Erk from ErkPod stops by during his US Road Trip. Naturally, we elect to meet him at the Riverwalk for some cheer.
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Museum Reach San Antonio River Expansion Preview
Social Media Club San Antonio was asked to participate in a sneak peek preview tour of the new Museum Reach Expansion phase of the River.There was lots of picture taking, tweeting, facebooking, live streaming via Kyte and yes, even this audio post on Utterli. You can find all info using hash tag #sariver
A big thanks to Andi Narvaez of KGB Texas for helping to arrange this private tour in advance of the grand opening on Saturday, May 30th.
Group photo courtesy of FlickrClubSA http://www.flickr.com/…317537_com
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Getting to know you…
While connecting online is a great thing, connecting in person is even better.There will be plenty of opportunities over the next few months to get some face-to-face time with the folks who are making Social Media happen in San Antonio. In addition to the monthly gatherings, there are several Camp, Startup and Workshop opportunities coming up. The best way to become involved with the community is to participate. Stay tuned or better yet, show up to any and all upcoming events.
You may ask yourself, “What are these face-to-face meeting opportunities?” Well, here are just a few of the events I’m involved in:
PodCamp San Antonio 3.0 May 16th El Tropicano Hotel 9am-5pm: This is the event that started the whole UnConference movement in San Antonio. Organized by the San Antonio Podcasting Group, this event covers: Blogging, Podcasting, Online Video, Virtual Worlds & Social Media. Registration is open now.Startup Weekend San Antonio II May 29-31st If you’re interested in the Startup Scene, then this is the event for you. This 2 1/2 day event will take you from the concept on Friday night to a fully launched business on Sunday evening. Registration opens on May 1st.
TweetCamp San Antonio July 18th If you love everything Twitter, but want to know more then this is the event for you. Or if you don’t know what Twitter is but keep hearing about it on the Tonight Show and CNN then get ready to get immersed in the Twitter-sphere! From terminology to third party apps to mobile tweeting, you won’t want to miss a minute of this micro-blogging event. Registration is open now.
For those of you who are early birds and like to get your Social Media fix in with a hearty breakfast and a strong cup of Joe, then Social Media Breakfast is the event for you. Every third Wednesday of the month you’ll find topics ranging from Journalism and Social Media to Social Media 101. Registration is ongoing.
There is also the group that attracts the tech and early adopter crowd, Social Media Club San Antonio. We think it might have something to do with the fact that most of the tech-centric crowd can more closely relate to the night owl than they can to the early bird. Meetings are every second Thursday of the month from 6:00-8:00pm. Feel free to join the community site where we’re able to connect in between monthly meetings.
There are also impromptu gatherings which allow fans of the micro-blogging service Twitter to congregate for some face-to-face networking. These events are called Tweetups and can be organized and attended by anyone who is either part of Twitter or at least Twiter-curious. The best way to find out more about these events is to stay tuned into the Twitter stream or at least have a friend who keeps track of such things.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of the events in town. I happen to know for a fact that every first Friday of the month, Susan Price hosts a First Friday Co-Working at Firecat Studio. This monthly event recently celebrated it’s one year anniversary. It has grown in popularity with each passing month. One reason is the highly interactive Brown Bag Lunch which is based around current points of interest in business, marketing and social media. There are additional Co-Working spaces around town such as T-14 in the San Antonio Technology Center as well as C4 to name a few. Find out more on the Co-Working San Antonio Blog.
These events are just the tip of the iceburg. Every day it seems I’m hearing about folks in the community coming up with new and innovative ways to connect. There has never been a better time to be involved. Jump in. The water is not only fine, your friends have already joined the fun.
Cheers!
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The Social Media Snake-Oil Salesman
As Social Media joins the mainstream there is a disturbing new trend emerging. Someone who three months ago never even heard of Social Media is now calling themselves an expert. Recently I saw a website offering “Social Media Certification”. This was from someone many in the community had never heard of before. We rolled our eyes at the gall of such a product offer. Naturally this “certification” was being offered for a hefty fee.You may wonder why I consider this disturbing.
I’m all for folks discovering, learning and sharing Social Media. Heck, I’m a huge fan of the whole “Learn, Share, Grow” motto of the UnConference world. I spend a lot of time doing just that. From organizing annual events like Podcamps, Barcamps, Startup Weekends to monthly gatherings like Social Media Club and Social Media Breakfast events in my community. I am a huge advocate for taking the knowledge of the Social Media and Online Tools to the Community at large. The fact that what only a few early adopters used and understood for years has now become part of the general public’s daily media consumption is what I have been promoting since 2005.
