to my parents, teachers, etc. about how difficult life can be.  I now know to take life as it comes and embrace going with the flow.

3) Everyone should travel. Whether it is 30 miles down the road or 3,000 miles cross country. Getting the chance to see our great nation (as well as other fascinating countries in the world) allows great knowledge to be shared, and life lessons to be learned.

This blog excerpt is by no means ground breaking advice. This advice is just a friendly reminder to those who need it.

Meeting up with a Seesmic Friend

Believe it or not, I finally crossed paths with Seesmic’s Country music loving ex-intern, Alicia l’Américaine (meaning: she was an intern over the Summer of 2008 for Seesmic).  I steered clear of talking about such topics as Billy Ray Cyrus or anything related to France as I knew she could talk for hours on the subjects (Evidence is shown by a few of our Seesmic conversations online). Nonetheless, She is an intelligent young lady and it was rather refreshing to talk face-to-face, without a computer in the way.

As a reminder, I will be hosting the EastCoast Seesmic Meetup 2008 in Raleigh, North Carolina November 21st- November 23rd. If you can make it down, I would love the chance to meet you!

Thanks for reading. More updates should be coming soon regarding the LeWeb ‘08 Conference.

Regards,

Taylor

Bonjour Readers,

I am writing this blog entry to patiently ask for your help. In my best effort, I am trying to raise money for a plane ticket to the LeWeb 2008 Conference in Paris, France on December 9th/10th of this year.  Before you close out of this window or click the back button on your browser, I encourage you to hear my reason and overall- the passion I have for wanting to go.

The first thing you may be wondering is, ” Why are going through all this effort just to attend a Technology conference?” Well my friends,  here is my answer: LeWeb is not just another conference. It is an event created by Geraldine & Loïc Le Meur looking to inspire conversation on wider array of topics than just technology. Yeah, technology is an important aspect of our future, but can technology be used in other sectors as well? Perhaps for social change?

I want to go to the conference to discuss with companies and startups and invoke conversation on how we can change the world. I strongly believe that technology will play a huge role in accommodating and perhaps solving some of the world’s most difficult issues. So this is my plan of action: I want to talk to “thought leaders,” at the conference and directly encourage them to take active approaches in their humanitarian efforts- such as extending loans to entrepreneurs in underdeveloped countries or coming up with ways to eliminate world poverty. Whether through their company’s endeavors or through personal contribution, I want to instill a sense of humanity into people.

Another reason I want to go to LeWeb is for the chance to meet motivated entrepreneurs doing great things. I am inspired daily by the amount of passion people have for their work. Some day, I would like to start a company of my own and would look back at this opportunity as a stepping stone to those efforts. At LeWeb I hope to get the chance to talk to all types of entrepreneurs and share those inspiring stories with all of you.

Across the spectrum, I want to be there to be your voice. Family, Friends, and Colleagues- Please do what you can to make this dream come true.

If we can get 80 people to donate $25 each by November 31st, I will hit my goal and have enough to make it to LeWeb in December.

What happens if I do not hit my goal for the trip or raise more than your $2,000?

If I do not raise the $2,000 I need in order to go, I will be donating ALL the money to a free standing account on Kiva.org The amount raised will act as loans to several different entrepreneurs in underdeveloped countries.  The money will not be touched and will constantly be reinvested as the individuals pay back the loans through the Kiva service.  This will be an amazing and lasting footprint to all of your efforts of this project.

If I do hit my goal, I will be donating a $100 to entrepreneurs on Kiva.org for YOUR acts of kindness. If I raise more than my goal amount, I will also be donating the extra amount to the Kiva.org Foundation.

If their are specific entrepreneurs you would like to donate through the Kiva service, please send me an email letting me know at Taylorhbarr@gmail.com

So what can YOU do to help me out?

• - Email your friends with the link to the website asking to help Taylor Barr out by donating with the sidebar widget.

• - Reach out to your contacts on social networks (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc.) and share the link to my website.
• - Embed the goofy french mime video (read below) on your blog to spark interest in all your groups of friends. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine!
• - *For Companies- Ask the company you work for if they would like to sponsor or partially sponsor my trip to the LeWeb Conference. In return I will wear T-shirts, hand out stickers, etc. (basically be a walking bill board for the right contribution). Contact me directly if interested.

Paris on Le Mime

In accordance with this entry, My good friend David Parsons and I made a promotional video for the trip. David has an incredible eye for creativity and really made this project special (taking charge of all the shooting, editing, and other odds and ends.) I would like to thank him for all his time and effort- without it, this idea could not have even taken off. This video is truly hilarious!

Please post this on your blogs, in your Facebook profiles, wherever! I will thank you personally in additional posts.

Paris on Le Mime from David Parsons on Vimeo.

Once again, thank you for all your help and please email me with any questions or comments at TaylorHBarr@gmail.com. If you are unable at this time to contribute, at least leave a comment below!

Kind Regards,

Taylor Barr

So I sign onto Seesmic last week (after a week and half sabbatical; occupied by moving to a new place and getting situated), and notice that many of my fine Canadian friends were having trouble signing on. I was soon notified via Twitter by Jennavive and Miranda McCurlie , some fine Toronto-nians (is that a real phrase? cool I just made it up) that the Rogers Communications Provider went out in the city. This means no Internet anywhere… WHAT!?!? do you know the ramifications that would occur if say, AT&T or Verizon went out in the states? Major refunds and a heckling from a wide consumer base. Maybe these things just happen in Canada…

Please enjoy this fine clip of me being picked up in yet another Seemsix Episode. I love you guys over at Seesmic!

SSeesmic eesmix 91!

Post Script: I added Seesmic Comments. So if you have a webcam, please leave a video comment!

Last week we re-debuted the Social Media Club-RDU chapter and hosted our first meeting back- at iContact. With help from my colleagues Chuck Hester, Wayne Sutton, James Wong, and Lisa Braziel- we held a panel discussion on, “Who owns Social Media?” There was a good showing, great conversation, and a hope to keep the buzz surrounding Social Media alive in North Carolina.

The meeting brought together several different viewpoints on social media and how it should be used in the workplace. I believe we came to a consensus on the fact that social media isn’t owned or managed by one specific department, but the focus should lie on how it is carried out by members of any specific organization. Other topics associated with the conversation include: Brand Reputation and Management, SEM/SEO, and the use of various media outlets.

Below is a picture of yours truly making a presentation about Seesmic/TechCrunch 50 and how I have used it to meet great people and get to do amazing things . Be sure to check me and other attendees of the SMC-RDU, in the video on 30Threads’ “Who and what is Social Media?” Apparently someone commented with, “Taylor is the best” in the video comments. Thank you for the kind words!

Taylor Barr iContact’s Rockstar! by Jeff Cohen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

I can honestly say that I have had some of the most amazing and rewarding experiences occur in just the past few months. I look forward to meeting all of you that are optimistic about growing a global communty and those who inspire me to do great things. Cheers!

Special Thanks to:

Ignite Social Media - For all of their help with the foundation of the club and sponsoring events.

Wayne Sutton and Kipp Bodnar-Talk Social News