When I was an intern at McCann-Erickson, I was the designated 'body' to attend meetings from advertising sales reps from magazines and other media properties. Every Wednesday, I was sent to the board room to take notes, understand the media kit and report my findings back to senior staff.  It is from this experience that I was able to 'meet' the late John F. Kennedy Jr. Mr. Kennedy was in town promoting his magazine, George.  I wasn't invited to this particular meeting, so I rode the elevators for an hour until the doors of the 15th floor opened and I 'ran' into him. What a beautiful man he was...

Fast forward to my days at Orbitz. As a member of the eMarketing team, I had numerous meetings with sales reps from sites like Yahoo!, ESPN, Google, iVillage, AOL, Doubleclick (before Google purchased them), Travelzoo, etc. The list goes on and on. Having a phone call to sort through issues and/or a potential ad buy was one thing, but nothing beat the face-to-face discussion over coffee, lunch or at a marketing event.

Today, we are in an historic moment of how quickly things are evoloving on the web. Gone are the days of the Geek Elite latching on to a new gizmo or social media darling - the gates are opened. Marketers and agencies are in constant training, keeping up with the latest developments in technology. It's one thing to test a new interface or be in the Alpha stage of a launch, but understanding what is next on the horizon is key. As a member of the group that helps large brands understand your bells and whistles, I need access.

I need access to your biz dev teams. I need access to an internal expert who has the ability to be in or around the Midwest (Chicago) and chat with me over the phone or at one of our fine coffee houses.I have ideas I need to bounch off with someone. I have questions about platforms, APIs and the feasibility of upcoming projects.  This, perhaps, negates the idea of social media: a small startup of 4-10 folks creates a sensational tool that catches on quicker than one can say 'www'. I KNOW this seems like you are following an online 'sales' model that you may not like. I also understand that you understand that revenue needs to be made - and growth is key. I would hope that as VC funding is secured, you begin to open the doors to hiring more people to handle the numerous requests I'm sure are coming your way.

If face-to-face isn't possible, how about office hours?

I want to help you grow. Whatdya say? Let's chat.