Podcast Highlights: The Mediasphere and The Buzz Bin

• Tris Hussey and Jim Turner from One By One Media talk with Chris Heuer about the idea around Social Media Club and the difference between a for-profit and a not-for-loss. There were a few technical hiccups to start, so the actual interview starts at around 5 minutes in. Listen here.
• Geoff Livingston interviews Chris Heuer on The Buzz Bin, covering the participation is marketing concept, providing proper attribution, the Social Media Club as well as the concept of Thinking Liquid.

Social Media Club News: July 2007

Sent July 19, 2007

• State of the Club
• Roles and Responsibilities to be Filled
• Social Media Clubhouse in Second Life
• Upcoming Events

I am writing you today feeling amazingly refreshed and enthused. Married life is pretty good, and things here in San Francisco are just amazing this time of year. It doesn’t hurt that I am also working on a new company I will be announcing later this month. I mention the new gig here because it will allow me some time to invest with SMC, without having to worry too much about paying the rent. So this email newsletter is perhaps one of the most important in Social Media Club’s short history.

I see a way through and beyond the community building obstacles we have faced lately, but it won’t happen without the membership making a sincere commitment to the community by donating time as a volunteer to complete key tasks for the club. So please read on, blog your thoughts about the potential future of Social Media Club and contribute where you can…

The State of the Club

The State of the Club is strong, though the summer has indeed been a time for many to take some time off – some local clubs have decided to skip a month or two, but there are still great conversations happening all around the world. Here in San Francisco and Silicon Valley we have a great new group of volunteers, with big plans for the fall and some great events planned for the coming weeks at KQED and Yahoo! respectively. Austin, Boston, DC, New York, London, Portland, and Phoenix continue to have strong showings with Seattle starting to take off along with Denver and Atlanta.

After announcing our need to take a step back to re-evaluate our direction and operations in May, we actually had a pickup in member registrations. As a result, we still have just over $10,000 in the bank and over 130 professional/business members. As for the use of those funds, the majority is going towards 2 projects, fulfilling our promise of member kits (mid August, really) and a new platform for the Social Media Club community based on Drupal (mid August preview for members).

After our very successful Social Media Workshop in June, Giovanni Rodriguez, Brian Solis and Jermiah Owyang donated their portion of the proceeds to a special fund to begin the process of making Social Media Club a 501(c)6 non profit business association. At present we are still operating Social Media Club under the auspices of Social Media LLC, but with the changes discussed below, we are looking to re-organize in earnest. If you, or someone you know might be able to donate some time to further the legal or accounting aspects of this process, please contact Chris Heuer.

So while things are still a little disorganized, we have a clear sense of what needs to be done – now the focus needs to be on getting everyone aligned and completing the work at hand.

Roles and Responsibilities to be Filled

In order to make the Club really work as we would like to see it, there are some ongoing activities that need to be performed. We have had a lot of interest in volunteering, but no place or process through which we can focus that interest yet. Personally, I am still in the same position I was in when I recruited Howard Greenstein to be the CEO, I am not well suited to manage the operations of the Club and manage all the systems that needs to be looked after. I really would like to find someone to take on the leadership position of Executive Director. As we grow, there should be enough cash flow to pay this position a salary, but today there is none. Perhaps we can have 2-3 people sharing this position with me in the interim? There are also some general ‘officer positions’ we need filled including Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. I think we should also create a formal Board structure to oversee the interests of the club from a completely strategic perspective, separate of the day to day operations.

Additionally, I would like to find people to immediately take on responsibility for:

• Member Recruitment
• New Member Welcoming Committee
• Blog Editor(s) – especially Social Media Now
• Conversation Captains (meeting content and online followup)
• Local Chapter Liaision
• Local Chapter Leadership

The formal officer positions will be determined through a nomination and voting procedure by official Club members. The other roles to be filled merely require an application to be submitted via email with some information on qualifications to fulfill the tasks that it entails and an idea of what you would do in the position. This discussion will be the focus of our next Conference Call which is open to all interested members. During the call we will also review the Club’s reason for being and our vision for fulfilling that purpose.

** Thursday July 26, 2007
** 830am-930am PST
** Dial In 001-605-990-0550
** Access Code 641643

Social Media Clubhouse in Second Life

Later that day, on Thursday July 26 at noon PST, we will be meeting on the site of the Social Media Clubhouse in Second Life to discuss how we might be able to use our virtual Clubhouse to further the goals of the club. Thanks to our good friends at Millions of Us, we are going to have a great location in Second Life near Wired, CNet and other industry leaders. To join the meeting you need to have an account on Second Life and just click on this link http://slurl.com/secondlife/Present/186/138/40/ .

