What Hogwarts and the Advisor Network Summit have in common

Commentary August 04, 2014 at 08:00 AM
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It's no secret that I love talking and writing about social media. I would like to think that I'm one of the "pioneer hipsters" when it comes to how long I've had Facebook and Twitter profiles. Sadly, I'm not one of the first to have joined either network, though I was an early adopter. And, gladly, I'm not a hipster – no black-rimmed glasses or weird expensive clothes!

What really drew me in to both Facebook and Twitter was that my friends were there or, at least, I had a few friends and got to know a whole new group of others. In the beginning, we did "tweetups," literally "Twitter meetups" and "Twitter Taco Tuesdays." Most of us found out that we had similar interests like comic books, Star Wars (Star Trek for some), anything and everything Joss Whedon, Harry Potter, LOTR, and technology, of course; there were the Apple lovers who referred to Steve Jobs as Dad Jobs, for example.

To me, that's what social media is all about: meeting up with your friends and getting to know new ones, from all over the world. And the life-health industry has a lot of similarities: We all share one main interest, and while some might prefer Star Wars to Star Trek … err … sorry, I meant while some might specialize in selling term life and others in advising on estate planning, we all want to help people. We love to connect to grow our networks.

And that's where the Advisor Network Summit comes in, the perfect meetup for every advisor out there. This year, it will be at the Venetian in Las Vegas from August 13 to 15. It will be like going back to Hogwarts, seeing all your friends, getting to know the "first years," while taking notes during the conferences and master classes with some of the best wizards and wise men in the nation.