Why I Have a Man Crush On Chris Brogan

October 6, 2009

…in the most professional way, of course. :)

I had the opportunity to meet Chris Brogan at Izeafest in Orlando. Actually, he and I had met in the past in other cities, but didn’t have the opportunity to talk much at those times. On the first night of Izeafest, when most others took off to Busch Gardens in Tampa, I stayed behind and had the opportunity to have dinner with Chris Brogan, Liz Strauss, Warren Whitlock and his wife.

100_3020When I approached Chris, he greeted me by saying, “Hey handsome!”. Was he hitting on me? ;) It became an ongoing joke, with both Chris and Warren referring to me as “handsome Dave” for the length of the conference.

In short, however, I was really impressed with Chris’s sincerity and truly caring about the people he talks to. Chris does a lot of traveling and speaking. I’m sure that he is used to getting barraged with people at conferences who want to talk to him and get their picture taken with him. It would be easy to get big-headed in such a position, but Chris is as real as it gets. The dude is FUNNY, too. Absolutely hilarious.

Chris has a lot to say, and you can also read his book Trust Agents for more on what he spoke about at Izeafest. That said, just by watching him, here are some takeaways:

  • Be personal. People like you when you care about them.
  • Be sincere. People hate fakers.
  • Be real. People don’t like self-important dweebs. In fact, I recently booted a dude from my Tampa meetup group because he was an absolute ass.
  • Be helpful. Chris has this nailed, and he does it in a truly funny way.

I enjoyed hanging out with Chris and that impression lasts a long time. Think about that when you deal with others, whether it be in person or even via your blog. After all, ultimately we are all in the people business. :)

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

  1. Open Suggestion to Chris Pirillo on Gnomedex 8.0
  2. Book Review: Twitter Revolution
  3. Who’s Going to Gnomedex?
  4. The Importance of Story-Telling For Bloggers
  5. Masters Seminar – Tampa
Ramblings

Subscribe to blog updates, news and more?
Enter email:

3 Day Money - Making Money Online As a ProBlogger

  • Awesome post Dave...Chris is the real deal it seems. I'm hoping to run into him at Blogworld Expo. Trust Agents is taking me some time to get through because I keep stopping to take notes.
  • Chris has been a big influence on me, and a number of my friends, who aren't even in the blogging or tech world. I even print out some of his blog posts and put them in a 3-ring binder so I can find them again and take notes.
  • Completely agree on Chris's character. Could he be the "Zig Ziglar" of social media? It would not surprise me. I also appreciate Chris's comments on his family's veto power on his travel decisions. That shows his priorities are in check.
  • Awesome post! I cant agree more! Chris Brogan is the freakin man!
  • I think I have to get that book. Chris was one of the best key note speakers at #izeafest. And if he provide the same great info in his book, that will be a must have...

    Cheers... Are
  • I spend most of my time on twitter at the moment and really hate all the automated posts and messages. Also emails where its just plain obvious it's just all about sales, no back story, no connection pretty much just 'buy this it will help you'.

    Those 4 'takeaways' you mentioned I feel I really try to use when using twitter and communicating with my readers.

    Great title btw hehe ;)
  • Nice one Dave! I will sure like to hang out with both of your guys (!!), for you both rock!
  • ellie88
    As a computer USER since they were called "data processors", I enjoy learning about computing matters; I have subscribed to many, at a price I can afford. Some have abruptly stopped - others have become mostly ads for computer oriented purchases. Yours strikes a nice balance. Do you have a SENIOR rate for those of us on fixed (another word for LOW) incomes? If not, would you consider one? Thanks, Grandma Ellie
  • jeffshuey
    Yep, I too had the chance to chat with Chris at #Gnomedex in Seattle a few weeks ago. He's the real deal. I can see why you'd have a man crush on him. To your last point it reminds me of Maya Angelou's quote about the way people make you feel has a lasting impact.

    Here is the quote in its entirety:
    “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~Maya Angelou
  • How was Gnomedex? I attended the prior two years, but this year decided to skip it. Chris was one speaker I would have liked to see, which made it nice I got to see him in Orlando.
  • I think above all else--above being smart, being "real" and having great insight and advice--the thing like about Chris is he's genuine...and nice.

    I've had the pleasure of working with him a few times over the past year, and every interaction has been sincere. (Also, it doesn't hurt that he calls me "good lookin'"!)
  • David,
    Nice meeting you at IZEAFest, my bad thinking that you were on the speaker panel. Must have been hearing your name in connection with IZEA on Twitter a lot. I like you have a man-crush on Brogan. The gy rocks and my experience with him was also positive. My daughter also love him She even gave him a fist bump at IZEAFest. Will you be at Blog World Expo? See you there if so.
  • Yah dude. I'm flying into Vegas on Wednesday. Look forward to seeing you again.

    Your daughter is a cutie. :)
  • you guys look like real bro's...I love u both, nice post...
  • Chris Brogan is a really good guy. Met him at Podcamp Boston 4 (he was one of the founders) before he went on his whirlwind tour promoting his new book, "Trust Agents" which he wrote with Julien Smith (which is now part of my library).

    He's the real deal. Glad you were able to spend some more time with him.

    Charlie Seymour Jr
    http://twitter.com/AllFromMyKids
  • adab
    I shared the last two paragraphs with my office. We are a service provider as well, and our company has been operating on these principles for over 3 decades now. After an 8 year employee became prideful and self-important he left abruptly at a very busy time, quoting your message was a great reminder and morale booster as we are working 12+ hour days to meet our deadlines
blog comments powered by Disqus