Our goal for this meeting on the land is to co-create a vision for the Clubhouse and to discuss other ways in which we can use the space besides hosting virtual seminars, meetings and social networking. This is your chance to get creative and be a part of what will hopefully be a high profile Second Life project with one of the best development houses around. We will also be making a special announcement about a unique program we will be launching as a part of this project…

Upcoming Events

Green Communications – Case Studies

The green movement is more than just the latest trend. Companies and organizations are asking themselves how they participate in the movement. Business Development Institute and PR Newswire have partnered to produce a half day conference that specifically addresses the questions, issues, and opportunities facing the corporate communicator and marketer.

For inquiries, please call 800.830.6687.

Presented by Business Development Institute and PR Newswire
Tuesday July 24, 1:30pm – 6:00pm
@ Microsoft Executive Customer Briefing Center
1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY
$195 Registration – $145 for SMC Members with Discount – Use Code GREENSMC

To register or read more information, please visit http://www.bdionline.com/greencommunications

Gnomedex 7.0

Gnomedex is one of the very few conferences that I am personally willing to pay for out of my own pocket, which says a lot. It is also the place where I officially launched Social Media Club last year. If you want to meet the real movers and shakers in Social Media, this is the place to be. Thought provoking presentations, great conversations and fantastic parties – it doesn’t get much better then this…

There are only a few tickets left, so head on over and register right now!

Thursday August 9 – Saturday August 11, 2007
Seattle, WA
$495 Registration SOLDOUT
http://www.gnomedex.com/
MeshWalk Palo Alto – MeshWalk Gnomedex
I participated in the first Meshwalk after last year’s Gnomedex and I must say it is a wonderful idea – a walking unconference that draws its inspiration from the world as much as the participants. There will be another MeshWalk after Gnomedex this year, which I will probably be attending, but I am most excited about the event in Palo Alto which is focused on entrepreneurism and funding. Over the course of the day about 100 selected entrepreneurs will walk through Palo Alto and Sand Hill Road, meeting with investors and fellow founders and discussing the process of starting and funding a company. What a great way to get to know the people you need to know to start a company….

Wednesday July 25 Palo Alto, CA 830am – 6pm http://meshwalk.meshforum.org/

Social Media Workshops

After our great success in Palo Alto, we are working on a series of Social Media Workshop’s around the world. Current plans include visits to Austin, Boston, New York, London, and Hawaii!!! If you are interested in having a Social Media Workshop in your town, please contact us to discsuss.

Social Media Club Local Meetings

Some of the groups are taking a month or two off for summer, and some other groups are indeed meeting but I don’t have the current information at this time. For complete details, and to register for an upcoming event in your area, please visit http://www.socialmediaclub.org/events/

• London: July 19, 2007
• San Francisco: July 31, 2007
• Silicon Valley (Bay Area): August 23, 2007
• London: August 16, 2007
• Boston: September 13, 2007 (Summer Break in August)

Web of Change Conference

Web of Change is an annual gathering connecting senior leaders working at the convergence of online strategy, technology, and social change. Held every fall at Hollyhock Centre on Cortes Island, British Columbia, Web of Change offers an exceptional environment for learning, engagement, and reflection.

If your work finds you leveraging technology as a tool for social change and transformation, then you belong at Web of Change. Come to track the emerging trends and tools changing how we connect and communicate. Come to explore how organizations are evolving their structures to leverage emerging opportunities. Come to hone your leadership skills, and connect with other leaders in the field. Most of all, come to refresh your passion for the work you do.

September 19-23, 2007
Cortes Island, British Columbia
http://webofchange.com/

Closing…

Well, there is a lot more we could be talking about, but that about wraps up what we are sending out here tonight. Thank you all for your continuing patience and support – it’s not all that easy to try to build a global community organization for an emerging industry, but we are indeed making it happen, together…

Upcoming SMC gatherings

• San Francisco: July 31, 2007 (pending)
• Philadelphia: August 1, 2007
• Denver: August 7, 2007
• Silicon Valley: August 16, 2007
• Boston: September 13, 2007
• Phoenix: September 13, 2007
• London: September 20, 2007

Some of the following cities took short summer breaks, others are in the planning stages and we should have updates on their upcoming meetings shortly:

Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Seattle, South Florida, Vancouver, and Washington DC.

Pre-WordCamp, Social Media Club Brunch

Since we are back from our wedding and have not had a party in a while, we thought we should invite all of our hungover Social Media Club members and friends over to Brunch before WordCamp on Sunday – I love Brunch, its one of my favorite meals, so I figured why not put the chef’s hat on for a simple meal.  I will be cooking up eggs, bacon, granola and maybe even some French Toast to go with the Bagels, Toast and Muffins – there might even be a ’scone’ there for someone lucky

Please do register here on Eventbrite so we know how many to expect.  There is no fee to join us, but if you want to kick in a few dollars we won’t be offended.  We will open our doors and start cooking at 8am and head out for the short 2 block wallk to Swedish American Hall a few minutes before 10, but please feel free to come and go as you need.  If you have not been to our house yet, we will be sending all registered attendees an email with the address on SAT – or see me at WordCamp on SAT for more details…

PS – I am planning on having a bloody mary or two, but you can have fun with the coffee or just juice if you would like.

