Some of you may know who I am talking about, and it’s probably not surprising to you why I’ve written about Chris Brogan many times over the past four months.
Chris Brogan is a social media expert of all things digital.
A co-founder of PodCamp, a free bootcamp-like conference that encourages collaboration in podcasting and video blogging, Chris was among the triumvirate that chaired the recent New Marketing Summit, leading to my published key quotes on new marketing.
Like me, Chris provides social media advice at his blog, chrisbrogan.com.
He’s a few rungs above me, though.
I’m a mover to Chris’ shaker.
To this end, while I am inspired by Seth Godin, Chris is my hero — and I want to share with you why as part of my Saturday roundup series.
Our relationship began in Summer 2008
My first interaction with Chris was on June 17, 2008 when I commented on his blog:
A month later, I sent him my first tweet:
Our virtual relationship continued another six weeks or so — until we agreed to meet on August 26 at a nearby bar. See, I realized during this time he and his family live about five miles north and it only made sense for us to get together in person.
At the time, I was unsure how to build my consulting business and had questions. Chris answered them delicately and matter-of-factly, a helpful tact he continues to this day.
Others love Chris too
Responding to a question I posed on Twitter asking for people to write about their love affair with Chris…
Chuck Westbrook offers:
Jesse Wilkins adds:
Don’t forget the enigmatic El Consultador:
I’m still scratching my head over that last remark.
The point remains Chris Brogan is a testament that one person can inspire many people to do wonderful things. “Chris is truly amazing,” echoes Rachel Levy in response to a mini-networking event the three of us attended Friday.
At a time when TV shows like American Idol enable anyone to be popular, I think it’s fair to put words in Chris’ mouth that the moment you stop auditioning for the part and believe in your ability, is the moment you achieve greatness.
Chris is too modest to say he’s great. He’s just being himself. To me, that’s what makes him great.
Thanks, Chris. Here’s to our next beer together.
Do you have a story about Chris to share?
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Ari Herzog is an online media strategist and Newburyport City Councilor-Elect.
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What amazes me is that Chris has such a huge following on twitter, his blog, facebook, etc., and I’ve yet to hear one person who’s been unable to connect with him or who has had a negative experience with him. He evangelizes the idea of giving a lot more than you’re getting in your social media efforts, and he definitely walks the walk.
Paul May´s last blog post..More proof of the small business social media advantage
Paul is right. I’ve never heard a negative word spoken about Chris Brogan. I’ve answered some of his questions on Twitter, such as What Would God Blog About?, but have never had any sort of interaction with him
Kim Woodbridge | (Anti) Social Development´s last blog post..5 Ugly WordPress Themes
All hail Chris! Chris is life! All hail Chris! Chris is life!
Just kidding, of course. I agree completely; Chris is a great guy, and I never hear anything bad about him. Now there’s an example of good brand building.
Brent P. Newhall´s last blog post..How To Invent a Role-Playing Adventure, Part 1
omg Ari.. didn’t realize all that history..
I do agree.. Chris is a champion at what he does.. and how easily he engages others. I have not doubt Seth Godin may inspire you however I can see Chris also going very far.. 2009 looks extremely bright for both of you.. so HOOT! 
Susan
Ari!
If it weren’t for Chris, I wouldn’t know YOU!
Here’s how I found out about Chris: my Mom, who is trying to start an online business in her 50s, asked me one night in a phone conversation if I knew about Chris Brogan. She said he gave great advice on using the Internet and social media. So I Google’d him right away. I poked around his blog and liked what I saw. Then I looked for him on LinkedIn and sent him an invite. To my surprise, he accepted it! You see, in my mind, I thought that he was on par with people like Seth Godin, Tim O’Reilly and other modern-day Web gurus. I thought would never hear from him due to the hundreds of email he most likely receives every day.
Not the case with Chris. I emailed him shortly after the making the LinkedIn connection and asked him a couple questions about the intersection of social media and government. He said, “You ought to connect with Ari Herzog.” So I did…and we are quickly forging a link that is leading to new and exciting ventures.
The fact that Chris got back to me is a reason why he is much-loved – it’s his accessibility. Too many people advance in their fields and forget that they were once an average person in the crowd. I think the lesson here is to never forget that very little divides us from the individuals who are recognized more broadly by the masses for their contributions…and we should never forget that fact when we reach new levels of accomplishment.
Thanks for the post, Ari…and thanks, Chris, for making the introduction!
- Andy
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I’m a huge fan of Chris’ blog: he certainly is a digital mensch!
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