What I find disturbing is that at exactly the same time Social Media is becoming widely known, the scammers, spammers and snake-oil salesmen are discovering it, too. For many folks who are just now entering this space, the “Social Media Certification” probably sounds like a good deal. What they don’t know is that the only certification you can receive is by doing social media. You actually have to dig in and participate in the conversation. You must take the time to develop the relationships. Regardless of what kind of “certification” you have in your hand if you don’t take the time to actively participate on the networks, you wasted your hard-earned money.
You may be wondering who to trust in the Social Media realm. How can you tell who is legit and who is a snake-oil salesman? My recommendation is to look at their Social Proof. If you are going to take a course, webinar, workshop or class take a look at the person teaching the session. Do a Social Media Background Check. I recently saw an advertisement for a LinkedIn teaching session. I was curious and searched for the person who was presenting on LinkedIn. Turns out they had joined recently and only had 5 Connections.
Please note that I am not trying to say that someone new to a network doesn’t have something to add to the conversation. Not at all. However, I do take a stand against that person saying they are a Social Media Expert. I’ve been involved in Social Media since it’s inception and even I am hesitant to call myself an expert.
Things are changing every single day. There are constantly things to learn. So before you pay good money to anyone for Social Media education, take the time to conduct your own research. Take a look at their Social Proof. It is easy enough to find out if they are who they say they are on the networks. Google and the networks themselves are your best source of information.
This topic is one which I know we haven’t seen the last of. I welcome your comments and stories.
image from The Voice for School Choice
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RISE Austin and Innotech San Antonio
It’s been a great week of meeting new folks, reconnecting with old friends and knowledge sharing. On Tuesday, I was privileged to speak during the RISE Austin 3-day multi-location event at the Mexican American Cultural Center. The topic of my session was “Cultivating Community With Social Media At The Local Level”. It was based upon my own personal experience of creating the San Antonio Podcasting community in 2005 which then led to organizing PodCamp San Antonio in 2007/2008, Startup Weekend San Antonio in 2008, Barcamp San Antonio in 2008, Social Media Club San Antonio and Social Media Breakfast San Antonio.
Once I created the first group, I was able to find other passionate folks to help champion future groups and events. The same can be true for anyone. Whatever your passion, hobby, business or non-profit the social media tools can be a great tool to find “your people”.
Here are the presentation slides from the session:
Then on Thursday, Susan Price of Firecat Studio and I presented at Innotech San Antonio. We had a morning session called, “Twitter: A Business Tool Or A Complete Waste Of Time?” (< --I think you know my answer to this). The group was comprised of about a 50/50 mix of folks who were either on Twitter or Twitter-curious. In the afternoon we did a session, "Building Community Online and Offline using Social Media". We used the Co-Working model as a way to illustrate how social media can be used to keep folks connected both online 24/7. However, the value of face-to-face community should not be overlooked. For the business person, Co-Working gatherings are a way to have the best of both worlds. With only 25 minutes, the sessions went by at breakneck speed. The slides for the "Building Community" can be seen here:
Building Communities Online And Offline With Co WorkingKudos to Armando Rayo, Hispanic Engagement Consultant for RISE Austin and Sean Lowery, Executive Director at Innotech They were lively, interactive gatherings and I really enjoyed being a part of the vibrant conversations.
Cowboy Breakfast 2009
On a cold day in January folks came together to not only have a free taco or two but to be a part of what we hope will be a new World Record for # of coffee serves at a single event.Mobile post sent by jennifer using Utterli.
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Sharing the Cowboy Breakfast experience
On Friday, January 30th I’ll be at the 31st Annual Cowboy Breakfast in San Antonio. Heralded as the beginning of the Livestock Show & Rodeo, the Cowboy Breakfast is a much loved early morning tradition. Beginning at 4:30am and ending by 9:00am.The organizers of the Cowboy Breakfast hope to break the World Record for "Most Cups Of Coffee Served At A Single Event".
I know I’ll be doing my part to help make that happen.
Stay tuned in the wee hours of the morning as I share the food and the fun of the Cowboy Breakfast.
