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Three entrepreneurs who used social media to stand>

out and one influencer that helps us understand what\\u2019s next

[caption id="attachment_3930" align="aligncenter" width="150"] Dhariana Lozano[/caption] [caption id="attachment_5574" align="aligncenter" width="150"] Blake Jamieson[/caption] [caption id="attachment_6023" align="aligncenter" width="150"] Dr. Ai Zhang[/caption] [caption id="attachment_5721" align="aligncenter" width="150"] David Meerman Scott[/caption] 

Wednesday, February 26, 2020\\u2014I\\u2019m making my last preparations for my flight tomorrow to San Diego, where I\\u2019ll attend the largest and most important international conference for social media. In my bag, along with my laptop and book, are two of the best face masks, which I promised my daughter (and the mother of my first granddaughter, four months old) that I\\u2019d wear throughout the flights to the conference\\u2014a 22-hour journey. The coronavirus crisis is huge.

For the sixth year in a row, I\\u2019m flying to the Social Media Marketing World Conference in San Diego \\u2026 and I don\\u2019t even provide social media services to my clients. However, throughout the last 12 years (among my 33-year career in executive marketing positions), I have helped entrepreneurs achieve business success. Social media is, by far, the most important method that any entrepreneur can use today to become known, stand out from the crowd, and reach sustainable success.

Wednesday evening news: The health department just published new instructions and recommendations to avoid flying abroad and to avoid participation in international conferences.

I won\\u2019t be able to physically attend the conference in San Diego this year.

Within 24 hours, I made all the needed arrangements to cancel my flights and replaced my attendant in-person ticket to the virtual ticket.

So, especially for the Social Media Marketing World Conference, let\\u2019s listen to three entrepreneurs who used social media to stand out and start building their successful entrepreneurship, and to one of the most important influencers in the field.

Blake Jamieson studied economics and today is a portrait artist for professional athletes.

Blake\\u2019s story

• I grew up in a very creative household. I was always encouraged to paint, or draw, or do photography \\u2013 all the things I do today. However, I convinced myself, from a young age, that art was about being a starving artist and that it was not a career path.
• Instead of doing what my parents encouraged me to do, which was to study art in college, I decided to study economics and tech. I thought this was the safe path at the time, and I aimed to have a career in marketing.
• When I graduated from college, social marketing was just starting to become an actual, respected career. I was able to get into very grounded levels for some reputable companies and work my way through several different companies. Then I spun off and started working for myself as a freelancer.
• Ultimately, on my 30th birthday, I decided that I was tired of working for someone else\\u2019s dream. I wanted to follow my own dreams and I realized that maybe my parents had been right all along...
• I\\u2019m very grateful. Due to my...'