It was 2009, my businesses were collapsing around me and, quite frankly, I didn’t want to present a cheery face to the world. Facebook, delete. Twitter, delete. The 1000+ followers and all my riveting thoughts consigned to the social media rubbish bin.

Within a year, I had accounts back up, but this time they were company accounts and I was more than happy to be the faceless exec behind them. But then I agreed to launch Key Person of Influence in Asia. Funnily enough, it’s a bit tricky to be a credible leader in such an organisation if you’re not prepared to get out in public and influence.

And so, reluctantly at first, I started building up my social media presence. Twitter seemed a good place to start. I had lost my CallumLaing handle, and so I had to suffice with @LaingCallum. I had a handful of followers and yet I would agonise over what to say (like they were hanging on my every word!).


Slowly and painfully, over a year or so and with very little direction, I started to build things up. Until I met Simon Kemp. Simon had launched We Are Social in Asia, and is widely regarded as one of the top thought leaders in social media. He also seemed to be saying exactly the opposite to what everyone else was saying. So I hired him to be the profile mentor for KPI.

One intense session with Simon and the blinkers came off. We were both playing at social media, but he knew the rules (plus plenty of hacks) and I wasn't even on the right pitch! He knew the rules... I wasn't even on the right pitch!

It is no exaggeration to say that 18 months later, pretty much every opportunity I get comes through my social media presence. New clients, investors, media opportunities, staff etc. And, of course, you. Well, ok, you might have come through a friend of a friend but I'm sure you checked me out before we connected? Recently, I passed 90,000 followers on Twitter. The number is not important: what it allows me to do very much is!