The Obama Girl Meets the Baracklyn Cyclones…and then what?

photo courtesy of AmberEttinger via TwitPic

Ok…so here’s the deal…

About a week or two before our “Building a Brand in Digital Media…” breakfast (that included Amber Lee Ettinger a/k/a “The Obama Girl”) I had remembered that the Brooklyn Cyclones were honoring the 44th President  of the United States with a game where they would rename the team “The Barackln Cyclones” and among other things they would be giving out Barack Obama Bobblehead dolls and stuff like that….so I had a brainstorm…Call Ben Relles…the brains behind barelypolitical.com and ask what he thought of the idea…using the Cylcones game as  a way to cross promote the breakfast and at the same time, give Amber a chance to have some fun and give the Cyclones a bit more ammo for the game.

Well…apparently I must have done something right…Ben loved the idea…Amber loved the idea and Dave Campanaro (Communications Director of the Cyclones) and Steve Cohen (GM of the Cyclones) also thought it was an awesome idea…and the rest they say is history.

So, there I was, with my good buddy Mark Weintraub (fellow Mets fan) standing along the first base line at Keyspan Park…hanging with Amber, Ben, Mr. Faux President and the Cyclones…it was awesome…we had a blast.

But here is the downside…something that I don’t seem to be able to figure out. As the “Master Connector” I basically brokered the deal…the Cyclones had no idea how to connect with The Obama Girl…and the BarelyPolitical people didn’t even know who the Cyclones were…not to mention Barack Obama night….so now they do…and it was a great evening.

I guess what I am thinking here is…and without sounding like a jerk “what’s in it for me?” and “Why do I do these things?” Apparently this is my life story…coming up with all these cool ideas but no way to monetize them…no way to make a living…or is there?

I was lamenting with a friend the other day about it…as I have with many of my friends who know what I am all about…and they all say the same thing “Bill, don’t give up…don’t stop being who you are and don’t stop doing the things you do!” But my answer is simple, I’ve been in this business what will be 30 years this Summer and I have been doing these “networking” events for 3 years this month and while I love doing them, its difficult to make a living…or is it?

Ok…so I’m reaching out to you…my friends…my members…my readers…what am I doing wrong? or better yet…what can (or should) I be doing better?

So on the eve of my first non-media event, “Breakfast with Danny Meyer” I find myself thinking alot about who I am and what I do…but how long can I keep going before Im completely in the whole?

I know there are those of you who appreciate me and what I do…and I thank you all for that. I just hope something will click soon…or I might have to make some drastic changes.

Sincerely,

Bill