I just got back from SXSW Interactive, and for those who attended I hope you were able to get some sleep because I didn’t get much.

Most people do business between the hours or 9am to 5pm.  Most people.

However, for those who attended SXSW (or who attend conferences in general) know that most of the business happens right around 2am.

Depending on the city, this is the time most of the parties are winding down, and the bars close.  And this is also the time people open up to others the most.

Here is common example of what would go down during a night at SXSW:

We all bond together and take our last drink or rush to the bar to order one last shot.  We pay for each others tab, stumble out the venue door with sore feet from the long day of walking at the conference and non-stop dancing.  We get really close when speaking to one another because our ears are ringing from the thumping techno beats, classic rock, and 80’s greatest hits.

We grab a slice of pizza from that shady street meat vender with crazy tattoos.  Then we share cab rides or walk back to the hotel lobby and tell tales of the nightlong journey to the other conference mates who missed out on “the best party of the evening”.

We rally the troupes and lounge around in smelly, sweaty clothes acting as if we have known each other our entire lives.  Then as the first person starts to fall asleep in the middle of the hotel lobby, we take our last picture of the night and post it to Twitter, and Facebook for everyone to see.

We watch as others rush to the bathroom to throw up their $113 bill of Coyote Ugly’s finest alcoholic beverages.  And after this, we realize it’s time to go to bed so we can wake up for another long day of panels, networking, and partying.

A mosh pit of high fives, hugs, and kisses take place as we say goodnight (like in the video below)

We tell each other how much fun we had, how much of a blast it was getting to know one another, and mention how we look forward to hanging out with that person in the future.

This is when business happens.

When we start having experiences with one another outside of the working mindset, and in an environment that breaks down walls and allows for a more light hearted connection.

Remember, we do business with those we know, like and trust.  One night with someone at a party gives you the best opportunity to get them to like you, know the “real” you a little better, and trust you even more.

I generate business deals all of the time at 2:00 am.  Do you?

Please share one experience where you connected with someone late at night and how it translated into a joint venture, new job, more sales, or more business opportunities.  I would love to hear your story.

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Image by Steve Hall

There are two main approaches people have when connecting with others on LinkedIn.

1.  Is to connect with only those you know well

2.  Is to connect with everyone

Sure there are cases in between, but for the most part those are the two main strategies people use.

There was some recent discussion about a ProBlogger guest article I did on using LinkedIn to drive traffic back to you website, and the main reason why some only apply #1 is because they don’t want to jeopardize their top connections by having to forward along introductions from those they may not know that well.

However, you don’t have to forward all of your introductions, and you are missing a HUGE opportunity if you don’t connect with those you may not know very well.  Watch as I explain in the video below:

There are 6 main reasons you want to connect with everyone on LinkedIn: Read the full story

I’m seeing a trend of Internet marketers that are starting to dive more into social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

This is great and all, but most of them are missing out on a huge opportunity by not using LinkedIn to the fullest.

Yanik Silver recently reached out on Twitter and said he was looking to use LinkedIn more.  I thought I would share a few things in this video where Yanik can use LinkedIn to

1. Drive Traffic

2. Build His List, and

3. Generate More Sales

Watch this video below as I share with you 8 different ways Internet marketers (and Yanik) should be using LinkedIn.

I have seen other Internet marketers finding success using LinkedIn like Joel Comm, the NY Times best selling author of Twitter Power.  His “Twitter for Business” group has nearly 6,000 members without him doing much at all to grow it.

He is selling more books, generating more leads, and driving more traffic to his site from his LinkedIn group.  In a recent message he sent out a link for a few of his ebooks for free, and the comments he received in the group all sing his praises for providing such quality content.

LinkedIn is a qualified, target audience you can reach out to with over 60 million business professionals and it shouldn’t be overlooked by anyone, including Internet Marketers.

Here is a recap of the 8 points I made in my video on LinkedIn marketing for Internet marketers: Read the full story

There is a recent post by Colin Alsheimer where he says that LinkedIn is dead.

Now I’m sure Colin may be misguided like most of the people I encounter who don’t “get” LinkedIn.

And that is OK.

I’m not going to get too heated on this debate, because I realize that everyone has different goals and objectives, and some sites may be better than others in helping you achieve your goals.

Still, I have yet to find someone who is unable to achieve their professional goals on LinkedIn.  And if you are not currently achieving something you want in business yet, please write it in the comments section below and I will do a brief personal video showing you how to achieve it on LinkedIn.

Of course, as with anything, you get out of it what you put into it, and Rome wasn’t built in a day so there may be some grunt work needed to achieve your goal.  But with the size of LinkedIn, and the power of its network, I’m more than convinced you can achieve any business goal you have if you approach it right.

Check out my video response above where I show how LinkedIn is alive, and I hope you check out some previous videos on this site where I go into more detail on LinkedIn’s greatness.

Oh, and Colin, I know you quoted Chris Brogan in your post also, but I just did a video response on how Chris should be using LinkedIn to grow his business.  I hope you get a chance to check it out here and let me know if you still think LinkedIn is dead, as I enjoy the friendly debate.