I like them, and how they and the entire site are laid out. Do you plan to add more clubs to further organize and diversify topics, e.g., Twitter, LinkedIn, Marketing, Social Media Marketing, etc.?

Think this was a super idea and am loving everything so far. Good to see so many sharing so much. Thanks for investing in all of us.

Thanks for this @mike-stelzner it was an excellent idea!!!

@donnagilliland

Thanks Donna!

I think it’s great having the networking clubs Michael. It is great to have different viewpoints and hearing about other’s experiences. One thing to consider is when the clubs get too large, how will the discussion threads be managed so they don’t get buried or lost?

@mike-stelzner

I think they are great. It’s honestly already my favorite forum but I would like to see more topics/clubs be created later on down the line.

Great Job! (You always meet expectations!)

@darrellellens

Thanks so much!  Feel free to send your ideas about future clubs

@mike-stelzner I’m enjoying the community.  It’s awesome to have a group of like-minded people who are willing to share. 

Thanks for putting this together for us.

I like the clubs they are great so far!!  As this grows would like to see more segments/club specific areas so good topics don’t “get lost”.  Thanks a million!!

Peer mentoring is not a new concept.  New groups are being started all the time.  The difference here is that we can experience each other on our own schedule and it’s a great opportunity to meet small business owners.

Let’s not make this a contest, but a place were we are measured by the value of our experiences and the information we exchange. 

@mike-stelzner I agree with everyone’s comments above but I wonder about all the topics on the go in the current forums as much of this is already on the site. My fear is that the network club becomes a rehash of what’s already available rather than a way to connect to other professionals and ask higher level questions. The point system also reinforces this as the easy questions get lots of opinions and responses vs. the questions that require more thought and tapping into expertise, which I think is of more interest. I do like the clubs though.

@mike-stelzner  Social Media Examiner’s Networking Clubs is amazing. I never imagined the friendliness that I would experience here.

I’ve spent more time here today than Facebook, Google+, and Twitter combined.

So grateful that someone’s vision included the Networking Clubs.

Thank you! Great so far!!! If they maintain this quality of high interaction: low spam it will be just what we needed.

@mike-stelzner

Greetings, Michael!

Thanks for setting your mind toward solving one of the biggest problems facing online newbies, oldtimers, and all us in betweeners: How do I pass the online gatekeepers and product peddlers to get the answers I need and get them right now?

While there may be some other large-scale project out there like this, yours is the first I’ve run across where there was no high-dollar ticket seller standing in my way at the door, holding their hand out, wanting money, standing between me and my answers, the ones I need right now.

Thank you for that, Michael. Thanks for taking down all those artificial barriers and inviting us all in to your little campsite. For inviting us all in to share the power of your big dream.

Prior to this, when I needed a specific kind of tool to use on a project, I could spend hours and hours online searching, researching, and asking questions that usually fell on deaf ears. My questions, however, would always be scraped by some autobot who wanted to sell me something only peripherally related to my original quest. Aaaaaackk! So frustrating! Alas, I finally just gave up.

But now, your free and open Networking Clubs and forums have changed all that for me. Now I’m getting timely information and opinions from people who are actually using the products and tools and techniques I’ve had questions about. This is my new one-stop go-to source for finding answers to my long unanswered questions. What’s even better is that half the time I don’t even have to ask the question here. It seems like my answers were already here trying to find me, without my having to ask or say a word. Obviously, we just needed your venue to find each other — all courtesy of one of your kind members.

But the best part? You did all this — you shared your big dream with us — for free!

The funny thing is, if the gurus had done this before you, I would have probably bought their products long ago. They wouldn’t let me take a peaky boo behind their royal curtain. So pooey on them. I won’t buy from someone when I can’t kick the tires for myself first. Now when I buy, I can honestly say they’ll have YOU and the astute, helpful advice of the wonderful members of your Free Open Networking Clubs to thank for my purchase. And Kristi and all the other club moderators and community leaders to thank, as well, of course.

Now about that Miss Kristi. I’ve got to tell you she’s one awesome facilitator — ever ready with a helpful comment, suggestion or link, no matter my question or quandry. Some of her published works I read were exemplary of the kind of fair-minded, side-by-side product comparison reviews that are sorely lacking on the internet today. In short, a perfect role model for bloggers and marketers alike. And did I say an adept diplomat, to boot? I completely understand why you chose her to help with the Blogging Club. We are all benefiting greatly from her experience and your wise choice.

I also commend you for allowing ALL OF US to help YOU crowd-source-create this true community of social media business professionals. But thanks to your little secret something added to the mix, we’re all having a grand time camping out, telling business stories around your campfire, learning new online tricks, helping each other build bridges, learning how to safely put out errant fires, earning badges, and all the while racking up camper points for some kind of surprise we just knooooooow you’ve got waiting for us at the Flag Pole somewhere up the trail. Oh, yeah — you really made camping out here oh so clever and oh so fun!

I haven’t had this much fun since American Honda bigwigs divided my former coworkers and I up into teams, and gave us a couple of hours, some poster board, markers, and a go-cart so that we, in turn, could present them with a formal marketing and advertising presentation for a new car line, all followed by a very competitive go-cart race! Our “Scream Dream Team” won the presentation phase that day, but alas, our formidable Friday Night Fright Car 13 and Jason, our scary homicidal driver in the Ski-Mask, failed to live up to Honda’s true “Power of Dreams” on the track. But it sure was a howling good team-building time for all!

Clearly, Michael, you and Social Media Examiner and Honda share a little secret something about building teams, encouraging collaboration, and fueling the Power of Dreams. To all of you, my sincere thanks for sharing your dreams and your hearts here with us. Thanks even more for providing this free open venue in the spirit of encouraging and empowering our own dreams here, too.

Okey, dokey…

All seriousness aside now…

Here’s my New Year Campfire Song  for all you guys and gals at SME. (And no I don’t think it’s way passed my bedtime now. I’m camping. Here’s my campfire. Shhhh! I’m gonna sing).

Thanky, thanky
to you and your team
for helping inspire
me and my dreams!

Hope all your big dreams
really do come true
camping out, building teams,
in two thousand ten (plus two)!

(OK. I’m done now. But I’ll keep that fire and my dreams going, thank you, all thanks to you).

Robin Carlisle

I am so excited about the possiblies of the SME Networking Clubs.  For me, being around so many amazing, successful people who are willing to share their knowledge is exactly what I needed. 

Thank you!