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Social Media Breakfast San Antonio
With the successful launch of Social Media Club San Antonio in September 2008 and the continued growth in UnConference style events it appears it’s time for another San Antonio first.
On Wednesday, January 21st Social Media Breakfast San Antonio will hold it’s first meeting. Founder of Social Media Breakfast and recent transplant from Boston to Austin, Bryan Person will be on hand to kick off the event.
I attended a Social Media Breakfast in Austin last year and knew it would be a great fit for the Alamo City. We had just launched SMCSA so the timing wasn’t right. However, when I heard that Jennifer Milikien was also interested in bringing the SMB concept to San Antonio, I knew it was the right time.
Join us on Wednesday, January 21st at the Magnolia Pancake Haus from 7:30am to 9:00am. to help us kick off the fun in style. Seating is limited to 20. So, be sure to register for your seat and breakfast from the Magnolia Pancake Haus.
Beginnings and Ends: Saying Goodbye to 2008 and Hello to 2009
As the end of 2008 approached, the onslaught of list posts increased”“The Top 10 …”
“The Things I Learned in 2008”
And so on. Which then led to the inevitable list posts for 2009 predictions:
“How to Make 2009 the Best Year Ever”
“The 5 Things You Can Do to Start the Year Off Right”
and let’s not forget, “New Year’s Resolutions for 2009”
It’s enough to make your head spin. What is it with the need to recap a year and then immediately start off with a list of things you want to “do better” in the next? Sure we want to use the end of a year to look back and review what did and did not work. Pat ourselves on the back for our successes and shake our head for the failures. After all if we don’t know our own history aren’t we doomed to repeat it? The successes we don’t mind repeating. It’s the failures we’d like to avoid in the future.
I was chatting with my sister recently who shared this observation, “Everyone has a better beginning of the year than they do an end of the year.”
“Really, is that true? If so, why is that the case?” was my puzzled response.
“People start the year full of hope and optimism. They’re excited and ready to make things happen or change, but as the year progresses they get bogged down and lose their energy” she elaborated.
This got me thinking about beginnings and endings. If we are energized by the beginning and not so energized at the end, then why not adjust our perception of beginning and endings? What makes the beginning of a year any different than the beginning of a month, a day or an hour?
Of course it’s the frequency that makes the difference. Every hour is too often. Every day is too mundane. Every month blends into the next. It’s the changing of the year that strikes a cord within us. Having to kiss goodbye to 2008 and say hello to 2009 gives us time to pause in the busyness of our lives. Time to reflect on what has been and plan for what, we hope, will be.
Image by: Brewing Media
Staying Connected In A Time Crunched World
We all lead busy lives. It doesn’t matter if you are a 9am-5pm cube dweller or a stay-at-home mom and dad. From the time we wake up until we finally close our eyes, we are busy. Time is already at a premium, so how are we supposed to add social networks into our jam-packed schedule?
One of the great things about the social networks, Staying Connected, can also one of the the biggest drawbacks. Sure we want to chat with folks from around the globe, get news as it happens, learn about people making a difference and even find out about amazing shopping deals but it does take time to participate on the networks in order to be privy to the latest news. If you’re already busy, it seems like a daunting task to take on Social Networking.
Here are a few tips to help you make the most of the time you do have to participate on the Social Networks:
1. Choose at least 1 but no more than 5 Social Networks. Remember each network requires your active participation in order to work for you. So take the time to investigate the networks that best suit your needs upfront.
2. Find the mobile versions or tools for each of the networks. Almost all of the Social Networks have a mobile version or integrate with existing mobile tools. Think about the time you currently spend standing in line at the bank, post office, store or waiting for a connecting flight. These are prime examples of how you can use what would be considered wasted time to stay connected.
3. Timing can work to your advantage. While all the Social Networks are available 24/7, there are optimum peak times to dip your toe into the busy conversation stream. By the same token there are also off-peak times in which your voice can carry further by interacting closely with fewer participants.
4. Participate in the conversation daily. Sure we’re crunched for time, but if we don’t take the time to at least post an update or two daily, we’re missing out on keeping our connections current. The last thing you want to do is take the time to build up your presence only to have it fade away due to anemic posting.
While there are many more techniques for staying connected these four are a way to get off to a good start. Feel free to add your tips and techniques for staying connected in a time crunched world.
photo credit: ManiacWorld