Sweets and Tweets: MIDSUMMER MADNESS to defeat the Lizard Brain and celebrate Linchpins

Click here for a $5 Midsummer Madness ticket. Supply is limited!

Attn: Cupcake lovers

Come to the Midsummer Madness edition of Sweets and Tweets to celebrate a provocative concept: Are you a linchpin? Are you indispensable? How do you defeat the Lizard Brain*?

That's the crux of New York Times-bestselling author Seth Godin's latest book, LINCHPIN - and the topic of his live event in DC on July 22nd.

Come mingle with other Linchpins the night before Seth's rare all-day seminar in Washington. Raise a cupcake and talk with other attendees about how to make a difference.

Wanna be a speaker?

We're doing things a bit differently at this Sweets and Tweets. Instead of an invited speaker, a few attendees will be stepping up to riff for three to five minutes. We have speaking spots for up to five Linchpins. These are now filled. A Linchpin, according to Seth, is someone who makes him or herself indispensable, who doesn't wait to be told what to do and who makes "art" out of their work.

This is your chance to tell us how Seth has inspired you, how you defeat the Lizard Brain and how his ideas apply to your organization, no matter what size and whether for-profit, nonprofit or a government agency.

Speaking topics:

- Hello, my name is Jane and I am a Linchpin... (tell us why in 3 minutes)

- Hello, my name is John and here's how to defeat the Lizard Brain... (tell us your secret in three minutes)

*The Lizard Brain, if you're not familiar with the expression (and as Seth defines it) means the primitive part of your brain that throws up resistance and says, "No I can't do it / create it / finish it / ship it because it's too hard or it won't be perfect or whatever."

Here's who's speaking... 3 minute prepared riffs

Six attendees have stepped up to riff about why they think of themselves as Linchpins: Shashi Bellamkonda of Network Solutions, Chris Dorobek of Federal News Radio and Justin Thorp of Clearspring. I've known these guys for years. They're super smart, passionate and typical of the kind of techie based here in DC.

We'll also be hearing from Jennifer Berk of Amplify Public Affairs, Susan Harris of Sustainable and Urban Gardening and Mike Jolkovski of Working Through. This is not "open mike night" as we want speakers to be prepared. Oh, and yours truly will be speaking as well, to introduce the topic of Linchpins and Lizard Brains and offer a bit of context.

The backstory

I've known Seth Godin for years (he wrote a blurb for my book) so I invited him to speak at Sweets and Tweets the night before his DC event. He politely declined, saying it wouldn't be fair to those spending up to $595 to hear him the next day. Fair enough.

For $5 you can mix and mingle with those who are fascinated by Seth's ideas - and hear a few of them explain why. I'm an unabashed Seth fan. LINCHPIN, in my opinion, is his most provocative (and useful) book.

Note: tickets still available for Seth's all-day workshop in DC on July 22, 2010 (prices range from $195 to $595).

Book giveaway

One copy of Seth Godin's bestselling LINCHPIN will be offered as a giveaway. Maybe you will be the lucky winner.

What is a cupcake and social media salon?

Sweets and Tweets is Washington's most popular cupcake and social media salon. It's a private after-hours event at the very cool Baked and Wired in DC's Georgetown.

DC's digerati come for intimate conversation in a small setting with some of the brightest minds in DC’s diverse technology community.

Last month's special DCWEEK edition drew a sellout crowd of over 100 to hear a panel of DC's Most Influential Women in Technology. 

Every Sweets and Tweets attendee gets:

• FREE delicious cupcakes: Baked & Wired's cupcakes declared best in the nation by The Atlantic
  
• The chance to rub shoulders - and learn from - those working in DC's innovative technology, social media and Gov 2.0 space
• Great networking and good conversation

Cupcake photo by Jen Consalvo 

How to sponsor a future Sweets and Tweets

Sweets and Tweets is produced by author and corporate social media consultant Debbie Weil. To inquire about sponsoring a future event, email Debbie at debbie[dot]weil[at]gmail.com or call her at 202.255.1467. Past sponsors include Microsoft U.S. Public Sector, Ingage Networks and Genius Rocket.

For mouthwatering photos of cupcakes...

Join our new Facebook page for the latest in mouthwatering photos of cupcakes and write-ups of past events.

Note: tickets are nonrefundable. If you can't attend, give yours to a friend or colleague. It's good karma.

Peter Corbett of iStrategyLabs is no longer available to talk about DCWEEK.