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The Yorkshire Mafia are making an impact.

Being a serial networker, it takes a lot for me to actually scribe something about an event that I have attended. So I felt this one was certainly worth writing about.

Yorkshire Mafia is a Linked In group that is setting a precedent in our area by growing at a fast rate of knots. Last night’s meeting was held in the centre of Harrogate at the Royal Bath’s Viper Room.

When you mention the name Yorkshire Mafia, most people say, “Is that a real name?” and of course the answer is yes. I think the secret to it’s success is the philosophy behind the group which is to keep business in Yorkshire. We have such a great talent pool of people and organisations, why should we have the need to seek resources elsewhere?

Driving through Harrogate, I was a little unsure of where I was heading. But the queue of suits outside the building gave it away. There were a couple of things that I felt could have been done a little better last night which Geoff Shepherd, the founder, openly admitted on his blog this morning.

One was that the room wasn’t big enough and was a bit daunting as you entered the gathering, the microphone wasn’t working so we couldn’t hear what he was saying and most importantly, for a social event, you couldn’t get to the bar in the early part of the evening.

So, perhaps they have become a victim of their success? They were expecting around 300 people to turn up and I estimate that it wasn’t far off that number. But overall I have to say, “Well done Yorkshire Mafia. You’re an absolute example of successful networking.” The secret to successful social media networking is ultimately, to make sure people meet up face to face, and this is the best example of that, that  I have seen so far.

http://www.linkedin.com/Yorkshiremafia

2 comments

1. 

   Geoff Shepherd

   06 Aug 2010 - 02:04 pm

   HiFrances

   Interesting article…

   All valid points.

   Many people perhaps don’t realise that The Yorkshire Mafia is a free event run on a part time basis by people who have full time jobs. Given that we’re attracting so many people (selectively too) and not charging anyone (i.e. we’re taking the financial burden upon ourselves personally) any fees (membership/entry) then hopefully the odd oversight such as the venue not having a P.A. system or a couple of the bar staff not showing up can be viewed with kindness.

   We’re amateurs in the networking world and enthusiastic amateurs (in my opinion) are the cornerstone of this great county and this great country

   We’re just over 6 months into taking our online forum into the real world and the progress we’ve made (with such small resources and so little time) is pretty good I’d say. We’ll get better at ironing out the creases as we go.

   See you at the next one (Leeds, September 16th). More room, more bar staff and a P.A system!

   Best wishes
   Geoff

   Reply
2. 

   Geoff Shepherd

   17 Sep 2010 - 09:55 am

   How did we do this time round?

   Reply