Kickstarter

My new year's resolution in 2010 is to have a beer with Richard Branson.

On January 1st I launched www.beerwithbranson.com along with a Facebook Page and using the #BeerWithBranson hash tag on Twitter. In part, it is a social media experiment to see if I can pick someone in the world and meet them. Most people know about the "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon" however, in a world of social media it's been said that we're separated by only 3 or 4 degrees. Perhaps I can rewrite the "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon" to the "Three degrees of Richard Branson".

The idea began from the question, "If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be?" Eventually the question evolved into "If you could have a beer with anyone in the world, who would it be?" Richard Branson has been an answer to that question for a long time. I hope to take the question out of the equation. So, in the words or Richard Branson, "Screw it, let's do it".

On Wednesday, April 21st, Richard Branson will be speaking to students at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. (more info). A friend of mine offered to get a ticket for me and it's time to take a road trip from East Lansing, Michigan to Georgetown, about 577 miles.

My goal on this trip is to at least meet Richard Branson and ask if we can schedule a day sometime in 2010 when we can have a beer together. I plan to network, be sneaky, and I'll be wearing a "BEER WITH BRANSON" t-shirt, because I have already been on his radar.

A month ago I was fortunate to have an e-mail forwarded to Richard Branson's personal assistant. In addition I have talked with employees from Virgin, the site has been passed around the world, and I have even found a connection to the official Richard Branson lookalike.

Your pledges will go towards...

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• Gas money
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• Food on the road
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• Buying some Beer With Branson t-shirts
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• Food for my travel partner Rice The Squirrel
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Stay tuned for updates here, on Twitter, on Facebook, and on www.beerwithbranson.com.