Brent Leary, co-founder of CRM Essentials and co-author of Barack 2.0: Social Media Lessons for Business, often preaches that social media interaction should be used to create more effective and mutually beneficial off-line business transactions and relationships. It’s in that spirit that I’ve decided to share one of the resources I’ve created for myself to stay on top of all of the excitement that I expect to happen during and after the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference, which will kick-off on Sunday, May 16, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta. Following is my list of all of the speakers for this year’s conference with active Twitter accounts. I put it together so that I can more easily track whatever insights, expertise and information they are likely to share. After all, these are some of the brightest, most successful entrepreneurs and business experts in the world. Why wouldn’t I follow their tweets both during and after the conference?
Hopefully, I’ve made it easier for you to follow them, too. Just click on the Twitter IDs listed below (assuming that you are also on Twitter):
@BlackEnterprise This is the official Twitter stream for our magazine and media brand.
Conference moderators include many members of the Black Enterprise content team:
@AlfredEdmondJr Follow me. You won’t regret it.
@DTDingle The editor-in-chief of Black Enterprise Magazine, and only one of the most brilliant business journalists and editors in America. And not just because he’s my brother.
@jwsimons John Simons is the Black Enterprise editorial director responsible for our coverage of personal finance, investing and Wealth for Life content.
@TennilleSmBiz Black Enterprise Small Business Editor Tennille Robinson is also the lead editor of our BE Next franchise focused on business achievers ages 21-35.
@SoniaAlleyne Sonia Alleyne is the Black Enterprise editorial director responsible for our coverage of careers, corporate America and lifestyle; she’s hosts the Luxe Life segment of the Black Enterprise Business Report. (By the way, you can also follow @BEBRTV on Twitter.)
@sunnygrrrl, @techsensibility Sonya Donaldson is Black Enterprise’s technology editor.
Included among the speakers, panelists and presenters at the conference are:
@KasimReed Atlanta’s recently elected mayor, the Hon. Kasim Reed
@2motivate Motivational speaker, best-selling author and life coach Lisa Nichols
@ShaneandShawn Twin brothers and co-founders of SHANE&SHAWN Shoes, Shane and Shawn Ward
@TheSharkDaymond, @TheBrandClub FUBU co-founder and Shark Tank star Daymond John
@BrentLeary Brent Leary, co-founder of CRM Essentials and co-author of Barack 2.0: Social Media Lessons for Business
@ChrisBBryant Branding coach and national speaker Chris Bryant of Chris Bryant Presents Inc.
@the_cashflow Marcus Greaves, founder and CEO of TheCASHFLOW
@joigordon Joi Gordon, CEO of Dress for Success Worldwide
@BishopEddieLong Bishop Eddie L. Long, Senior Pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and author of 60 Seconds to Greatness
@LelandHardy, Leland Hardy, founder of NewYork.com
@MyrtlePotter Myrtle Potter, President & CEO, Myrtle Potter & Company
@FelicaJoy Felicia Joy, CEO of Ms. CEO Inc.
@TheResourceKing Karen Bailey, CEO & founder of The Resource King International LLC
@MonaScottYoung Mona Scott-Young, president of Monami Entertainment
@ShanteBacon and @Saptosa135th, Shante Bacon and Saptosa Foster, co-founders of 135th Street Agency
@SunnysLaw CNN Legal Analyst Sunny Hostin
@talentdiva Adrienne Graham, founder and CEO of Empower Me! Corp.
@webbusiness Chris Curtis, director of Web Business Ownership, LLC
@Jamaillarkins @Ascensionair Jamail Larkins, founder of Ascension Aircraft
This is by no means an exhaustive list of Entrepreneurs Conference speakers with active Twitter accounts. I found some accounts that seemed inactive and were not included on my list, and I could not find accounts for others listed on the conference agenda. (Note to Twitter newbies: People you request to follow may not accept your request, nor will they necessarily follow you back, though I suspect that many of them will, depending on the quality and value of the information you tweet.) I may update this post to add some additional names, but this is a great group to start with. In fact, I’ve been among the followers of many of the “tweeps” on this list for more than a year, so I can confidently say that they are worth following.
We absolutely encourage everyone, especially attendees, to tweet their thoughts about the 2010 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference, as well as to share the lessons, insights and connections gained both during and after our gathering in Atlanta. Please use the hash tags #BEEC and #ECC (the latter hash tag has been provided to all conference attendees) so that everyone can easily find and follow the discussion. I believe that we can harness the energy, encouragement and ideas of this year’s conference to build momentum and follow-through during the rest of year before we gather again in 2011. I look forward to seeing everyone in Atlanta and sharing information and inspiration both online and off.
Alfred Edmond Jr. is the editor-in-chief of BlackEnterprise.com