South By Social Honeycomb SXSW Recap
I’ve always heard that things are supposed to be big in Texas. And you know what? It’s true. SXSWi was huge. My first experience at SXSW Interactive was full of big conference rooms, big conversations, big cameras, big parties, big meals and big personalities.
Most of people I talked to weren’t able to catch a ton of sessions (poo-poo on you), but I’m glad I was able to hit six interesting panels and conversations while I was there, which I’ll post about over the next few days. These sessions spanned topics from augmented realities on mobile, connecting with and empowering your audiences online, getting girls interested in video games and technology, and the ethics of blogging your sex life. A little something for everyone.
Outside of the sessions, I spent a lot of time doing the tweet-n-greet, let’s-share-a-power-strip thing in the TechSet Blogger Lounge, with peoples like Brian Solis, Steph Agresta, Aaron Brazell, Corvida Raven, Aaron Strout, Brett Petersel, Steve Hall, Peter Kim, Geoff Livingston, Allen Stern, Jason Falls, Giannii, Laura Fitton, Justin Levy, Steve Woodruff, Uncle Brogan, Melissa Pierce, CC Chapman, Loren Feldman and some guy with a cane.
I also had the pleasure of dining on some delicious Texas BBQ at Iron Works with Jane Quigley, David Armano, Kaitlyn Wilkins, Doug Meacham, Paul McEnany… and about two tons of beef. Greg and I also managed to have a date night, during which I had my very first steak and grits at a restaurant. Thanks to Lambert’s in Austin for making it memorable and delicious.
Oh, and then there were the parties. (P.S. I know anyone who’s at Music right now is rolling their eyes…) As photos will attest, I made appearances at the Brown Bar tweetup (honoring Mr. Verdino, of course), TechSet, Diggnation, All Hats No Cattle, Mashable, and UNLISTED.
What a full, fantastic week. I’ll be writing more about my takeaways from the sessions I attended, and I hope to keep the great conversations going that we started down in Austin.
After all, that’s what this stuff is all about, right?
Amanda, Buzzing Bees, Events, Social Media, Tech | Comments (2)
Let’s Say Howdy at SXSW
I can’t believe March is already here. This means that SXSW Interactive is finally right around the corner! w00t.
Are you going? I’m hoping I can meet a lot of new friends and influencers while I’m there, and connect with others I haven’t seen in a while. I’ve never been to SXSW before, so I’m super excited to see some great sessions and hang with the coolest geeks around, including, of course, the Verdino party machine.
So if you’re going to be there, let’s say hello, tweet, high-five, clink drinks, chat about our work, take some “tiger” pics, practice our Texas accents, whatever.
Thanks again to Mashable for the Interactive pass. Can’t wait to see everyone there!
14+1 Social Media Seers Take a Look Into 2009
2009 is barreling toward us, so Peter Kim got some seriously bright social media minds together to share their thoughts on what this new year has in store. In a forward-thinking e-book, Peter gives 14 experts, including mah boo and mah boss, the floor, and everyone has some interesting thoughts and ideas about how this space is evolving. Even Jaffe.
Want a taste of what Peter’s prophets have to say about 2009? Whet your appetite with the following:
“Although it is now cheaper to launch an initiative leveraging Web 2.0 technology - it requires qualified and passionate people to make them successful.” - David Armano- “You may not always start the year as a leader, but you can certainly finish it that way.” - Rohit Bhargava
- “Intimacy touches emotion; emotion powers conversation.” - Pete Blackshaw
- “Doors are going to close all over the social web. Why? Because the money didn’t come the way people thought it would.” - Chris Brogan
- “The tipping point has not only *not* been reached, but could still tilt *away* from Social Media.” - Todd Defren
- “There’s a lot of fixing that needs to be done.” - Jason Falls
- “Dwindling budgets suddenly make low-cost social media look like the pretty girl at the ball.” - Ann Handley
- “We’re going to develop a set of better metrics to help guide, direct and validate ‘commitment’.” - Joseph Jaffe
- “The movement is rooted in a desire to have quality, not quantity, as people cocoon in the face of the economic crisis.” - Charlene Li
- “After a pre-qualifying wrestling match…” - Ben McConnell
- “These will be cumulative events and interactions that will build brand loyalty for the companies that pay attention to them.” - Scott Monty
- “The recession will force revenue results out of social technologies.” - Jeremiah Owyang
- “Companies that focus on earning love will thrive during hard times, and kick ass when good times return.” - Andy Sernovitz
- “Suddenly, being Facebook friends with your mom will seem less ridiculous than following 4,000 strangers on Twitter.” - Greg “the other half of @gremanda” Verdino
If you want more (you know you do), you can find the full deal by downloading the PDF. Take a read through all the brilliance, and don’t be shy–share your feedback and questions with the authors on their blogs (or start a discussion here).
