SMC’s Most Excellent Ping Server List
January 6, 2007
Once again, I was in need of the latest Ping Server List for a client’s Blog, but I could not find a decent one anywhere that was up to date (if you don’t know - a ping server is a computer that gets notified when a new Blog post is published). Chris Abraham wrote the most popular one a while back which I have previously used blindly as is, only to now find it is woefully out of date. WordPress has a pretty decent list as well, just as out of date. Since it is something I think we all need, I went ahead and collected all the ping server URL’s I found from the first 2 pages of Google results and started testing them. [Read more]
Discount passes available for Social Media 2007 conference
January 6, 2007
Social Media Club (‘SMC’) has partnered with Business Capital Edge (’BCE’) to offer a $100 discount (making the cost $500) to our members for the Social Media 2007 Corporate Blogging and Podcasting conference being held on January 30-31, 2007 at the InterContinental Buckhead in Atlanta, GA.
To register and receive the discount, please call 847-993-5946 and reference code MC34.
BCE has also launched a blog to assist the speakers and the participants to connect before, during and after the conference. They encourage all registered attendees to participate in the blog by letting them know why you registered for Social Media 2007, what you want to learn and what you think are the biggest issues. The speakers will be checking in on this blog and will do their best to address your needs.
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We are also please to announce the launch of the Social Media Club Atlanta that will take place on Monday, January 29th at the same hotel as the conference, the InterContinental Buckhead. On hand will be SMC Co-Founder, Howard Greenstein, who will lead a discussion on what Social Media really is, review some of the activities at the other Clubs, discuss goals for SMC in 2007, in addition to covering other topics suggested by the Atlanta participants.
The event will take place from 6pm to 8:30pm and is free to attend, though we do ask you to pre-register so we may prepare the room for your arrival and ensure there are plenty of drinks for everyone.
Hope to see you in Atlanta!
Change in venue for Dallas SMC gathering
January 4, 2007
While I know some of you were looking forward to cruising Addison’s Main Steet, it looks like you will have to settle for the lights of downtown Dallas this time around. 
Our dear friend Giovanni Gallucci has just secured a great spot at the offices of Yahoo! for the launch of the Dallas Social Media Club. Everything else remains the same - just a different place to park your car.
Yahoo!’s address is 3131 McKinney Avenue, Suite 500 in Dallas, TX and if you have not registered for the event yet, please do so here as we need to know you are coming.
Cheers!
Interviews with Chris Heuer, Co-Founder of Social Media Club
January 4, 2007
A couple of fine fellas have done podcasts with Chris recently, and I would love to share them with you all.
(1) Shel Holtz and Chris discuss the social media press release; the evolution of the effort, the components of the social media release, the progress made by the working group, composition of the working group, the desirability of standards, the issues the social media release is designed to address, and Chris’s expectations for a release of the initial social media press release standard. Phew! All this in 31 minutes. The podcast can be heard on the For Immediate Release website.
(2) Chris sat down ‘virtually’ with Brian Oberkirch and chatted about Social Media Club, disclosure/blogger ethics and the Social Media Press Release. It is a long one, but a good one which can be heard here.
“Continuous Partial Postponement” - Interpret?
January 4, 2007
Our good friend Greg(arious) Narain has written a great little piece on the idea of “Continuous Partial Postponement” that he gleaned from a book he is reading called Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism by Daniel Pinchbeck. He relates it to being the pessimistic view of looking at Linda Stone’s ideas around “Continuous Partial ATTENTION“. From my perspective it is simply another way of correlating to the brain as computer metaphor - we have to share/split the functions of the whole brain in order to interact with the ever quickening pace of life today. This does not mean we lose the ability to be fully present in any given moment, just that we choose to operate differently for our own unique personal objectives. Asking questions as to whether or not this is good or bad for us is the right thing to do, but I am not inclined to judge it as either good or bad - though like similar activities and experiences, it is best done in moderation.
It is though, more of an effect of the global network connectivity enabled by technology rather than the technology itself - but would of course not be possible without the technology. I make this additional distinction because we get to choose how we use our tools - or at least those of us who can make a conscious choice do. While the system demands us to be ever more hyper nodes of the network, scanning, processing, determining and taking action, we don’t need to feed it - most people don’t and won’t. However, in the knowledge economy that we live within today, those who have the talent and skills should be rewarded richly if they find their passion and joy in such activities. Only so much of it can really be taught, this contextualiation capability is an evolutionary and genetic trait.
My take on Greg’s insyte comes from an understanding that it is not one face of the coin, but the whole coin that must be considered. So, while Daniel may be interested in that which we don’t pay attention to and postpone to process later, and while Linda is interested in how we optimize what we pay attention to in the moment, I am still more interested in both. More importantly, I am curious to understand the systems at play and the changing landscape upon which it’s rules operate.
That said, I had a completely different understanding how the phrase “Continuous Partial Postponement” was being used when I first read it. Now that it is sinking in, I may have been right after all, but on an oh so deep abstraction layer. I had taken it to mean the continuous postponement of all the things I caught with my attention and which flitters across the wires everytime my Firefox browser crashes and the 100+ tabs reload - reminding me of all the things I want to write about, but am continuously postponing in order to get the highest priority things done.
Hmmm…. What do you think?
January Social Media Club gatherings
January 2, 2007
January is off to a great start with seven meetings locked in:
We have five other gatherings currently in the planning stages where we are in the hunt for venues and sponsors (to cover the cost of snacks and drinks). If you can help put one of these together, please email Kristie for details:
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Miami/South Florida (possibly BusinessWire office)
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London (possibly Fleishman Hillard office)
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Seattle (possibly Third Place Books)
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Vancouver (possibly Bryght office)
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Washington D.C. (possibly Ogilvy PR office)
We are also pleased to announce the launch of the Austin Social Media Club coming on February 22, 2007. Details to follow shortly.
Is there one happening near you yet? If not, please email Howard or Kristie for information on launching a group in your city.
We’ll see you soon!
