Day One, The Birth

It is 1:11 am on January 24, 2012.

I feel like I’m strapped into the space shuttle, ready for takeoff. I feel the rumbling, grumbling potential of the rocket engine as it strains against the structure that is holding it earthbound, the raw power ready to propel the vehicle high into the atmosphere, into space and beyond.

The anticipation is both powerful and humbling.

ReverbCON2012 is about to be officially born and the labor is deliciously painful. It will emerge into the world for all to see and, as any infant, it will need to be protected, loved and nurtured. And as with any individual, it has its’ own personality which is created from an amalgamation of the team; a generous group of people that have share countless hours of time, energy, creativity and support. For the most part, it has been a team of people that have never met in person, the very definition of a mastermind group in social media.

The story of ReverbCON is decades old and only a year old, a story that is best understood from the beginning.

Our family moved to Lakeport, California sixteen years ago. We came from the deserts of Nevada to  live on the oldest lake in the North America, Clear Lake, surrounded by green (and in the Spring, neon green) grass, trees and landscape. Since Lake County sits on top of the world famous Napa Valley, we spent the weekends exploring the Napa Valley with our children. The history of the valley was fascinating; families that planted vineyards, made wines and, sometimes, built empires. We expanded our exploration to Sonoma County and their different experiences. And I began to photograph.

A handful of years later, the Lake and Mendocino counties began to unfold their vineyards and wines to the world and we began to explore those wineries, too. As I amassed a collection of images, and digital photography evolved, I began the eZine WinestyleLiving.com to share the images.

During our frequent explorations, we because friends with the winery owners, the wine makers and tasting rooms staff. We became privy to the stories of the wine. These stories weren’t as much about the romance of the wine, as they were of people that have a passion and a dream. Theirs are different than most business people because they know that it will be at least five years before they see any return on their investment and decades before they turn a profit. I was immensely attracted to people that could hold their vision for so long and so vividly that they were willing to take the chance. One such story is of McNab Ridge Winery and Rich Parducci.

Also during this time I expanded my online presence, at first just creating a network of people talking about my interests, and then expanding my interests and my networks.

My winery friends in Lake and Mendocino County began to share the challenges of owning a small business, my business friends shared the challenges of making social media work for them and my social media friends had ideas bursting at the seams. It was in those chats with my social networking friends the plan gelled; a conference in wine country to share the tips, techniques and integration of social media into businesses, packaged with some incredible wine experiences.

ReverbCON is a true testament the power of both on and off line networks. By the time it is completed, ninety percent of the ReverbCON team consists of people found in my social networks, people that are making big splashes in the social media pool.

It is now 2:56 am on January 24, 2012.

The webmaster has gone to bed for a couple hours of sleep before she completes the final polish of the site and I should probably try to get a couple hours of sleep, too. It is going to be a big day. We will pray the servers hold out and that there is traffic to tax them. The work ahead is both exciting and daunting. And the adventure begins.

–- I would very much like to acknowledge my husband for his unfailing support, for all the times he ate alone, after making sure I was fed, did his own laundry, scooped the cat boxes, and missed out on wine play just so I could concentrate on this project. Thank you, Babe. I love you.