How will you take these ideas–and predictions of your own–into the new year? How does your social media palm read?
The Sixth Photo Meme
Mr. Steve Garfield tagged me in a fun little meme last night. It works like this: you go to the sixth page of your Flickr photostream, and click on the sixth photo, and then post it to your blog.
For me, the resulting photo is quite a cute shot of my dear friends Rebecca Corliss (@repcor) and Dave Fisher (@tibbon) from a Pulver meetup at John Harvard’s in Cambridge.
To pass the meme on, I tag CC Chapman, Paisano, Jenny Frazier, Brian Solis, Pamela Seiple, and Greg BabyPoo.
Back to College I Go…
Tomorrow evening, I have the distinct honor of being a guest speaker in my friend Michael Dowding’s class at Boston University’s College of Communication. I was thinking today that it’s been almost a year since I finished school, so it’ll be interesting to walk through the COM building as an alum. I’ve learned a bunch since I graduated, and I’m excited to share some tidbits tomorrow.
Dowding’s lucky students are in for a discussion about the importance of good writing as it pertains to public relations and communication in a 2.0 world. And of course, we’ll be talking about first jobs and what life is like on the entry level as we start and build our professional careers.
Should be a good time–here’s hopin’ we all learn something new.
Shining a Spotlight on “Net Geners”
Tonight I read the first of a BusinessWeek eight-part series Don Tapscott is authoring about my super stimulated, very digital generation.
With tomorrow’s election as the backdrop, Don brings up some good points about how we as a generation tend to behave and think. He’s right–we multi-task like crazy and we prefer to learn through collaboration rather than lectures. And in my own experience, young people definitely have a tremendous ability and affinity for uniting in groups online, whether it’s around a common interest, political event or social community.
Musing about how my generation organizes online, I can’t help but think of my friend Jessica. In late August, one of my best childhood friends was in a horrific car crash. Within what felt like minutes, a Facebook group was created, where hundreds of Jessica’s friends joined together to receive updates on her condition, upload photos, and leave messages of strength and love. When Jess passed away a few days later, the group transformed into an active tribute, and the page filled with memories and I miss yous. This sort of digital community grieving has never existed before. And this type of organization online extends to all kinds of human interaction, from conversation, education, and celebration.
One thing I guess I find strange is the idea that this generation spans ages 11-31. I think with the way social, information and entertainment technology are evolving at the speed of light, generations might need to be separated more. Within the Net Generation, there are probably three or more sub-generations that have grown up and experience mobile and the Web differently from each other.
Let’s keep talking about Facebook. For instance, my class year in school was the first to start college with Facebook. Facebook was a huge defining part of my college experience, start to finish. Someone who is 31 has probably only used the site as a professional and most likely has a different experience with it. And then someone who is 11 technically can’t use Facebook yet, and who knows what his or her experience will be. Maybe for these kids, Facebook will be a central element to their adolescence, or maybe by that time, this site and sites like it will be too saturated with “old people” and Facebook will take on a different meaning for this age group. I understand there are differences within every traditional generation, but I think the reality today is generations are getting smaller as technology and society move faster.
In any case, I’m really looking forward to reading the forthcoming seven articles in Don’s series. Give this one a read and let’s talk about it.
SM4SC & U
This week, my dear friend Rebecca Corliss told me a bit about Social Media for Social Change (SM4SC), and what the new organization is up to. I think it’s great.
SM4SC is an online grassroots movement started by Boston’s Gradon Tripp to rally social media participants and influencers in support of a common cause. We’re all using new media and marketing tools to talk about brands, products, services, business… The focus here is on social change and helping people.
Gradon and the group tell a pretty inspiring story: “SM4SC is powered by the influence that individual people have within their own online communities to work together and make something happen. We’re utilizing the communal nature of the Internet, which can cause a YouTube video or blog post to reach millions, to raise money for crucially important charities and help fix real-world problems.” Pretty refreshing stuff, don’t you think?
