Joe Loong: So, how’s it going?

Rob Neelbauer: Going good so far, everybody seems to be having a good time.

How long have you been doing Matchbox?

It started January 2008.

Can you talk about the evolution between Job Matchbox and Social Matchbox, or is it all the same thing under different brands?

That’s a good question. We started off as a startup job fair. We had a jobs list, and a Job Matchbox that corresponded with that. Companies came, they wanted to talk about what they were hiring for, but then they also wanted to show off what they were doing.

So we gave them a mike; the presentations got better; companies got funded; their presentations got even better; and it’s just evolved. Now it’s a lot more presentations, with some good networking because of the peer community.

How have things changed in the current economic climate — in terms of what you’re seeing from the companies that are presenting.

The bigger companies aren’t here — and by bigger companies, I mean if you’ve got $30 million in your bank from investors, you’ve been laying off people to save that $30 million, because you’ve been hiring so many new people. Now those companies are laying low and trying to survive.

You have a lot more early-stage companies; people, a lot of them have been laid off, and a lot of them have severance packages and more free time on their hands to pursue their ideas. Or maybe now it’s just their time. So you have a lot of those sorts of companies presenting.

In terms of the evolution of the matchbox, where do you see it going? Are you trying to branch out a little bit, or are you going to keep it focused in the DC area?

When we first did it, the farthest away we had a company from was Silver Spring, and we were holding it in Fairfax. We’ve moved to DC, and now we’ve got companies from Baltimore and Annapolis. Maybe we’ll have a company or two that comes in from Philadelphia next. We’ll see. We’re not trying to make this the next TechCrunch 50 or something (laughing)

Well, Arrington probably needs someone to keep him honest… So where does Social Matchbox fit in with other tech networking events, and what are some of the differences that set it apart?

You go to Frank’s event [Tech Cocktail] and it’s a crowded room of people in a bar — you’re elbow to elbow, you can’t hear each other very well…

Sure, so here this is an explicit presentation / whatever opportunity, instead of just rubbing elbows in a bar somewhere…

It’s part that, but I think the bigger thing is that it’s not just a sit and conversation-friendly zone. The “speed dating for geeks” concept that we use and talk about all the time; it’s about that — making peer-to-peer conversations. The people who come to this are all makers. Whether they’re building things, they’re engineers, or they’re designers designing things, or the entrepreneurs building a business plan, they’re the people that are building and making things. So it’s kind of a makers’ meetup — a makers’ user group.

And that’s one of the other things that’s different about this and other events — you don’t have to worry about being hustled by a troupe of salespeople, or a troupe of staffing agency recruiters, people who are there to take you and make you a client.

So you’ve got startups and developers here who are looking for help like that, for marketing help…

Well, for that they can go to any networking event. This is more: You meet other peers, people who are developers, who are entrepreneurs that are building things. These people are going to talk to each other, of course, and when they talk to each other ask, “Who should I call for marketing?” “Who should I call for recruiting?” “Who should I call for sales?” — that’s the natural thing that’s going to come out of that conversation.

But it’s not here that they need the sales rep or the marketing consultant.

Last question: So, are you going to formally adopt “speed dating for geeks?” Everyone uses it…

Maybe (laughing)

Many thanks to Robert Neelbauer and everyone who attended and participated in Social Matchbox DC.

For those who don’t know Alex, his blog is Dangerously Awesome and his Philadelphia-based coworking space, Independents Hall or Indy Hall, was one of the first to formalize the coworking space.

The core conversation was an informal roundtable to discuss the current and future approaches to coworking. There are many evolving business models that range from the capitalistic to the altruistic. After the session, we had the opportunity to catch up on how Indy Hall is growing, their graduation labs for coworking attendees.

Here is the full interview:

Brent Leary is a CRM guru and a speaker at leading Small Business conferences. Shashi said that he was honored to be on his Business Technology Radio talk show, he usually has several luminaries and celebrities on his show.

You can find the interview here:

Here is a summary of the episode

“Shashi Bellamkonda joined Network Solutions—which once held the monopoly on dot-com domain registrations—as a customer service representative. His use of social media in all of his jobs led to his appointment as the coordinator of social media efforts for the company. In this interview, Shashi shares with Shel Holtz how he coordinates with other departments, how social media has been used to improve the company’s reputation, the metrics applied to his efforts, and a variety of other topics related to organizational adoption of social media. ”

Please go here to listen http://cli.gs/TVNeaA

Below is a video of our conversation, but here are some highlights:

The first thing you need to do is start a web site

He cleverly suggests that you go to Network Solutions and use the web site builder (which we think rocks) to get something built quickly and get yourself out on the Internet. This kind of service provides excellent templates so you can focus on writing good copy and talk about what value you can provide potential customers. The goal is to get people to your site and convert those leads into sales. The quickest and shortest path is to have an offer for customers.

Have an offer for customers

Beyond providing value to your customers you really need to offer them something. Jay uses his e-mail newsletters and e-books as excellent content so potential customers get a sense of your knowledge and expertise. For example, after going to his site he smartly uses a quick two question survey to find out what type of content you were looking for and if you found it or not. If you answer those two questions he gives you three quick offers, $100 in Yahoo! advertising, Sign up for the e-mail newsletter, or Subscribe to their Podcasts. Brilliant.

Use previous content for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Jay points out that people send information to subscribers but some don’t actually post it on the site for visitors. Not only is this a way for people to see what they might be getting and be motivated to sign up, it is excellent “Search Engine Juice”. Search engine spiders are always looking for updates to sites and indexing content that is relevant to people’s search queries. Jay’s site is an excellent example of this because I can find all of his resources (i.e. Blogs, Newsletters, Event Presentations, Podcasts, Top 10 Lists) and see why the services they provide would be valuable to any company that is looking to become a customer.

Lastly, so Jay what are the 10 Golden Rules?

1. There are no rules
2. The Internet is not television
3. Create a Unique Value Proposition
4. If you build it they won’t just come
5. Subscription Models Survive
6. Remember the 4 P’s
7. Trust is Golden
8. Use the right tactic
9. The Best Never Rest
10. Lead the Trends

To download the free e-book and learn more about the 10 Rules, click here.