Do Yourself a Favor, Get Some Good Ideas

I recently received an email from Piers Fawkes, asking me to pass along a little information about a conference he is hosting: PSFK Good Ideas Salon coming up January 30th in London.

You can find all the details you need here: http://www.psfk.com/good-ideas-salon-london

To see a video of a Good Ideas Salon that PSFK held in NY you can check it out here: http://www.psfk.com/2008/12/video-good-ideas-in-2009-in-digital.html

Typically, I wouldn’t just pass along information just becuase someone sends me an email. I am doing so now for a number of reasons.

1. I have seen Piers speak at a conference before and he seems to always have some really interesting things to pass along.
2. The line-up of speakers really looks amazing and I am sad that I won’t be able to attend myself.
3. Perhaps the most important reason, I have followed PSFK for years. Piers and his team have consistently delivered interesting and relevant content and never asked anything from me in return. Until now, of course.

It is that last point that I find interesting, and it seems like something all brands in the social media world could take a lesson from. You never know when you are going to need a favor, or who you will need/want help from; so treat everyone as best as you can all the time. Of course, the odds are that PSFK doesn’t really need my help to sell tickets, but what if they did? Or, what if they had some sort of crisis where they needed to rally support, I would probably be there to help out. This is becuase we already have an established relationship, and through all the content and inspiration they have given me over the years I feel I owe them a little something in return. I see it a little like Don Corleone from the Godfather, when he says, “Someday – and that day may never come – I’ll call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, accept this justice as a gift on my daughter’s  wedding day.” As a company/brand you may never need a favor from your consumers, but itsn’t it worth treating them with respect and doing nice things for them, knowing that if that day does come they’ll be there.