Social Media Club Louisville

If you’re reading via email or an rss reader I highly recommend hopping on over to smclouisville.org. We’ve got a brand new, beautiful new site design and I want you to see it.

This design was very generously donated by a local SMC supporter. Then the design was turned into a brilliant, functional and altogether awesome Wordpress theme by local designer Ricky Irvine. Thank you designer who wants to stay anonymous and thank you so much to Ricky. I can’t recommend Ricky’s work highly enough. And he’s a super nice guy. Win-win.

Social Media Club Louisville has a good lineup of events ahead of us for Spring and I’m so pleased that we get to start this busy season with a new look for our home here.

While things may seem quiet on the Social Media Club Louisville front, rest assured we have been mighty busy. The organization is now an official non-profit corporation. We have a board of directors (more below) and have had a successful first fund-raising event in our Boot Camp for Non-Profits last week. But that’s not the really good news. (Chris Brogan is coming to visit us in May.)

While we are not scheduling an official event in February, we have an exciting list of events for the spring I wanted to give you a sneak preview of so you could get them on your calendars.

MARCH GATHERING: HOW MARKETING IN A RECESSION IS SMARTER WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

SMC Louisville’s leadership will take you through ideas, strategies and tactics of marketing your organization in tough economic times using social media. Learn how to achieve marketing success with tightened purse strings and conservative budgets. Join us on Tuesday, March 24 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Louisville Visual Art Association at the Water Tower.

SOCIAL MEDIA BOOT CAMP FOR ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

We’ll turn our focus to the advertising, marketing and public relations industries on April 14. for a half-day boot camp that will give professionals in those industries an up-close look at the tools, technologies and strategies they can use to reach their audiences in the social media space. This will be more than just the basics with particular focus given to working with creatives, integrating social media strategies across campaigns and delivering return on investment for social media efforts. Mark your calendars for 8 a.m. until 11 a.m., Tuesday, April 14. Location TBD. This will be a working session, so bring your own laptops! The cost will be $100.00 per person. (Opportunity to RSVP to come.)

APRIL GATHERING: GENO CHURCH FROM BRAINS ON FIRE

Join us for breakfast on Thursday, April 30 (site and time TBD) for a chat with Geno Church from Brains on Fire. Church is the word of mouth inspiration officer for Greenville, S.C., based Brains on Fire. Church and his firm helped develop the award-winning word of mouth movement, the Fiskateers, which is part of the Fiskars Brand. Church will take us through the social media and off-line strategies that help build a more than 5,000-member community of brand enthusiasts for Fiskars.

MAY GATHERING: CHRIS BROGAN

Social media expert and industry thought leader Chris Brogan will join us for two events on Tuesday, May 19. His New Marketing Summit organization will conduct an all-day boot camp, then Chris will speak to SMC Louisville Tuesday night. Sites and exact times are to be announced. The boot camp will have a cost associated with it. Details will be announced soon.

JUNE GATHERING: SUMMER NETWORKING

Join us from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on June 16 for some good, old fashioned networking. No formal presentation is planned. Door prizes will be given away.

SMC LOUISVILLE ELECTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

As part of our incorporation as a non-profit organization, we were required by law to name officers which now comprise our board of directors. The Social Media Club Louisville officers are: Jason Falls, President; Michelle Jones, Vice-President; Nick Huhn, Treasurer; Brendan Jackson, Secretary; David Finch, Board Member. We would also like to thank Dan Canon (our lawyer) and Tammy Finch (our accountant) for assisting us with the incorporation and setup of the organization.

And just to make up for the lack of a February presentation, here’s some added value for you for this month.

Enjoy!

1. 100+ Smart Ways to Use LinkedIn - Linked Intellingence

2. 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business - Chris Brogan

3. Starting a Bog? 12 Ideas for Blog Posts - Online Journalism Blog

4. The Social Media Starter Kit - Altitude Branding

5. How to Use the New Friendfeed Search for Social Media Intelligence - Read Write Web

In light of weather reports that Louisville may receive significant (at least by Louisville standards) snow this evening we have opted to postpone this event. Details on the new date for the event will be posted here as soon as possible.

