From Lurker to Leader: Getting Comfy in the Cringe

In an era where AI can generate infinite content, the differentiator is no longer volume. It’s humanity. Yet many professionals still hesitate to share their voice online out of fear of sounding cringe, self-promotional, or imperfect. We'll explore how to move from passive consumer to intentional creator without losing authenticity in the process. We can’t ignore AI, and we shouldn’t. The people who thrive won’t be the ones pretending it doesn’t exist. They’ll be the ones using it intentionally: to streamline workflows, pressure-test ideas, repurpose content, and create consistency, not to ask ChatGPT to “make a post about leadership” and hit publish. The feature speaker is social media marketing leader, Carolyn Cohen. Carolyn is an award-winning social media marketing speaker and leader with more than 14 years of experience in social media and content marketing. She has led social teams at companies including H&R Block and Garmin and helped build early social practices at agencies like Barkley. Her work has earned Webby, Clio and Shorty awards, and she’s been recognized as a Brand Innovator 40 Under 40 and WICMA Content Marketer of the Year.