In January, Todd Earwood and I officially founded the Social Media Club’s Louisville chapter. We had about 35 people show up for our first meeting. Since then, we’ve met monthly and had a great time learning and growing our networks together.
Last night was our May gathering and the format was an open discussion. I started the group of 25 folks off with a general topic: What do you want to get out of the Social Media Club?
What ensued was a vibrant and involved discussion from some amazing people, some new to social media wanting to learn, others deeply nested in the web social computing can tangle you in. I told them the informal steering committee I’d put together for the club was challenged with coming up with programs for a wide net of folks. Our audience ranges from complete noobs who would struggle to even define social media, to experts in the field; and from developers, programmers and software engineers to marketers, PR folks, to small business owners and venture capitalists. Bottom line: It’s hard to figure out what’s best to cover.
But last night opened our eyes to a great deal of clarity. We have a mission. We have a purpose. And our group, I think, defined it.
The Social Media Club Louisville’s mission is to educate the community about social media and social media tools to improve and enhance its member’s productivity, connectivity and online experience. In doing so, we also evangelize the use of social media for both business and personal success.
That is what I heard last night. Those in attendance (below) can certainly chime in via the comments to ensure we all contribute to that definition, but evangelizing social media seemed to be the consensus. And, even if you are trying to look at SMC involvement as a business opportunity, it makes sense. If more people adopt social media, there’s more of an audience to reach, more potential clients to recruit and the like.
And what a convenient time to get this message from the members! Social media enthusiasts in Indianapolis and Charlotte have contacted me recently wanting to know what I did to start SMC Louisville. Andre Natta, Ike Pigott and my former peeps in Birmingham are dreaming up un-conferences and WordCamps and the discipline is growing elsewhere also.
As we sit here today, we are all on the forefront of what I believe will be an explosion for the social web in the next five years. More and more case studies are going to come down the pike to give even the most fearful and conservative of businesses the value proposition they need to say, “yes,” to what we are recommending. As social media thinkers, enthusiasts or even just interested parties, the time is now. But that time is what we make of it.
Today you should show someone how to use RSS feeds. You should explain the usefulness of Twitter. You should illustrate the value in sharing bookmarks socially to someone who still uses browser favorites. You should help someone find their ideal blog topic.
Teaching social media benefits you. It gives you a broader network of individuals to choose from, brings expertise in areas outside the bounds of our own to our friends lists, our communities. It provides greater depth and breadth to conversations. It might even connect or reconnect you to old friends, classmates and even family members.
And for those of you in the social media business, it puts you in the position of expert to people who might one day be in need of more experienced thinking or strategic planning for social media programs.
Part of our discussion led us to wonder what nursing homes would be like if we could teach all those patients who go through life with a sense of loneliness how to use social media to connect with each other or their families. Imagine how impactful we could be!
But we only can be if we stop talking to each other and start showing the rest of the world what social media is. Get out of the echo chamber and show your mother how to find you using tweets and “@” signs. Find a friend and show them how to cut down on surf time by subscribing to RSS feeds.
More importantly, join the Social Media Club in your area. If there isn’t one, start one. If you want to know how, ask. Or check out the national organization’s blog or wiki.
Educate + Evangelize
It’s going to take an army of us to push this ball up the hill. But there is a summit and the other side is going to be fun to see.
Those in attendance in Louisville last night included:
Image via WikipediaThe May gathering of the Social Media Club Louisville will take place on Tuesday, May 20, from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at ArtSpace on the second floor at 323 West Broadway, between the Brown Hotel and Brown Theatre. The format will be a round table/group discussion about issues in social media, feedback and dialog about SMC Louisville to date and ongoing and any other relevant topics YOU bring to the table.
The format was inspired by a Social Media BreakfastShawn Morton and I attended earlier this month in Cincinnati. With no constraints on the topic and just some general steering from Albert Maruggi, the group talked at length about several different topics and on several different levels. It was good discussion for those just starting in social media understanding and those who have been doing it a while. And don’t worry, we’ll not spend the whole time in formal discussion. There will be plenty of time for informal networking and socializing.
We are now tentatively planning on providing food and drinks at this particular event, as opposed to what was in the group email. We’ll update the blog and send another note out once we have that solidified. Until then, plan on coming fed or perhaps joining a few of us for dining afterwards somewhere nearby. The original plan was a matter of budget, not facility. You’re more than welcome to bring refreshments to the meeting.
We would like to thank the Fund for the Arts for use of ArtSpace. They have generously provided the meeting space for us. I’d anticipate a few folks from the Fund will attend, so be sure to not only thank them, but help them learn what we’re doing. Social media can be a powerful mechanism for connecting them to new audiences, young and old. And a special thanks to Heather O’Mara from Kentucky Opera for facilitating the arrangements with the Fund. She came to her first SMC Louisville event last month and immediately jumped in to help. Thanks, Heather!
