March 31, 2012 by 12 Comments

Seriously Seeking Solutions towards a Better Puerto Rico #140conf

This past week has been one of the best of 2012. After coming back from SXSW thanks to the help of a few friends including my client the San Juan Marriott by sponsoring my trip I wanted to keep the momentum of the great connections I made with awesome people.

I was able to keep the good energy by having the opportunity to help Mark Hayward organize a meet-up with the possibility of bringing the #140conf to Puerto Rico in the Near Future.

On Monday we had the opportunity to meet with Alan Weinkrantz, Marcos Polanco, Gianpaolo Pietri, Mark Hayward, and Pablo Tirado at Bar Gitano and gave Alan our perspective on Puerto Rico’s State of Now. This gave Alan the opportunity to understand very quickly how many of us on the table saw Puerto Rico’s business, technology, and economical environment. We sat for a few hours discussing topics related to Puerto Rico with pretty much the main goal of getting Puerto Rico where it needs to be.

On Tuesday I had the opportunity to accompany Mark Hayward, Alan Weinkrantz, Gilad Zirkel and Marc Fischman to Seriously Creative’s facilities in San Juan. The experience was a unique one. Similar to the conversations from the night before I realized I had many common interests with Dana on the things that need to be accomplished when it comes to nourishing an environment where entrepreneurs are motivated. Enabling those small business owners who are risk takers to continue their course and help in the building of a better economy and business environment.

Here is a neat video interview Alan Weinkrantz created of our visit you can also visit his very adequately titled post “Everyone’s A Genius. Dana Montenegro’s Approach To Spurring Innovation, Creativity and Collaboration in Puerto Rico and Around the World”.

One of the reasons I was able to help Mark Hayward with getting this Meet-Up Together was the incredible support from the San Juan Marriott one of the few companies that always says yes when it comes to supporting these Social and Online experiments.

For the San Juan Marriott last year I created a blogger outreach when La Vista Grill was inaugurated where local bloggers and online influencers where able to enjoy the great options of La Vista. This year they decided to sponsor part of my SXSW Interactive trip and most importantly they supported us in many ways to help us host the 140conf Meet-up.  I can say that the San Juan Marriott is in line with the state of now and it would be great if other local companies would follow their lead.

I normally thank them in a post, email, or phone call but Alan did a great job of creating these two videos of Melissa (Marketing Coordinator) and Julian Cable (Director of Marketing) from the San Juan Marriott.

 

These two videos allow us to get to know a bit more of what the San Juan Marriott is doing when it comes to connecting with local and global communities.

If you are interested in staying up to date on the next steps towards bringing the 140 conference to Puerto Rico feel free to sign up to receive my blog posts directly into your email.

If you are interested in supporting and/or sponsoring such an event please feel free to contact me directly.

I protect my gear with Otterbox


OtterBox iPad Cases Are Here!
 

Related Posts:

  • http://twitter.com/BeckyMcCray Becky McCray

    Raul, thanks for sharing this view of Puerto Rico. I really hope I’ll be able to join in on the #140conf! 

    Also, three cheers for the San Juan Marriott for being such a great supporter! 

    • http://raulcolon.net Raul Colon

      Becky, 

      You know I am a big fan of yours can’t wait to read your new book. It would be great to have you which pretty much understand our small town mentality although we are an island of approximately 4 million people. 

      The @sanjuanmarriott:twitter is one of the few supporters (if not the only one) in such a big Island when it comes to these experiments. A big hug to you Becky! 

  • http://bellavidabyletty.blogspot.com/ BellaVida

    How wonderful to see business helping its local community. 

    • http://raulcolon.net Raul Colon

      Yes it is great that we have the support from a Business like the @sanjuanmarriott:twitter. 

      Also the fact of bringing minds from different places also made it a neat opportunity which many don’t see often here on the Island. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and sharing the post! 

