As part of the book, we want to feature your real world stories of how having (or not having) an online profile has affected your life, matters of the heart, friendships, health, and career.

Did you get engaged on Twitter? Meet your best friend on Facebook or FriendFeed? Find a job online using your network? Start a company using online connections? Help fight a disease or fight for a cause? We want to interview you on how social media and the online world has touched your life.

If you study this trend, we want to talk to you also! We’re seeking industry experts and global thought leaders to talk about their research into this new online world and how it translates to the offline world in fields like psychology, sociology, medicine, science and more.

If you would like to be interviewed about your research or tell us your story, please comment below and we’ll reach out to you for the book!

He and I first met when I was on the Blogger Board for his start up CreateBuzz. CreateBuzz was a great idea, but it didn’t go quite the way he had hoped. You’d think he’d be discouraged, but instead he picked himself up, dusted himself off, and came up with more ideas that took lessons from the one that didn’t work as planned. I like that kind of pluck and staying power, that ability to look at life’s fumbles as a way to learn.

Jim and I kept in contact after CreateBuzz, and started exchanging ideas. I’d give him a little social media counseling here and there, or help him get unstuck in the social media space, and he’d give me sales advice. It turns out, taking his sales advice made all the difference in the results I was seeing. He pointed out my weaknesses, and let me know simple, effective ways I could change from within to see results. Now my sales process takes a bit longer than I was spending before, but its worth every minute. I went from closing roughly 30% of my pitches, to closing roughly 85%, and I’ve only been doing a few simple additional things at his suggestion. Can I close more using his advice? I think over time as I get better at it, that I can.

The great thing about Jim is he gives you the same advice every day over on his blog, so you can do a little reading and see how to improve your sales technique as well. When Jim came to me with his idea for a book (Online Profile: Asset of the Future), I was more than happy to team up with him on it. If you want a preview of the kind of content and information you will get out of it – watch his blog for that also. We’re uncovering some pretty interesting information and case studies about the intersection of online life, real people and the future of worth.

The basis for the book is the simple yet heady premise that your online profile will become your greatest asset as we march toward the future. It will be worth more than your house, your car, the status of your parents, your race, your gender, your monetary background, and more. Because of the way the online world (not just social media) works as aliving breathing resume, an extension of your whole life experience, it can be leveraged continually to direct the path of your life.

Some of the things we touch on in the book:

• Why we will have more online friends than offline friends
• Why we will give money to strangers and date people we’ve never met
• Why having a strong online presence will be critical to ones social and financial survival
• The value of eliminating traditional expectations
• The diminishing emphasis of the handshake and face to face interaction
• The decline of the traditional resume in favor of the living resume
• How it’s no longer about “First Impressions” but “Lasting Impressions”
• The expectation that any online activity could be a contribution to society and your future
• Why providing information on a “need to know” basis will no longer be acceptable
• The shift to a global economy and the need for an online presence to compete
• Why social media will be at the core of our daily lives
• Online presence as validation
• Wisdom and peril of the crowd
• Industry and technology trends and how they will affect you
• So much more… I’d have to disclose too much of the proprietary information in the book to list everything here, though.

SXSW Interactive: “Online Presence: Asset of the Future“

Leslie Poston (Uptown Uncorked, Film POP!, Twitter for Dummies Co-Author) and Jim Keenan (Avaya, A Sales Guy) will be talking about the near future, and how your online social presence will become a must-have asset, a life-long living resume that will determine your success in relationships, careers, education and more. It will break down barriers and create unheard of opportunities – if you leverage it well. This panel is based on our upcoming book: “Online Presence: Asset Of The Future” and will involve statistics, case studies, methodologies and a lively Q&A component. VOTE FOR THIS ONE HERE. Get others to vote by sharing this URL: http://bit.ly/sxswasset – THANK YOU

SXSW Interactive: “Self Hate Isn’t Sexy: Gender, Race & Tech“

Leslie Poston (Uptown Uncorked, Twitter for Dummies Co-Author) is joined by Rakiesha Chase (Social Butterfly Experiment) and other panelists TBA to discuss how gender and race opportunities are two recurring themes in technology. Are we part of the problem, or part of the solution? This panel is about moving beyond the usual “we’re oppressed” quagmire discussion and into real, workable solutions, starting with ourselves as individuals to effect change in tech and social media. VOTE FOR THIS ONE HERE. Get others to vote by sharing this URL: http://bit.ly/sxswsexy – THANK YOU

SXSW Film: “Social & New Media: The Cheaper Film Promotion Alternative“

Leslie Poston (Uptown Uncorked, Film POP!, Twitter for Dummies Co-Author), Amy Greenlaw (Film POP!), Chase Bailey (“The Libertine”, “Crooked Lane”) and Mark Constance (“Terminator 3″, “Being John Malkovich”, “Losing Jerry”) will discuss promoting independent film. Long gone are the days of small budget Independent films toiling in obscurity. Just like small businesses, Independent Films are embracing Social Media and New Media technology as a low cost way to promote their films. Come listen to our experienced panel discuss new ways to grab eyeballs for your project. VOTE FOR THIS ONE HERE. Get others to vote by sharing this URL: http://bit.ly/sxswindie

Please note: we are competing against nearly 3000 other panels for votes. SXSW is a popularity and interest driven contest. Every vote really does matter. Please feel free to tell your friends, your colleagues and the universe about this post and about these panels, and get out the vote. We are excited to go to SXSW with these bright ideas, but we can’t do it without YOUR help!