Q&A with Chris Heuer: Social Media Expert, Entrepreneur, and Author

Chris Heuer (SPA/CLEG/'91) is a co-founder and partner with The Conversation Group, a marketing and communications agency that is redefining the way companies interact with the markets they serve.  In 2006, Chris founded Social Media Club in order to bring a level of professionalism to the emerging industry of Social Media by bringing people from different background together to share best practices, support industry standards and promote ethical behavior.  He has been an Internet entrepreneur since 1994 when he co-founded an interactive agency and local content network, with some time off from the private sector in 1999 when he served as Chief of eBusiness at the US Mint.

Chris shares his experiences in the following interview with Beyond Ward Circle.

You're extremely active in social media.  What attracted you to it?

My interest in what is now called Social Media goes back to my first interactions with the computer, a TRS-80, when I was in 7th grade. After taking some classes in programming Basic and TurboPascal, I quickly realized I was more interested in what you can do with a computer then how to make it work.

In the mid-90's I read Virtual Community by Howard Rheingold and I found my life's calling -- it also inspired me to start my first business, Virtual Community Network.  Social Media is really the natural evolution and manifestation of what Howard, and many other people, particularly those from The Well, called Social Computing. The things people promised in the early days of the dot-com era connected people beyond geographic boundaries.

What really inspires me today to help more people understand Social Media, is that it is a powerful force for transformation, empowering people to find their voice and share their stories with others. Across society, and particularly within the enterprise, people are using Social Media to connect, to communicate and to collaborate in entirely new ways, usurping the power of command and control systems to make things right and get things done.

Tell us a bit about your experience as an entrepreneur in the San Francisco Bay Area and how it compares to Washington, DC.

I have been an entrepreneur in Miami Beach, Washington DC and the Bay Area over the past 14 years, also spending some time in New York's start-up scene, and nothing compares to the culture of entrepreneurship in the Bay Area.  There is such a great ecosystem here for supporting start-ups and no one has been able to re-create it anywhere.  The differences are many, but the root of it all from my perspective is a combination of four factors:

1. the tolerance for risk, the willingness to fail fast and forgive those who fail
2. the belief that anything is possible and that all problems have solutions
3. the willingness to work hard beyond a 9-5 clock
4. the water, the sun and the air -- it really is an amazing place to live

The other thing that I have noticed in talking with entrepreneurs who relocate here is that in the Bay Area, we socialize frequently with other people in the same industry.  In other areas, work associates and personal friends are usually two different groups of people, whereas out here, it is often one and the same -- or at least, we spend as much if not more time with industry friends as we do others.  This engenders more trust between people and makes business deals much easier to complete.

What's the most valuable thing you took away from your experience at AU?

In looking back now, there are a number of things that I think were very formative.  The most valuable thing by far was my friendships -- there have been some hard times which would have been even more difficult to get through were it not for my friends.  From an academic perspective, my CLEG degree has been invaluable in helping me under socio-economic impacts on market behavior and a holistic way of thinking that has helped me understand business models.  My experience working with Dr. Brenner gave me an invaluable understanding of contract law that has helped immensely in business negotiations.  As a member of Phi Sigma Kappa, I learned firsthand the value of team work, brotherhood and a never say quit attitude.

Would would surprise your AU classmates most to know about you?

That I am more then just a beer drinker... OK, my real friends knew that, but I had a lot of fun during my college years and was not striving to showcase my intellect as much as I was trying to enjoy the collegiate experience.  When I run into old classmates, I think they are most surprised to discover that I have been an entrepreneur and a geek -- that I am actually a fairly smart and creative guy with a knack for innovative problem solving.  These days, I think they would be surprised to discover that I am writing a book (The Social Media Playbook) with a great publisher that is being published by Wiley and due out this summer.