On Tuesday January 27, 2009 Social Media Club Louisville presents a unique opportunity for the Louisville nonprofit community. The Social Media Bootcamp for Nonprofits will cover the basics of social media including the tools and technologies needed to participate, best practices for getting organizations active in the social media space and address some of the unique benefits and challenges nonprofits have in social media from fundraising to increasing organizational awareness.

Speakers will include leaders in the social media space from the Louisville area whose experience includes individual, small- to medium-sized business and big-brand success with social web programming and strategy.

Social Media Bootcamp for Non-Profits
Tuesday January 27, 2009
8:30AM-10:30AM

The fee for the Social Media Bootcamp for Nonprofits is $50 per person and space is limited.

Registration for this event is now closed.

Webster University (Google Map)
1031 Zorn Avenue
#200
Louisville, KY 40207

Wanted to pass along a note from Ashley Cecil, one of our members/attendees/homies, who works with several non-profit and arts organizations outside of her role with the Louisville Visual Art Association. Just Creations is looking for board members and is specifically in need of ones with some ability to help guide the organization from a technical perspective.

Her note:

Just Creations, a not-for-profit Fair Trade retail store which provides marketing assistance to low-income artisans in the developing world, is looking for people to volunteer to serve on the Board of Directors.  People with skills in accounting, computer technology, marketing, and event planning are needed.  All people with a heart for our mission and a willingness to spend 3-6 hours per month, both attending Board meetings and assisting with special projects, are encouraged to contact Joan Frisz at 897-7319 or info - at - justcreations.org by September 5.

This announcement came today from the Social Media Club’s national organizers and was posted on the national organization’s blog. We’re honored that Louisville is represented on the national body by SMC Louisville co-founder Jason Falls. Incidentally, our guest speaker Tuesday night, Jake McKee, is also on the board.

Social Media Club Forms Interim Board To Chart Strategic Direction And Advance Its Goals

The Social Media Club (SMC), a new media and advocacy organization focused on social media, today announced that 42 well-regarded industry leaders have volunteered to form an interim Board of Directors.

The new interim board has been charted to address several key organizational and strategic deliverables, including development of membership goals, acceleration of local chapter development, increase in adoption of industry standards and implementation of a new legal structure to enhance future growth.

New interim Board Member and Adjunct Professor of Social Media at University of Miami Alex de Carvalho said “Social Media Club is an important industry organization that has been working to establish social media standards and ethics. The voluntary participation of such noted industry leaders to further its mission is a clear indication of the Social Media Club’s value and contributions. I look forward to collaborating with the new interim board to progress the Social Media Club from being a ‘big idea’ to serving the community as a prominent agent of change.”

According to Chris Heuer, founder of Social Media Club and Partner at The Conversation Group, “The Social Media Club is honored to have so many accomplished and well-regarded industry evangelists come forward to lead the organization. While the interim board will focus on charting the organization’s future direction, our core mission will remain the same: promotion of media literacy; support of industry standards efforts such as Creative Commons licensing, Microformats, Data Portability and OpenID; discussion and promotion of ethical behavior; and sharing our knowledge among our members and the industry community at large.”

Co-Founder and Social Media Club President Kristie Wells added, “We are grateful to have received so much support from around the world over the past two years. With nearly 200 paying members and over 500 open members - we are deeply appreciative of the volunteer efforts to make the Social Media Club a success. With leading corporate members, such as Business Wire and SHIFT Communications, as well as dedicated individual professionals, the Social Media Club will continue to gain momentum and serve the greater needs of the industry while sharing our lessons learned along the way.”

The board will also focus on increasing its research efforts and strengthening relationships with other organizations such as the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) and the International Association for Business Communicators (IABC). The interim board’s work will be completed once the club reorganizes as a new entity, and holds an election amongst its members for a formal Board of Directors.

