I’m amazed at the opportunities available to me as a student. The trick to the MBA program really is taking advantage of everything while still maintaining a high enough GPA so as not to be booted out.

One great opportunity that I was able to take advantage of today was attending the Entrepreneur University conference, put on by the Northwest Entrepreneur Network. The Herbert B. Jones foundation sponsored 100 students to attend the conference for free, which was great.

A former boss of mine (the one in particular that inspired the “sparkling” in my blog name) used to be involved in the NWEN, so I already knew it was a great organization! But I wasn’t sure exactly what I would get out of the conference, since I’m only tangentially interested in entrepreneurship.

As it turned out, there were a bunch of sessions on social media that were right up my ally! I was completely inspired. Some of my (cue buzzword) takeaways are:

• The use of “social media is a culture not a tactic.” A lot of the speakers today really focused on the fact that just throwing up a Facebook Fan Page or starting a Twitter account doesn’t get results. It’s about integrating social media into your overall strategy.
• Social media is about participating in the conversation. A machine could push Twitter content about your company out to the masses every day. A machine can also automatically follow Tweeters who mention your brand name. That is sterile, and not especially helpful in building interest. Using social media should be considered a way to personally interact with your customers or potential customers.
• Analytics of social media campaigns is difficult and potentially expensive, but also imperative in understanding the medium and your customers. (Note: This is largely where my interest lies, given my background in advertising research.)
• Your website is a hub for building word of mouth (whether or not you use social media to get people there). It should be dynamic, and show progress/currency in your organization.

Okay, off to polish up a strategy paper.

p.s. Before I forget… Some other opportunities that are upcoming for me. First, I was chosen (by lottery) to meet Warren Buffett with 25 of my classmates in February. How awesome is that? Second, I was chosen (also by lottery) to go on a study tour to the UAE/Oman over Spring break. Being a student is awesome…