The New Conversation Economy: An excerpt from my upcoming book

I have been asked many times since the early days of the internet, and my career, “so...what do you do?”

Those “early days,” were the early 2000’s. I was just out of University, and a marketing assistant at a Marriott Hotel in Niagara Falls, Canada.

With little more than a dial-up connection, and a dream, I watched the Internet change the way people booked hotel rooms.

Within the first two years, I went from buying Ads in the travel section of the Sunday newspaper, to building websites and portal websites, running Paid Search and SEO campaigns, and leading the UX design for the development of technology solutions that included a booking engine, and an analytics tool that would track the cost-per-acquisition of online bookings.

I did not study that in University.

I spent the first 8 years of my career there.  Niagara Falls was booming with new build hotels and restaurants, a Casino, and new attractions. I was jumping into the deep-end of the pool (without water wings), of what was to become the “digital-first,” connected world that we live in today.

Fast forward 10 (plus) years. I think that I may finally have the answer to that question.

What do I do?

I stay ahead of the digital curve. I understand how the online world impacts the offline world, and I help people, businesses, and brands navigate it.

Boom!

I am a student of the digital and social media economy, forever curious about what comes next.

The time has come that I share how I understand it to be, how I approach my work in digital and social media marketing, and how it has shaped the way I see and experience the world.

I want to help guide the conversation that leads to continued education, collaboration, and the innovative leadership that is required - and will be required, in order to thrive in the “conversation economy” that we are living in today.

I also want to explore what we can learn from those “early days,” in order to be ready for what comes next.  I have 2 children that will be living and building their careers in that future. It is an important thing for me to do!

In a world that is constantly changing, fast-paced, and driven by technology, I am slowing it down to put “pen to paper,” (Yes, that could be an oxymoron in this case), in the hopes that business leaders, CEO’s, Professionals, students and teachers, and the leaders of both today, and those of tomorrow, will embrace and be excited for the evolution to come.

It is my curiosity and drive to keep learning that has brought me here. Or, perhaps my desire to prove that I was right - that “the internet is really the thing that is going to change everything” that has kept me going?

Really, it has been my passion for collaboration with smart people, my love for travel, and the ability to be entrepreneurial and flexible in my work, and in my life, that have brought me here.

With the understanding that even with technology, (and Siri), we are still humans, and that innovation is good.

My goal is to explore how we can transform that fear and overwhelm, into the understanding and the clarity that we need in order to embrace what comes next - - all the while enjoying the story that has brought us into this brave new digitally-connected world.

Let’s begin....

"The New Conversation Economy," will be released in September 2018. aliciawhalen.com