The newly named/appointed members of the interim board are leading social media analysts, bloggers and business leaders, and are as follows:

• Lee Aase - Social Media University, Global
• Rohit Bhargava - Influential Marketing Blog and Personality Not Included
• Richard Binhammer - RichardatDell
• Michael Brito - Britopian and Conversations Matter
• Chris Brogan - ChrisBrogan.com
• Mike Chapman - Austin Social Media Club and Every Dot Connects
• Megan Cole - MeganCole.org
• Alex de Carvalho - alexdc.org and Social Object
• Todd Defren - SHIFT Communications and www.pr-squared.com
• Serena Ehrlich - Business Wire
• Jason Falls - Social Media Explorer
• Maggie Fox - Social Media Group
• Jon Gatrell - spatiallyrelevant.org
• Howard Greenstein - HowardGreenstein.com
• Francine Hardaway - Stealthmode
• Josh Hallett - Hyku
• Annie Heckenberger - pikpr.blogspot.com and redspurs.com
• Chuck Hester - iContact
• Chris Heuer - ChrisHeuer.com
• Sherry Heyl - Mind Blogging
• Tara Hunt - HorsePigCow
• Bill Johnston - Forum One Networks Forum and Online Community Report
• Jennifer McClure - Society for New Communications Research
• Mike McGrath - Dogpatch Dispatch
• Jake McKee - CommunityGuy.com and Ant’s Eye View
• Gregory Narain - SocialTwister
• Lee Odden - Online Marketing Blog and TopRank
• Erica OGrady - ReinventingErica.com and Peanut Butter Media
• Jeremiah Owyang - Web Strategist
• David Parmet - Marketing Begins At Home, LLC and PerkettPR
• Jackie Peters - heavyBlog
• Doug Pollei - pollei.com
• Pierre-Yves Platini - Yoono
• Douglas Pollei - Pollei.com
• Connie Reece - Every Dot Connects and Austin Social Media Club
• Chris Saad - ChrisSaad.com
• Andy Sernovitz - Word of Mouth Marketing and GasPedal
• Brian Solis - PR2.0
• J.J. Toothman - jjtoothman.net and Red Pill
• Todd Van Hoosear - Tech PR Gems
• Des Walsh - Des Walsh dot Com
• Kristie Wells - KristieWells.com

About the Social Media Club

The Social Media Club centers on the sharing of best practices, establishing ethics and standards, and promoting media literacy with a focus on the emerging discipline of Social Media. The Social Media Club brings together journalists, publishers, communication professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaborators who create and consume media and have an interest in seeing the industry improve and evolve. The Social Media Club provides a forum for diverse groups and individuals to discover, connect, share and learn about social media and to play a role in its future evolution.

To find out more about the opportunities in social media and connect with other practitioners, visit: http://www.socialmediaclub.org

Despite the weather, we had 33 folks by Todd Earwood’s informal count tonight and couldn’t be more thrilled for those of you who came. We know there were several others with previous obligations so we’re satisfied that the thirst for social media knowledge in Louisville is apparent.

Lots of great discussion and ideas were shared tonight. We have an idea of topics we want to try and cover, a general feel for what we’ll talk about and more. I’ll post a more lengthy recap with links to others’ blogs tomorrow.

Keep your eyes on our RSS Feed in the coming days. We’ll watch WebProNews for our upcoming features and post a round up of links to blog posts. If you don’t mind, tag anything from the meeting “smclouisville” and it’ll be easier for us to find.

In order to better manage our contact lists, prevent scrapers from pulling any information we might post in the comments (DON’T POST CONTACT INFO IN THE COMMENTS), we’ve decided to set up a BaseCamp project management site. This way we can plan, track, communicate, discuss and share all in one place behind a password protected safety net and everyone’s information can be safe.

To get a log in, if you don’t already have one, just email Jason at smclouisville — at — gmail.com. If you’re on the SMC Louisville email list, you’ll be receiving a login invitation shortly.

It’s at http://smclouisville.grouphub.com

Of course, we’ll continue to update the blog (soon to move to a permanent home) and Facebook group as well.

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.

For more information about the Social Media Club, visit its blog/website at http://www.socialmediaclub.org. To add your name to our membership list and participate in the public wiki for SMC, visit http://socialmediaclub.pbwiki.com/Social+Media+Club+Louisville

Be sure to subscribe to our blog feed here:

http://smclouisville.wordpress.com/feed/

And join our Facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8343501382

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

See you Jan. 22!

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.