Social Media Club NYC – July 18th Meeting Notes

Tonight’s Social Media Club meeting is at PR Newswire – thanks to those folks for hosting. Thanks to Steve Eisenberg, Laurence Koret and Jeff Keefer for getting this meeting organized.

John Havens is talking about the Transparency Manifesto. John is working with Shel Holtz on this project as well.

He has just retold the story of what happened when he invited Scoble to Podcamp and a tempest ensued (because someone posted this incident out of context and without asking for clarity.) Scoble had to respond, etc. All finally worked out well, and of course Scoble wasn’t asking to be paid, he was really gracious and ultimately awesome as usual.

He’s also talking about another issue we had when we (Disclosure: I was on the Podcamp NYC team so I say “we” as part of the team) had some issues with the New School.

Additional discussion on the challenges between transparency and when sharing all the information can hurt someone or some organization.

Paul Young who had started the “Anti-Astroturfing” campaign is here – talked about this campaign and why it was tough to get people to join – it is tough to get consensus on what astroturf is and what the manifesto was for them.

Discussion about interviews, attribution, and how and who gets credit when one contributes to this kind of manifesto.

[Read more]

Andrew Keen, Social Media, and John Milton

I was thinking about “The Cult of the Amateur” and Andrew Keen when I made this video about gatekeepers. I read Milton’s essay many years ago in graduate school, but I realized he was really talking (in 1644) about the same issues — censorship by editing and licensing. For social media as well as for citizen journalism, these become important issues.

Social Media Club Phoenix

We had a very productive meeting about Twitter, Linked In and Yahoo Pipes last month, even though it was July in Phoenix.  I’m going to hold off on an August meeting, however, and then hold the next one in September when everyone’s back in the saddle.  The topic for that meeting will be Facebook, and I’m looking for a good presenter.  Of course, I can always present myself, because I’m obsessed with Facebook like everyone else in Silicon Valley seems to be.

Of course if something happens (Facebook gets sold, goes public, or implodes), we may change the topic

Have a wonderful vacation everyone from Phoenix!

Get your Gnomedex Tickets Now!

Saw a Tweet the other day from Chris Pirillo that there were still a few tix left for this years Gnomedex from August 9-11 in Seattle, WA, which is shocking for me since it is the best conference out there for Bloggers, Podcasters and Social Media professionals. From the looks of this year’s speaker and attendee list, you won’t be disappointed – in fact you would be remiss in not heading over and registering right now.

Last year it sold out early, but it seems ticket sales have been a little slower this year – I think this is primarily because of the huge surge in other wannabe conferences, the rise in unconferences, the tough workload everyone is under and the later summer date. Eventhough things are tight here after paying for the wedding, this is a must attend event for me, so I bit the bullet (hope my new wife won’t mind

Congratuations, Chris and Kristie

I thought it appropriate to take a moment from the business of Social Media to wish co-Founders Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells all the best on the occasion of their wedding.

I won’t link to their personal page here, but public photos are available on Flickr if you search for “chrisandkristie”.

I’m sure I speak for all the members of Social Media Club in extending our heartfelt congratulations and wishes for a long, healthy, happy and successful life!

Noneck Noel Hidalgo leaves on 7/7/07

Follow his journey :
[In] seven months, he will traverse the seven continents, dive into the
seven oceans, and attempt to visit the seven ancient wonders of the
world.

Have great trip Noel. Wish him luck!

Better yet, contribute to his journey via chipin.

Powered by ScribeFire.

SMC Members Discount to Green Communications Case Studies Event

BDI and PR Newswire have extended a discount for Social Media Club members to their upcoming New York Event:
On Tuesday July 24th, Business Development Institute and PR Newswire have partnered to produce a half day conference that specifically addresses the questions, issues, and opportunities facing corporate communicators and marketers and their involvement with green initiatives entitled “Green Communications-The Case Studies”. Beginning at 1:30 pm at the Microsoft Executive Customer Briefing Center in Manhattan, New York, the conference will focus on case studies presented by Ikea, HSBC, Interface, Ford Hybrid, National Geographic, and Environmental Protection Agency. For additional information and registration, please http://bdionline.com/greencommunications/. Use promo code greensmc when registering to receive a discounted rate of $145.

Full details after the read more link:

[Read more]