Whether you are a job seeker, looking to hire, or simply hoping to meet some of your “Twitter friends” in person, I hope that you’ll join us For those in the New York metro area, I’ve been working with the other NY area #HAPPO champions (Tiffany Winbush, Deirdre Breakenridge & PRBC’s very own PRCog) and a team of volunteers to organize a casual event at Connolly’s pub. It will take place from 6-8pm on February 24^th.

Here are a few quick tips to help you make the most of the opportunity to integrate social and face-to-face networking:

• Before the event
  • RSVP Be sure to include your Twitter handle (we’ll be building a Twitter list to help you follow everyone) and share a little something about yourself.
  • Research Take a close look at those who will be attending. Look at their company website, follow them on Twitter, review their LinkedIn profile.
  • Bring your business cards (and if your Twitter handle is not on your  business card, write it on the back).
• During the event
  • Tweet! Take a moment to tweet about the great person you just met, or interesting job opportunity you heard about. Follow #HAPPO on Twitter and take the experience to those who cannot be in the room
  • Mingle It can be easy to find a comfortable corner and settle in for the evening with whoever happens to pass by. Don’t. Make an effort to get introduced to 20 new people, and to get to really know 3. (Feel free to challenge my numbers or make up your own; just a starting point)
• After the event
  • Follow up After the event, be sure to connect with those you have met using LinkedIn and Twitter. Add their blogs to your reader.
  • Blog Blog about the event. Profile a job seeker who impressed you, or share a fabulous opening you heard about. Share your experience taking online networking off the grid.
  • Cultivate relationships Connections may happen in an instant, but building new relationships takes time. Continue to engage those that you met and consider who in your network they might like to meet; make an introduction. Remember that regardless of whether you label yourself as a job seeker, employer or PR professional, HAPPO is about leveraging your network to bring value to others. Do unto others…

Valerie Merahn Simon serves as a Senior Vice President at BurrellesLuce media monitoring and measurement is the cofounder of #HAPPO. Valerie can be found on Twitter or LinkedIn

The guy always seemed to be crashing at someone else’s house. If you had a party and Fred came, you could be certain that he would be there in the morning. And yes, I too have come to enjoy the benefits of hanging out at someone else’s place. So when PRCog asked if I would like to guest post at the PR Breakfast Club, I said, “Of course. And I’ll tell you why…”

1. Personality. Like every blog I choose to “spent the night with,” The PR Breakfast Club has a unique and fabulous personality. Sometimes I’m serious, other times not so much. It’s fun to have an opportunity to embrace the different personality and focus of the different blogs I enjoy reading. This group is a little less formal, than some of the other places I’ve stayed, but certainly no less professional. Lots of great ideas and important discussions.
2. People. Guest blogging is a great opportunity to introduce friends to some of my favorite communities. And of course, I get to meet and interact with community members that I might not otherwise have the opportunity to get to know. I am so impressed by the creative and savvy group of PR Breakfast Club members I met on Twitter and how they are using social media. They “get” how to use social media to build real relationships and a sense of community.
3. Commitment. There is something rather liberating about the life of a nomad. A one-time post, with no deadline and full creative license is easy and fun. And then I get to go back to reading, learning and commenting where inspired.

Unlike Fred, who had a habit of eating whatever was in the fridge and leaving empty beer cans all over the place, I hope that I am a good guest… that I respect the style of the home I am visiting, help out with initiating new conversation and maybe even bring some extra traffic for the host(s). So thank you, members of the PR Breakfast Club, for inviting me over to your place. I think it was a great idea, but I’ll leave that for the community to determine.

Have you ever had a guest blogger on your blog? Why or why not? Do you believe guest posts add to the blog, or do you feel they are disruptive?

Valerie Merahn Simon serves as a Senior Vice President at BurrellesLuce media monitoring and measurement, and writes a national public relations column for examiner.com. She is also co-founder and host of #PRStudChat, a monthly twitter chat between PR professionals and students moderated by Deirdre Breakenridge. She can be found on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Recent guest accommodations for Valerie include:

• Jeremy Porter- Journalistics.com Real Social Media Experts Stay in School
• Deirdre Breakenridge- PR 2.0 Strategies From Conversation to Community
• Danny Brown- DannyBrown.com Why would you bother to comment
• Sarah Evans- PRSarahEvans.com Building Community is About More Than Me and You
• Stephanie Smirnov- PR Mama The Car Ride
• Arik Hanson- Arikhanson.com Thank You? No, Thank You
• Dave Fleet- DaveFleet.com Interactive or Engaged?