For questions, feel free to email us at smclouisville — at — gmail — dot — com.
Image by @bdthomas via FlickrTuesday night’s expert blogging panel was yet another resounding success for the Social Media Club Louisville. An unofficial count of 55 people attended to hear Chris Pearson, Rob May, Michelle Jones and me share thoughts and experiences on blogging. Our co-founder, Todd Earwood, saved the day for those of you either not in attendance or in the back of the room (I promise we’re trying to find a more suitable venue for meetings).
Here are the videos, chopped up for ease and distribution of time commitment. Come back often to see them all if you can’t squeeze them all in now. And do scroll down for some great photos and links to other posts talking about our panel.
Since our adventure into social media began with our inaugural gathering in January, I’ve continually solicited feedback both generally at meetings and via club communications and individually with folks involved that I know and trust. The one thing that continues to come up is that not enough people feel like they know everyone. So instead of programming something for March, let’s just get to know each other.The March gathering of the Social Media Club Louisville will be an evening of networking, informal content producing (I’ll interview people for our blog, my blog or even your blog if you like!), game playing and general get-to-know-you goodness. Our friends at CNET have graciously extended their gathering space as a venue, which includes Wii, X-Box and PlayStation3 set ups for the gamers in the club. We’ll have some informal dinner and snack options (suggestions are welcome) as well.
Hopefully, the fun and frolic will better enable us to connect to one another. We’ll concentrate on continued learning in April and may even use March to gather suggestions from everyone on what we want to explore next.
WHO: Champions of social media and those wishing to learn
WHAT: March Gathering of the Social Media Club Louisville
WHEN: Tuesday, March 18 (Third Tuesdays, remember?) from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.
WHERE: CNET, 1630 Lyndon Farm Court, Louisville, Ky. (Off LaGrange Road between Whipps Mill and Hurstbourne Parkway) (Google Map It)
WHY: To network, mingle and have fun
For more information, email us at smclouisville - at - gmail.com or subscribe to the RSS feed of our blog.
Today’s Business Firstcover story about social media was, without a doubt, more than we could have ever imagined. Terry Boyd couldn’t make our first meeting last month. He called me the following Friday to follow up and see if anyone showed. Obviously, he was impressed with the turnout and fascinated with the subject matter that unites us all: social media.
Having worked in public relations and journalism for over 15 years now, I’ve learned that your first reaction to stories is always on the negative side, even if it shouldn’t be. You wish they had interviewed more of the people involved, that they’d offered more links to many of our companies’ websites or blogs, or that they gave WebProNews the appropriate credit for that goofy picture of me. But after your initial reaction settles a bit you realize what it means: This was a fantastic door-opener for the conversation about social media in Louisville and the region.
Talking to Todd Earwood tonight, he said it best:
“This is the perfect publication and the perfect audience to read this. The people who read Business First are the people we want interested in social media. Granted, they’ve got a long way to go before the ‘get it,’ but this puts it in front of them.”
I would add that it probably puts social media in front of many of them for the first time.
Terry Boyd is a friend in the media for us. If you get a chance to meet him at some point, or you know him, be sure to thank him for turning the legacy media eye on us new media folk for a little bit. He truly is fascinated by the world we’re playing in and may even wind up coming to many of our meetings.
Congratulations are in order for Todd and Joe Fowler for representing us well. Anyone who read the article knows now that Joe is skeptical and leery of folks like me (who work at advertising agencies) but having that counterpoint is what captivated Terry so much and led to a larger piece than we expected. I’m always for balance in the discussion and even agree with Joe that marketers must learn to play by the rules in social media or they won’t be welcome.
While I’m excited to hear what our three February discussion leaders have to say about selling social media in a couple weeks, I think we’ve gone a long way to the possibility of doing so in this market with this article.
Just a quick post to give everyone the link to our COVER STORY in today’s Business First. They want you to subscribe online to read the whole thing. The issues hit news stands today. Todd and I will try to summarize it and our thoughts as soon as we can get hold of the full copy!
Click here for the teaser on Business First’s website.
(LOOK! Our blog is on the front flippin’ page! How cool is that?)
The article was written by Terry Boyd. I can’t wait to read it! In fact, I’m going to go buy a copy right now.
And sometimes, you just have to write a little extra to ensure the graphic hanging off the bottom of the post doesn’t mess with your layout. Okay, now I’m going to buy my copy.
