Photo-A-Day #1727
Tonight I had the unique pleasure to sit down to dinner with Chris Brogan. Chris and I live near each other and a little while back around Affiliate Summit East we met for the first time. We realized that we lived and worked close to each other and so when an opportunity came to connect I asked him if we could meet up. Chris had a window of time tonight and so after a bit of traffic I met up with him at Landmark Center. We met at Fresh City, but being both carnivores we opted for Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner.
One thing that you notice when you are with Chris Brogan is that he is present. Chris has a way about him that makes you feel that you are the only other person in the room. He’s fully engaged in the conversation even when his Droid buzzes over and over with Tweets, texts and phone calls. We talked for a solid hour and a half about so many things online and off. There is a reason why Chris can speak on the Overnight Success Series and also why he was featured in the Beyond Blogging program and that he is a best selling author. He gets it. He gets people and he genuinely cares.
At the end of the meal I asked him if I could shoot a photo of him for his blog and also for my Photo-A-Day post. He gladly agreed to it and we went out to the street. My intention was to get the famous Boston Citgo sign in the background but I liked how this came out, nice and sharp with some interesting back lighting and also Chris is smiling. That is the Chris I have come to now know, an open approachable guy who makes you feel instantly at ease. I look forward to catching up with him again.
Authenticity eating dinner with Authenticity. It don’t get any better than that! Great pic too. His heart & soul -right there!
.-= Look at what Kim Ann Curtin wrote blog ..Welcome to the Wall Street Coach =-.
Kim,
You hit the nail on the head. That is along the lines of what I was saying when I stated that Chris was present. Authenticity is also very accurate. Chris is authentic on stage and off, on twitter, e-mail and on his blog. I am very fortunate to have formed a friendship with him.
Chris is one of my hero’s….love the guy.
.-= Look at what Nathan Hangen wrote blog ..It’s Time I Level with You =-.
Nathan,
That is totally justified. He’s the real deal.
Good photo!
.-= Look at what Wheeler Images wrote blog ..IPhone Photo Gallery =-.
Thanks very much Andrea.
My experience meeting Chris was much the same. We met briefly at a Tweetup the night before the Ohio Growth Summit. He chatted with my wife and me. I was satisfied that I had just met one of my “heroes,” and figured that would be that. Lo and behold the next morning as I was at the breakfast buffet Chris approached, smiled at me, shook my hand, said good morning, and talked to me about the hockey game he knew I had gone home to watch the night before. Chris made me feel as though he had sought me out to so he could do that. You’re right. He gets it, and he knows people – better.than.anybody.I.have.ever.met.
Jim,
I can completely see that. I am sure that there are so many stories like ours. already people have spoken about their own meetings with Chris. He talks about the stuff that he does all the time and that is why he gets it. If he was up there talking about being real with people and then being completely fake and a jerk well then he wouldn’t be who he is. I watched a couple of his keynotes today online and he certainly does what he says in those keynotes. Thanks for coming by and leaving a comment here too. I appreciate that.
I get what you are saying about Chris. I spoke to him at Izeafest and even though we were in a crowded courtyard, I felt like it was just him and I talking for that 30 minutes.
Andrew, you are the same. The times I have hanged out with you, you are the same.
I am lucky to call you friend.
.-= Look at what Buck Daddy Rogers wrote blog ..#newme – Project New Me – Genesis Today Cleanse =-.
Buck,
Man you nearly made me choked up for a moment. there are so many people that I’ve met in this online life. I too count you as a friend and count myself lucky. You inspire and challenge me even when you are going through challenges yourself. I’m glad that you were able to get that time with Chris. He’s so in demand but he takes that time with people that endears him to so many.
I had the pleasure of meeting Chris a few weeks ago at Expo Expo and I agree. The first thing that struck me is how “real” he is. He is that way online and also offline. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but he really isn’t any different offline. I see that as being a great thing.
And you put you nailed it. He does have this way of making you feel like he really cares and I truly believe that it is because he does care. It’s authentic.
He makes social media real and personable.
.-= Look at what MIchele McGraw (ScrappinMichele) wrote blog ..Create a Visual of Your Word, 2010 Intention Series (Part 4 of Intention Series) =-.
Hi Michele,
Expo Expo, I hadn’t heard of that one, sounds like fun. I am so glad to hear about all these people who have also had similar experiences with Chris. His authenticity and way of putting people at ease is a character trait that I need to cultivate much more. The thing that I noticed most of all was that Chris was like that with everyone we interacted with that night, the people at the restaurant, the waiter everyone got his full attention when he spoke with them.
Expo Expo is the annual meeting for IAEE (http://www.iaee.com/events/expo/). My husband is a trade show VP and on the board so I went along with him, but the focus was on social media so the conference ended up being a lot of fun for me too. Chris, Guy Kawasaki & Rick Calvert were some of the keynote speakers.
It was very interesting to attend a conference that was not a social media/blogging event yet the hot topic was social media. It was a very different perspective for me.
.-= Look at what MIchele McGraw (ScrappinMichele) wrote blog ..My Expo Expo Video Mashup =-.
Michele,
Sounds like a really interesting conference. Rick Calvert is a nice guy too, I’ve been to blog world each year that it has been in happening, I like that conference a lot. It sounds like Expo Expo is pretty fun too.
I met Chris at IZEAFest also and he is a really nice guy. I tweet him often and hope to be able to met up with him in either Baltimore or Philly real soon. Glad you and Chris were able to have a really great dinner and conversation.
.-= Look at what Rob wrote blog ..Don’t Take My Picture =-.
Rob,
Thanks, we did have a great time. I’m glad that you were able to meet him at IZEAFest. That was such a fun show. Here’s to hoping that you can catch up with him soon.
Two of my favorite online people at one dinner and I missed it. We’re going to have to try to sneak in a recap at ASW. With Allison, too, so it can be THREE of my favorites 🙂
Dina,
Chris won’t be at ASW10. Too bad, we’re gonna miss him. But I think that we can do a thing together, you me and Allison at Serendipity. I took a look at the desserts, they look great!