The history behind the movement

 

DJ Idea Sharing has helped thousands of DJs all over the world grow and improve as a professional. It is a movement, but it didn’t start with a facebook group. Most DJs know about our famous facebook group but how did it really begin? Here’s the whole story……..

 

Back in 2001 Mike Fernino was the director of a local DJ group named the Connecticut Professional Disc Jockey Association. Due to internal conflicts the association was folding. Mike was the membership director and was at a creative high at that point of his DJ career. There were gatherings that he wanted to organize but with the association going down for the count it would be difficult to get colleagues together. Try to understand there was no Facebook or “Social Media” back in 2001 so in order to get DJs together you actually had to get together. So, without the CPDA he would have to do something on his own.

 

Mike decided to organize a DJ gathering at a local venue in April 2001 and invited about 50 local colleagues. The event was a night of networking and “idea sharing” which featured different speakers, presentations and even a photographer taking professional head shots. Guests learned, laughed and had a blast. It really was a game changer and at the end of the event everyone wanted to do it again. 

 

Later that year in October a second event was planned at the same local venue. This time a banner was hung with the name “DJ Idea Sharing” and thus the event had its name and objective. The gathering drew over 90 DJs this time. Not only were multiple topics shared but line dances were taught and there even was a sponsor from a music source provider. It was a overwhelming success. Seems that DJs didn’t view the other DJs in attendance as their competition but rather their industry colleagues. They were all more than happy to offer up trade secrets without fear of giving away the golden nuggets. It appeared that Mike was on to something special, but it was still just a Connecticut based event. That was soon about to change.

 

The third DJ Idea Sharing event happened in March of 2002 and was opened up to DJs all over New England. Its was at that event that several DJs from Massachusetts attended and Mike met Rob Peters from Boston. Rob was a charismatic and talented DJ with tons of amazing ideas. He made a big impression and Mike, along with his brother Steve Fernino and the three would turn into a very effective collaboration. 

 

Mike, Steve and Rob decided to take the DJ Idea Sharing event all over New England into actual DJ/Music stores. Not only would attendees get information and education but enjoy playing with toys and receive great deals on the hottest gear. This was a winning recipe and the event packed store after store. Wherever the event went it jammed the rooms and left attendees wanting more.

 

Now, at the same time Steve Fernino was very involved with chat groups and podcasts. All of this technology was in the early days of existence and Steve suggested that DJIS expand. A prominent DJ Chat group offered DJ Idea Sharing a room independently managed by Mike, Steve and Rob who decided what content was presented. Simultaneously, Mark Ferrell was starting up a podcast program called “DJARadio” which would be a podcast of multiple hosts presented like a web based radio station specifically for DJ education. And to add to the explosion of content, Mobile Beat owner Ryan Burger launched his own podcast group called “Mobile Beat Radio!” There was a lot going on and Steve wanted to be involved. Steve suggested to Mike and Rob that they buy the gear and start up a demo podcast to offer Mark Ferrell for consideration on his new platform. 

 

Now it really gets interesting. All of this gigantic wave of innovation and progress hit at the very same time and the industry was just not ready for it yet. Both DJARadio and Mobile Beat Radio shut down while DJ Idea Sharing was trying to get with them and have a podcast program. Ryan Burger invited Mike to take over the spot and have DJ Idea Sharing be THE podcast for the DJ industry. Ryan then invited the crew to come out at Mobile Beat 2006 and recored interviews live from the show which garnered a interview with the legendary Chubby Checker! Mike and Rob were creating a ton of content and it was off to the races.

 

Ryan Burger then asked Mike to bring DJ Idea Sharing to a summer Mobile Beat conference event called “Camp Mobile Beat.”  This would take the DJ Idea Sharing event to another level as they were in charge of running the entire first day producing multiple seminars and educational events, recording live podcasts from the show floor and even providing entertainment at the night out event. Ryan Burger proved to be a very solid supporter and invited DJIS out to the big show in Las Vegas for a seminar Mike & Rob called, “The Fish Bowl.” Topics were put into a fish bowl, pulled out randomly and then brought to the floor for conversation and debate. It was very popular. 

 

And then, 2010 happened. This was the big one. Facebook launched their group feature in 2010 and DJ Idea Sharing opened up a group page on the very first day it was available. Invitations were sent to about 300 DJ friends and you can say the rest is history. DJ Idea Sharing left the antiquated chat forums in lieu of this exciting new social media platform and quickly grew to 1000 members. Then 2000, then 5000. The group exploded so fast that Mike decided to create moderator positions for trusted DJ friends who would try to keep the group on point and on track. Of course everyone belongs to some group on facebook but DJIS quickly became the most influential and populated group on facebook for DJs. The group has helped thousands and thousands over the years to grow and gain as a result. 

 

Fast forward to present. Steve is no longer involved and Rob has slowed down the DJ thing. Mike Fernino continues to carry the banner with hopes to expand DJ Idea Sharing into a media company moving forward. Mike is still active with the podcast and creating media content for DJs in his blog and You Tube Channel. 

 

No one can say what the future of Facebook groups will be. Or for that matter social media in general. But it is clear that Facebook catapulted the DJIS movement into the stratosphere with the creation of the group page. With this website it is the hope of the founder to take the movement to another level. Stay tuned…….