The precedent for inaugural gatherings of local Social Media Club chapters, at least from my anecdotal gatherings, is to invite a bunch of people, open the doors and see who shows up. Last night, my friend Todd Earwood and I did that in Louisville. We emailed several folks in the market we thought might be interested, started a Facebook group, posted a few blog entries talking about it and crossed our fingers.
To our delight and despite the imposing potential winter weather, 33 folks joined us at Greater Louisville, Inc., to attend the first social media gathering ever in Louisville. (Unless you count our friend Ben Thomas’s Louisville Geek Dinner, which while very cool, isn’t quite the same thing. And yes, Ben was there last night.)
Keep in mind a lot of the folks in the room (10 or so raised their hands when we asked who was there to learn and didn’t really feel like they were actively using or promoting social media programs) had no earthly idea what we would say or what we would get into. Frankly, neither did we. In addition to the 33, we have several others who couldn’t make it but want to be involved. We have 59 people on the list and I’ve only forced five of them there!
What we discovered was our suspicions were correct: Louisville has a vibrant and healthy community of digital talent thirsting to discuss, learn and share the world of social media.
A variety of topics and directions were thrown out as suggestions for what we want to learn (dare I say, “explore”) and how we’d like to do it. The popular need on everyone’s mind seemed to be just knowing who the others were and their specialties so we could perhaps develop a pool of resources from which to pull when we need web talents.
The dumb guy in the room (read: me) sent around a note pad of paper for folks to jot down contact info and specialties. Then a couple people much smarter than me (read: that’s not altogether that hard) suggested we go around the room and introduce ourselves. Despite the sometimes corny nature of that approach, it seemed to be just what everyone wanted.
The gang from CNet (yes, that CNet with main offices in the Bay area and … oh, yeah … Louisville) suggested we develop a Basecamp project management site. By the time I got home, Shawn Morton had it set up and ready to roll. (Members: We’ve turned off the auto email function due to the volume of emails you’d get if we didn’t. Subscribe to the RSS feed or just keep coming to the blog.)
WebProNews was there to cover the event. We can’t wait to see the videos as they also took the time to interview several individuals about their businesses and projects including Shawn and the Profilactic gang, Aaron Marshall from ChurchSMO and Brian Wallace of NowSourcing.com. (If they interviewed you, too, I’m sorry. Those are who I saw.) Earwood and I pimped a bit. He more so since he talked about Daily Idea while I talked about Social Media Club mostly.
WebProNews also snapped some pictures. As did Michelle Jones from Consuming Louisville, which is one of the best city interest blogs I’ve ever seen, Louisville or not. I tried to get Flickr’s tag badge based on our universal “smclouisville” tag, but it says there aren’t any with that tag, despite the fact it also shows this page, containing the 13 picturesWebProNews and Michelle tagged with it. (Come on Flickr. You’re better than that.)
I know, Photrade, I know. You were going to come, then give me hell for using Flickr and this is my penance. Everyone go check out Photrade. They’re up the road in Cincinnati and have promised to show up at a future meeting.
As you can tell, I’m excited. Several of the folks I talked to, some of which into the wee hours while staring down the barrel of a frothy lager, are as well. We have a start. Now let’s see where it takes us.
Other Postgame Posts From The Evening (If I miss any, please let me know!):
The first-ever gathering of the Social Media Club Louisville is set to take place Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008 at 6 p.m. in the main conference room at Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI), 614 West Main Street, 5th Floor. (Google Map It)
Since this is our first meeting and it would be impossible to predict who is interested in joining us, please tell friends, co-workers, colleagues and others who might have an interest in social media, even it it’s just to learn.
We anticipate a broad spectrum of professional interests as the make up of our group, including public relations practitioners, marketers, programmers, developers, entrepreneurs, information technology professionals, database management specialists, journalists, gamers, bloggers and more. If you know someone who fits the bill, pass this on.
We hope to meet for approximately one hour (snacks and beverages will be served), then gather at The Bristol (same building) for a more informal time for networking, food and beverage (on your own).
We want you to join us. Please RSVP your attendance (so we have a rough idea of how many are coming) by emailing us at smclouisville — at — gmail.com.
The Social Media Club is a national organization that bills itself as a community for the champions of social media and those seeking to learn. We want to begin a local conversation about the practice of social media that will foster discussion, sharing and learning for all involved.
If you did not receive an email invitation and want to be on our email list, please email your contact information to us at smclouisville — at — gmail.com
Hello world. This is the new online home for the Social Media Club’s Louisville chapter. News of our inaugural meeting to organize and just see who is interested in becoming part of the social media conversation in the Kentuckiana region is coming soon.
In the meantime, should you have any questions, you can find us at smclouisville — at — gmail.com.
Last night was our May gathering and the format was an open discussion. I started the group of 25 folks off with a general topic: What do you want to get out of the Social Media Club?
Today’s 
