Valeria Maltoni's belief that talk can change our lives led her to begin Conversation Agent as a way to share ideas and build community online. Perhaps it's because being Made In Italy adds a touch of spicy, soulfulness to her writing. Or perhaps it's because Valeria's passion, focused on the human side of business, comes through in her writing, is the reason her blog resonates with so many people.
Blogger Story Teller: Valeria Maltoni, Conversation Agent
Connecting ideas and people – how talk can change our lives
Do you know when you do something and then look back and think: “my whole life prepared me for this moment”? That’s what blogging was for me. In early 2000 I got involved with Fast Company magazine at the readers’ network level – I had been a long-term customer of the publication and was ready to make some of the things they talked about happen.
Sure, I had been successful at creating opportunities to do that at work in corporate America, yet it still felt that designing a lab for the exchange of ideas to then take the best to market might be a good use of my time. Fast-forward 7 years and you have at least 4 solid businesses that exist today on the strength of the thinking and doing from that group. Our online community and the face-to-face forums acted as a catalyst for talent and skill to meet resources.
Last summer I was working on the recalibration of the group’s brand to incorporate the latest thinking and learning with many of the future trends of business I always brought to the fore. Still working in corporate America and looking at expanding once again my horizons, I decided that online was the way to go. It was the next way to help more people connect with ideas and other people
I was Made in Italy and I speak the language and culture of 2 continents, as well as those of 5 industries operating in more than 16 countries – it was time to take the conversation to the flat world of geographically different neighborhoods. Conversation Agent was born to extend the reach and hone the skills of an expansive mind. Learning, listening, and loving apply to the context of my daily life.
Because I’m a marketer in love with communications and the human side of business, over the years I have absorbed the best lessons from mistakes – my own and other people’s – and weaved the most fascinating stories from experience. As David Armano said in his “Blog of the Day” some of my best work is actually posted at other blogs in the form of comment.
That’s how I operate online and offline: I give away the ideas that best suit others so they can bring them to life. Sometimes I am lucky and they invite me to join in their projects. Those are the times I enjoy the most: doing great work with diverse thinkers. How do I know that I’m doing that with my blog? Although I’ve been at it with a fresh daily post for just 5 months, the number of inbound links to the stories and ideas I share with my audience is very high.
Chances are if you know me, and are LinkedIn to me, I have already tried your ideas, shared mine, and connected you with resources and people from my network. Talk can and does change our lives and blogging is a great way to go about it. Recently, Fast Company approached me to talk about customer service at their FC Expert blogs so that’s where you’ll find me every given Thursday.
Tobi,
it's great to see how this project keeps adding some of the most interesting voices out there. Valeria has lived up to the namesake of her blog and in her own unique way, is teaching us the value of dialogue, conversation and connectivity.
Keep up the great work here—your impressive list of individuals keeps getting more impressive.
Posted by: David Armano | February 24, 2007 at 11:44 PM