  • http://www.latinorebels.com/ Julio F. Varela

    WOW! You made my day Raul. I have been a PRican entrepreneur ( initially in the 70′s in P.R. and now in the USA since 1982) for over 40 years and am extremely impressed by  what you are putting together for #140conf.
    The video of Dana Montenegro should be REQUIRED viewing not just by every business owner in P.R. but more so by EVERYONE in Puerto Rico. It is about time that the world knows the power of an idea which time has come.
    As to the @sanjuanmarriott I have to literally tip off my hat and salute them for their courage in taking the steps necessary to show the rest of their industry how and why they should get involved in Social Media NOW!

    • http://raulcolon.net Raul Colon

      Julio, 

      I appreciate the support especially when it comes towards this effort. I do agree Dana’s Video should be required viewing since the guy is very talented and has a very different perspective including some neat solutions to many of our problems. 

      When it comes to the @sanjuanmarriott I am such a big fan (and they are my client) that I can become a bit biased but would love to see other industries and business becoming part of the state of now! 

  • http://www.agapita.com/ Payasa Agapita*

    :D Wanted to begin my comment with a big smile! I feel this emotion too, just at and after the #140Conf meetup. This was a chance for me to renew my energies and keep working what I call my dream. I am currently working for a living, but I want to dedicate myself entirely for my passion, that is clowning. While I attended the #140Conf and then saw Alan’s videos, I saw clearly the merging between what I studied (Media & Culture) and the ‘real thing’ going on. This world is full of so many great oportunities for those who want to create new adventures!

    • http://raulcolon.net Raul Colon

      I agree with you completely. One of the things I have to thank @mark_hayward:twitter is how he connected many of us who have the same objectives. Bringing a lot of people with great energy together was Mark’s biggest accomplishment. 
      Having the opportunity to connect with new folks like Dana, Marcos Polanco, and you is a chance to recharge and keep going for our dreams. Bianca you are very talented and I admire the persistence and focus you have on your short term goals. I am sure they will bring great things long term. Un abrazo! 

  • http://www.facebook.com/lynn.ponder Lynn Ponder

    Hola Raul, It was my pleasure meeting you and so proud  to have participated in the #140Conf TweetUp in Puerto Rico.  Grateful that Mark Hayward reached out to me which made me purchase my ticket and immediately get into action by promoting this event via my social media channels @Ponderful and  @webcitygirls.  I am committed to making our world a better place, which starts with education and as Jeff Pulver said during his empowering talk, it is the first time in history that we can ALL communicate openly and individual voices matter!!!
    Thanks to the amazing team of people like you, Mark and all the attendants at the #140Conf Meet up, Puerto Rico has great potential and is on its way to understanding the value of social media for the growth of the business community and much more.  Also shout out to Melissa Delgado from the San Juan Marriott who believes in the power of social media and was a big part of making this event so successful. 

    Cuenta conmigo para ser una de la voces de Puerto Rico para su rapido crecimiento y entendimiento de las redes sociales.  

    Saludos cordiales from Miami :)

    • http://raulcolon.net Raul Colon

      One of the reasons I signed up with @mark_hayward to work on this neat event by @jeffpulver:disqus  was because Social Media (as how most people define it) is an overused term. 

      Just like Jeff explained in his speech and the reason he set up 140conf is to find people who have common interests but come from different backgrounds of life. Taking two random people and putting them in the same group together and having them engage. 

      People can make a lot of noise when it comes to online presence but the real value is when we truly stop everything and enjoy the moment of the few that are around us. An opportunity like the Meet-Up was to talk to people you would not have the opportunity to reach any other way and to truly embrace those where you already have a relationship with. 

      We already see an interest in people that want to attend a possible 140conf in Puerto Rico now we are in the first steps of getting everything together to make it happen. 

      Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. 

  • http://poder5.blogspot.com Prometeo

    I wanted to be there but maybe next time. Success is at the next corner.

    • http://raulcolon.net Raul Colon

      Prometeo, 

      You are one of the few that don’t have to be present Physically to be their. Next time it would be great if you could also be part of sharing this awesome story.