Falling Asleep at the Wheel ...

sometimes I wonder if this really happened or if I read it somewhere ...

55 euro later I have a badge and an info package. Boy are these euro notes funny looking. A bit big too. Like play money. Weird. ‘Jessie Watkins, Marlies’ is printed on my name tag which I wear on a red white and blue lanyard around my neck. Cool. I walk to the conference room and take a seat in the half full room near the front. Katrin walks on stage right on time and everyone applauds. She’s exactly like her picture. Middle aged, stout but not fat – firm – commanding, but gentle, taller than I had expected with shoulder length dark blond hair held up with a clasp – she’s wearing jeans and running shoes, a white polo shirt and a small set of pearls. Her hair is up and her glasses sit on the edge of her nose. I laugh a bit to myself. She looks as if I had taken Maya and stretched her another foot. Katrin is introduced, and the title of her talk, ‘Taking the Bite out of Social Networking’ appears behind her on a large wall screen. “Good morning. My name is Katrin Lawson, I’m currently living in Germany where I work for a large food service company – which I won’t name as they aren’t paying for the spot - I’m a chef, a mum, and my blog, when I have time to write it, is Dandelion Jam.” There is a brief moment of laughter from the audience and from Katrin herself as she looks at her notes, “If you find yourself in the wrong talk, you now have the chance to leave, I believe there’s a talk on chocolate sculpting going on next door … ” She smiles and there’s more polite laughter. She turns around and looks at the screen behind her as the title changes to a slowly animated selection of restaurant images. “I’d like to talk today about social media and how it affects your audience, the millions of middle class foodies and cooks who enjoy the food we prepare for them in our various businesses around the globe every day. As if that weren’t a daunting enough task as it is, internet blogs and food channels are making them even more demanding, expectant, and knowledgeable than they already are. So, what does this mean for us? What the heck is social marketing to your average restaurant owner? How does the internet take the old addage, ‘One happy customer tells two friends but one unhappy customer tells ten friends’, and with a simple mouse click changes ten friends to three hundred friends on foodbuzz, or twitter, or facebook? …” Katrin’s voice continues as the slides behind her change and I look around the room’s hundred odd faces. Until know I hadn’t thought that there were obviously other people around the globe reading Katrin, that it wasn’t just me. Funny. I had taken her words and imagined they were for me alone. I smile to myself and lean back to listen.

... :O) kisses, katrin