The group is hosting its first fundraiser event on October 10 to benefit Jane Doe, Inc. It looks like there are a few tickets left, so move fast if you want to attend.
How will you help?
State of the Blogosphere 2008: One Girl’s Impressions
Some of us have been wondering what the hepcat Technorati has been doing lately, and it seems they’ve been working on the State of the Blogosphere 2008 report, the first installment of which actually imparts some very interesting tidbits. Here’s what jumped out at me:
Blurry Lines
I really like the section of the report about the lines blurring between blogs and mainstream media. By now, unless you’ve been hibernating while living in a cave that’s under a rock, you know that blogs are viable media outlets and sources of information, entertainment and inspiration, and contribute greatly to the colorful media landscape we get to enjoy today.
As a young PR pro, I am sometimes baffled to hear of clients who so sharply draw a line between traditional and new media outlets, and want their dollars to pay for only one or the other. The reality is that there is no one or the other anymore. It’s becoming harder and harder to justify separating the two into distinct categories, which is brought to light by Technorati, “Larger blogs are taking on more characteristics of mainstream sites and mainstream sites are incorporating styles and formats from the Blogosphere. In fact, 95% of the top 100 US newspapers have reporter blogs.” Let’s face it: mainstream is one ingredient and blogs are another–they mix well and all belong in the same online alphabet soup.
Yes, People Are Talking About Brands
It’s been said a googolplex times. People. Are. Already. Talking. About. Your. Brand. The blogosphere gives you so many opportunities to jump in and talk with people who are already discussing your brand, your company, your product, your whatever. And they have been for some time now, in lots of places and in lots of ways. The ’sphere just makes it easier for you to dive in and participate, too. I think the report captures it: “Whether or not a brand has launched a social media strategy, more likely than not, it’s already present in the Blogosphere. Four in five bloggers post brand or product reviews, with 37% posting them frequently. 90% of bloggers say they post about the brands, music, movies and books that they love (or hate).”
And with 1.5 million blog entries posted in the last 7 days, on some of the 133 million blog records indexed on Technorati since 2002, that’s a lot of brand-centered conversation you might be missing. Don’t miss out.
Girls Against the Boys
For some unknown and slightly annoying reason, I’m always interested in gender and the behavioral factors that divide and unite the sexes. The State of the Blogosphere report shows a table with a gender-focused data breakdown which I think is pretty neat. I find it extremely interesting that only 9 percent of female and 15 percent of male bloggers surveyed were between the ages of 18-24. I had no idea I was in such a tiny minority of the age slice of the blogging population. I think people often think that blogging, Web 2.0 and all those crazy social networks are dominated young people, and that the 18-24 crowd is at the forefront of these sociotechnological trends. (And yes, that’s really a word.) It’s clearly a very misguided and skewed perception.
Have you checked the report out? Looks like there’s more to come, so I’m interested to see what else T’rati has to say. Did anything surprise you?
Photo: “Blurry Lights” by gregverdino (but really taken by me!)
Happy Birthday, Social Honeycomb!
My little blog turns 1 today. I’m a proud blogmama today, on my first social media birthday. Happy Birthday, Social Honeycomb!
PR 2.0, 101
As of a few weeks ago, I’ve been given the task of explaining how social media plays a growing role in our jobs during training sessions for new SHIFTers. I came up with a one-page document that outlines a few different resources and tips relevant to the evolving practice of social media and blogger relations within the industry, and I think it actually gives a really good overview that’s helpful to my colleagues.
But… I figured, why not reach out and see if any PR pros or people approached by PR pros out there have nuggets of wisdom to share. With improving understanding and ongoing education in mind, what would you want to make sure your new hire had on a PR 2.0 one-pager? Maybe it’s an example of what not to do, or a tip on how to leverage LinkedIn. Maybe it’s a blog tracking tool, or what you consider
the simplest RSS feed reader for newbies.
I think it would be cool to compile a list of quotes from people who can share advice, encouragement, examples or opinions that I’ll then pass on to the SHIFTers and my Social Honeycomb readers. I’m sure I’ll dig up some gems from PR Squared, PR 2.0 and various other PR/marketing/communications blogs, but I figured I’d open the door and invite you to chime in here.
Your 2 cents. Spill it.
