#BellBiz - trending in Canada

A few days ago, I posted about a Twitter chat that I was hosting on behalf of the Bell Small Business team (link here.) We held the #BellBiz session today, and I'm thrilled at how it played out.

First, lots of people showed up. Lots of really smart people. Industry experts from Bell, IDC Canada and Research In Motion. Business owners. Folks who use tech every day, and whose professional lives depend on making the right choices. They had questions, they shared their expertise, they helped build a virtual community out of little more than a string of tweets.

But here's the neat thing: a string of tweets can be a very powerful thing.

By the end of the hour, we were a trending topic on Twitter. Not just in Toronto or Ontario. Across Canada. More folks joined in, shared their perspectives, added to the knowledge flow. We kept trending. The hour ended, and we headed back to work, heads overflowing with ideas from the intense, eye-opening discussion. This is what happens when great folks get their hands on great technologies, great social media tools.

Now that we've held our first Twitter live chat, we'll regroup, learn from the experience and apply those learnings to our next chat. It's scheduled for next Tuesday, October 23rd, between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. Eastern, and you are, of course, once again invited to share in the fun.