New networking groups grow, established ones continue.(Young Professionals)

WHAT BEGAN AS A CASUAL versation about the social media snowball Twitter has become one of the newest networking outlets for young professionals in central Arkansas.

"Tweetups are kind of a nationwide thing that people on Twitter have been doing in different cities around the country," said Natalie Ghidotti, owner of Ghidotti Communications of Little Rock. "We just started talking among a few of us that were on Twitter here in Little Rock that we need to have a tweetup."

Several social media specialists decided to hold the inaugural gathering at Sticky Fingerz, a bar and restaurant in downtown Little Rock.

The founding tweeters included Keith Crawford, local blogger and Twitter personality "@tsudo"; Bryan Jones, director of interactive services at Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods; Angel Galloway, communications director for the Arkansas Repertory Theatre; Lance Turner, Internet editor for ArkansasBusiness.com; and Ghidotti.

The crew decided to test the viral Web waters by only promoting tweetups on Twitter.

The first event attracted about 45 people. Attendance at the second tweetup nearly doubled.

"We were just really pleasantly surprised about how fast--and this just goes back to how viral social media is in general--how fast the word got out about the tweetup and where it was and when it was," Ghidotti said.

Though one might expect the tweetup crowd to be dominated by tech-savvy youngsters, Ghidotti and the tweetup masterminds were pleasantly surprised by the turnout.

The event attracted a diverse group of folks who live and work in central Arkansas, Ghidotti said.

"The tweetup is not just young professionals," she said. "It's really a cross-section of different ages and all different people in different industries, which makes it really interesting to me because I get to meet totally different people that I probably would not have met outside of a situation like this."

Create Little Rock

But tweetups are not the only new outlet for networking hounds.

The Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce plans to launch Create Little Rock on Jan. 28.

The new group will combine the networking opportunities of a young professionals organization with the economic development function of the chamber.

"The real purpose of Create Little Rock is to retain, develop and attract talent for the metro region of Little Rock, and primarily to enhance the economic function for the area," said Chris Marsh, chairman of the incipient group and project manager of business development at Teamwork Arkansas, the economic development office of Entergy Arkansas Inc.

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"We hope to be able to provide a way for young professionals or rising leaders to engage in central Arkansas through different business functions, through educational opportunities, volunteering opportunities," Marsh said.

The group will initiate and support events that are linked with its mission of business attraction and retention.

Create Little Rock's upcoming inaugural event will be Serve the Rock, which will showcase the chamber's nonprofit members on March 17.

With Marsh's role in economic development at Entergy, Create Little Rock was a perfect fit.

"It's always been a focus of mine-the retention of talent or the war on talent for Little Rock--because the Little Rock metro area competes globally for major corporations. And once those folks understand the metro area and the things we can offer, they're delighted to show up and to come and to participate in our area. And we just need to be able to become advocates for those types of functions for economic development in our area."

And though the group has a mission, it still offers plenty of networking opportunities.

"Let's not pull the wool over anyone's eyes," Marsh said. "We want to be able to use this organization to open the door for different members to learn about different business opportunities.

But really it's more about not climbing that corporate ladder or anything, but focusing on engaging professionals -young professionals or rising leaders--in the metro area."

Next Generation

North of the river, a similar group has operated since 2004.

Next Generation of Young Professionals, a networking group under the wing of the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, tries to offer an environment in which young professionals can help each other grow through several avenues.

Daniel Leslie, vice chair of Next Generation and director of business and community development for United Cerebral Palsy of Arkansas, said networking with other young people could offer more than a pocket full of business cards.

"Next Generation of Young Professionals offers an opportunity for young professionals to network with other young professionals--individuals that are kind of in the same tier in their respective businesses. That way, they can have individuals that may be going through--I don't want to say growing pains--but the same experiences in their professional growth," Leslie said.

And while connecting with a group of folks in similar situations can be helpful, Next Generation offers a mentoring program that can give young professionals something they can't get from their peers: an old-fashioned, beenthere-done-that brand of wisdom.

"There is a mentoring program where professionals who have been in their professions for a while and are established to kind of help young professionals," Leslie said. "I use my mentor to bounce ideas off of, ask questions if I'm doing a project."

Leslie said a mentor could be particularly helpful by providing advice about how to circumvent a roadblock when tackling a project.

Leslie said working under the auspices of the chamber had its advantages.

"We have a strong support structure already for the organization as well as strong established business leaders that we can draw on to help develop our professional makeup," Leslie said.

"We get the advantages of the organization--the chamber--that is built for economic development. So you automatically get that benefit out of it," he added.

But that support structure can also come in handy if a group of young professionals errs, like the Arkansas Young Professionals Network debacle in which a promising networking group devolved into a politically exclusive boys club.

"We're going to make mistakes. It's, 'How do we learn from those mistakes? And do we have the support of another organization to back us up?'" Leslie said.

But, Leslie said, more than anything, young professionals need to keep in mind that networking doesn't always have to be a selfish act.

Next Generation organizes efforts to help other organizations, such as painting houses for Habitat for Humanity.

"It's another opportunity for young professionals to kind of step outside of their professions," Leslie said. "So many times when you're starting out and you're working and trying to establish a career, you get so focused on yourself."

By Jamie Walden

jwalden@abpg.com