Importance and Influence of Conversations

Although conversations tend to be casual and free flowing, they can be quite powerful. This post is about how one individual influenced a few of us. Then how we have influenced others through other conversations. The most interesting common thread is that we were unaware how we influenced our peers--these were just conversations.

When we were having dinner after a meeting, Kevin Gamble was trying to convince the others at the table to blog. He did not know that I was already considering blogging and that this conversation was very helpful to me. The most important point made during the dinner conversation is "everyone has something to say."

From this dinner conversation, Ben MacNeill returned to blogging. Larry Lippke started blogging. I started blogging. Beth Raney has not started blogging yet, but she fully participates in our online conversations, by sharing her knowledge, interests, and expertise by using Twitter and del.icio.us. She is powerfully influential in a quiet, subtle way.

After taking a hiatus from blogging, Mitch Owen said by seeing our new blogs, he developed new incentives to blog again. As a result of his and mine conversations and reading colleagues' online conversations, Greg Parmer has returned to blogging.

Then in June, at the end of the ACE/NETC Conference, four of us--Greg, Brian Webster, Jonathan Davis and I took a hike to the top of Sandia Peak. I barely remember the conversation about blogging, but something about the conversation tipped Brian into blogging. And, Wow! he says he already has a list of 50 topics he wants to blog.

My point in describing this stream of adoption is that you never know when and how you can be influential. Conversations--both face-to-face and online--are extremely effective.

One more point, the blogs mentioned in this post offer an array of topics, perspectives, insights, and opinions. Like blogs, in general, what we discuss and how we share our knowledge and our opinions give insights into who we are, how we work, how we communicate, what is important to us, and how we make decisions.

Welcome to blogging and more conversations Brian!