Bryan Kramer: Why social media is reimagining our future

Summary

In this inspiring talk, the CEO of a successful Silicon Valley marketing firm shares a personal journey of feeling disconnected from their own company, leading to a quest for reconnection. Through social media, they discovered the power of sharing stories and individual brands, which not only reinvented their own life but also resonated globally. The speaker encourages the audience to embrace the transformative power of sharing, as demonstrated by a live experiment that went viral, proving that collective sharing can indeed reimagine our future.

Takeaways

• 😔 The speaker was feeling empty despite being the CEO of a successful Silicon Valley marketing firm, indicating an internal struggle with personal connection and fulfillment.
• 🔧 The speaker had delegated so much that they felt disconnected from their own company, which led to thoughts of quitting and a desire to reconnect.
• 🤔 A period of introspection began, questioning identity and brand, which is a common journey for individuals seeking to reinvent themselves.
• 💡 Social media was identified as a powerful tool for connection and sharing, which inspired the speaker to consider how they could use it for personal branding.
• 🗣️ The speaker reached out to executives on social media to share their stories, realizing the importance of storytelling in personal and brand development.
• 🤝 The act of sharing stories not only helped the executives but also enhanced the speaker's own brand, leading to a deeper understanding of self.
• 🌟 The speaker discovered the power of sharing and how it can be transformative for both the sharer and the audience.
• 🌐 The concept of 'human to human' rather than 'business to business' or 'business to consumer' was emphasized, highlighting the importance of human connection in all interactions.
• 📈 The speaker's message resonated widely, gaining millions of impressions and being translated into multiple languages, demonstrating the global impact of sharing.
• 📱 An interactive experiment was conducted during the talk, encouraging the audience to share their ideas for changing the world through social media.
• 📊 The experiment resulted in a trending topic on Twitter, with ideas coming from around the world, showcasing the collective power of sharing diverse perspectives.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial emotional state despite the success of their Silicon Valley marketing firm?

The speaker felt completely empty and lost, even considering quitting their own company, despite its apparent success and awards.

What led the speaker to feel disconnected from their company?

The speaker had delegated everything to the point where they no longer felt a connection to their own company.

How did social media influence the speaker's perspective on personal branding and sharing?

Social media showed the speaker the power of sharing through others' stories, humor, and news, which inspired them to reinvent their own personal brand.

What did the speaker realize about the process of reinventing oneself?

The speaker realized that reinventing oneself is not easy and cannot be done overnight; it involves connecting with others and understanding their stories.

Why did the speaker reach out to executives on social media?

The speaker wanted to share the executives' stories without the intention of selling or treating them as leads, simply to understand and share their experiences.

How did the act of sharing others' stories impact the speaker's personal brand?

Sharing others' stories helped the speaker understand more about themselves and their brand, as people started listening and paying attention to what they had to say.

What was the key realization the speaker had about business interactions?

The speaker realized that there is no business-to-business or business-to-consumer interaction; it is all human-to-human, emphasizing the importance of emotional connection.

How did the speaker's message resonate with the audience and beyond?

The message resonated as people started taking pictures of the 'human to human' screen, and it received over 80 million impressions, was translated into over 15 languages, and inspired over a thousand blogs.

What live experiment did the speaker propose during the talk?

The speaker proposed an experiment where everyone would take a picture of a screen with the question 'What could I share that might change the world?' and tweet out their idea.

What was the outcome of the live experiment in terms of social media engagement?

The experiment trended nationally on Twitter, reaching almost 21 million impressions and generating tweets from various countries.

What was the overall impact of the speaker's message and the live experiment on the audience?

The speaker's message and the experiment inspired the audience to share their ideas, demonstrating the power of sharing and its potential to reimagine the future.