Social Media Expedition

by bgs on 10/01/09 at 11:29 am

January 2009: Social Media for Life

Dave Barger and Bob Hazlett at Social Media Expedition breakfast

YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, Picasa, MySpace, Twitter, Plurk, FriendFeed … how do you keep up? Cell phones are not just for talking, Facebook is not just for the kids and a whole new vocabulary has been coined around Twitter: * tweet, tweetup, tweeple, twitterverse …

Corporations, entrepreneurs and some nonprofits have recognized that online relationships can translate into long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with the investment of a bit of time and very little money.

As a confirmed social media geek, I agree with my friend Dave Barger, president, CEO and strategist with LunaWeb, who believes that social media adds value in other areas of life as well. Here is Dave’s list:

Family / Relatives (nuclear and extended)

Friends

Community (neighbors)

Consumers (Business)

Faith (Religious Institutions)

Citizens (Government)

Students (Educational Institutions)

Dave has organized Social Media Expedition, a group that meets monthly for breakfast to network and hear a presentation or two on social media-related topics. I’ve been going to these events since April of last year and have always come away with new knowledge that excites me. The spirit of the group is open, friendly and there is a willingness to share knowledge and expertise and enlarge the circle.

This month’s program was well-balanced, with both business- and community-oriented applications. Noted community strategist Connie Bensen gave a virtual presentation on SM2, a Techrigy product that monitors social media messages and may help predict ROI; Kerry Hayes of Mid-South Community Organizers and the Stax Museum of American Soul was active in the Obama presidential campaign at the local level and outlined the social media strategies of the campaign.

The last part of the breakfast consists of table discussions of a variety of topics, voted on by attendees. This month’s topics were blogging for business, video, Twitter and social media 101.

The next Social Media Expedition breakfast is Wednesday, February 4, 7:30 a.m. Location is TBA. For more information:

SME meetup.com page

Twitter

Facebook

Glossary: *tweet: a 140-character post on Twitter; tweetup: an in-person meeting of people who follow one another on Twitter; tweeple: the people you follow and interact with on Twitter; twitterverse: the Twitter universe

Buzz it!

Dave Barger

Beth,

Thanks for the great shouts here to the things we're doing and to Connie Bensen. She is on fire and as things begin to settle even more, so will the demand for her expertise: Community Management. When I say "we" above, I want to commend you for being of those that recognized the merits and value of Social Media early on. Times are changing quickly. Now, the market is asking for these services and so providers are trying to understand what it's about.

So, yay for you: Pioneer.

/Dave

Connie Bensen

Hi Beth,
Dave is such a great resource. He's providing Memphis with awesome leadership!

It was a lot of fun 'visiting' your first event. I hope to get to Memphis in person soon!

Connie

bethgsanders.com