Join us for an evening of discussion and getting to know your fellow social media users/creators in Austin, Texas. Pizza and drinks at 6:00; program starts at 6:30.

NOTE: The meeting is free, but we ask you to register because space is limited.

The Headless Organization

Throughout the history of the Internet, we’ve seen an explosion of new, relatively frictionless communication channels, broad access to the means of media production, and a blurring of the distinctions between professional and personal media. We’ve seen an ascendance of many to many communications resulting in “out of control” communications, flatter hierarchies, and the emergence of new, agile forms of social and political organization. The rise of networked communications and the appearance of robust platforms for social networking has been accompanied by an increasing tendency for groups to self-organize – and the proliferation of entities referred to as leaderless or “headless” organizations. In May’s SMC presentation, we’ll consider how these headless organizations have evolved, discuss some examples, and talk about challenges, limits, and potential future developments.

Jon Lebkowsky and David Armistead are principals of Social Web Strategies, an Austin business consulting company that focuses on the social web and its impact on business transformation.

Sponsored by Datran Media

On Tuesday we had a packed house for the Austin Social Media Workshop, sponsored by Dell. One of the attendees, Kara Soluri, was brand new to the whole concept of social media. She had attended our regular monthly meeting as a guest of her neighbor, Austin cofounder Kelley Burrus, and enjoyed it so much she signed up for the workshop. After the workshop Kara was so excited that she felt compelled to write about the experience. ~ Connie

Sung (in Russian) to the tune of Frere Jacques:

I know nothing, I know nothing
Nothing I know, Nothing I know
I know that I know nothing
I know that I know nothing
Good. Good.
My high school Russian teacher taught us this silly song in advance of our 1989 goodwill student ambassador tour of the Soviet Union. Back then I figured the lyrics would come in handy on my trip to Moscow, assuming… let’s say… I found myself being interrogated by KGB. I had a hunch knowing how to say “I know nothing” was key to my survival, but it wasn’t until today at the SMC workshop, that I recognized why.

When it comes to social media, I know nothing. Thankfully, I discovered I am in good company. Shel Israel, Chris Heuer, Connie Reece, Kami Huyse, and the Dell digital team stepped in front of us boldly admitting to taking risks, figuring things out in real time, and (shut your ears, corporate execs and school boards) allowing for failure.

What refreshing honesty in a culture constantly seeking the one right answer via standardized testing, obsessive polling, or its habit of flocking to the next big thing. SMC panelists used the term open to describe technologies over which markets have little control, and reminded us that control is an illusion anyway. Their good news? Openness is a human trait, not a technological one.

Flash back to my 80s world (minus the big hair, please). Mikhail Gorbachev used the Russian word for openness – glasnost – to describe a new policy of starting conversations with the West. As a result, an oppressive government lost control. Assuming my basic understanding of social media is correct, oppressive corporations face a similar fate. Chris Heuer says he wants to do away with war analogies used by marketing, PR and advertising firms. As authentic conversation grows, I imagine the lexicon changing on its own. When authenticity happens, the walls tumble down peaceably, whether those walls separate East Berlin from West, or, as Dell’s leadership demonstrates, the customer from the corporation.

During my month in the USSR, I never had to sing I Know Nothing to a KGB interrogator. Still, I was awash in ignorance of a culture I’d long studied, and my new Soviet friends felt the same. I wish I could have blogged about experiences like the one I had with a Kiev hotel manager when he heard me complain about “bugs” in my room. After 10 minutes of plodding through cultural and language barriers (to him, bugs were listening devices; to me, cockroaches), we laughed like crazy and became fast friends. If an audience of thousands had witnessed the human connections made by hundreds of American and Soviet youth, conversation might have gotten the credit for ending the Cold War, and we’d be in a more peaceful place today.

Thanks, SMC members for (re)starting conversation. Go ahead and poke, twitter, and ping me to your hearts’ content. I know nothing, and I know that is good. Connie, can you twitter me? Do I need that blackberry thingy? Do your thumbs really hurt? Please fill me in so I can become an early adopter too. Or is it adapter?
Kara

Dell Campus ~ Austin, TX ~ November 6 ~ 8:30 to 5:30

Many thanks to the folks at Dell for sponsoring our upcoming Social Media Workshop on November 6. Austin’s queen of social media, Connie Reece, will join keynoter Shel Israel, coauthor of Naked Conversations, Social Media Club co-founder and thought leader Chris Heuer, and PR/social media measurement pro Kami Huyse as presenters for this day-long workshop, which will explore how businesses can implement a social media marketing program to initiate conversations and build relationships with customers.

A quick look at the agenda shows that the day will be filled with valuable information plus interaction. The agenda will be tailored to the attendees’ needs, so if you have a specific topic you would like to see covered, let us know when you register and we will try to include it in the program or answer your questions during the breaks.

We’ve also announced special pricing for the Austin event: the regular price of $299 will be discounted to $199 if you register by Friday, October 26. If you’re a member of Social Media Club at the professional, business or corporate level, the price is just $149.

But wait, there’s more!

Use the discount code CONNIE for an additional $50 off when you register online. (Hey, it pays to know the woman in the hot pink boa!)

This event, which will be held at Dell’s HQ campus in Round Rock (just north of Austin), will be a one-of-a-kind opportunity for Austin this year. In addition to the presenters mentioned above, Lionel Menchaca and the Dell Digital Media team will be on hand to share their experiences in implementing social media strategies.

Will 2008 be the year that social media influences the outcome of the presidential election?

It seems that every serious contender is factoring social media into their campaigns. John Edwards twitters. Hillary Clinton chats. Most of them have MySpace pages and flirt with the blogosphere. Four years ago, it seemed revolutionary that presidential candidate Howard Dean was blogging, and raising significant amounts of money, online. Today no serious campaign effort is without a blog.

On Thursday, Social Media Club Austin will explore the role of social media in the political process and how it will affect the outcome of the 2008 elections. We have assembled a panel of experts that crosses the political spectrum as well as generations. After what promises to be a lively discussion, the attendees will break into small groups and brainstorm social media strategies for their assigned presidential candidate.

Here’s the lineup:

Moderator
* Mike Chapman, government affairs specialist and co-founding member of Social Media Club

Panelists
* Chris Leonard is the Governor’s point person on social media and technical communications. He has designed the Texas Republican Party’s websites, and been involved with the Governor’s blog, constituent mailings, etc.

* Sam McCabe is a student at Texas State University. He has his own political consulting firm, which has had a great impact on San Marcos and Hays County elections through the use of social media techniques in combination with traditional campaign strategies. Specifically, he has used Facebook, MySpace, and text messaging strategies to increase student voter turnout by more than 1,000 percent. (Yes, that’s one thousand.)

* Jon Lebkowsky is a social media pioneer. He has written extensively and has been involved with national efforts on behalf of political candidates and issue campaigns. He is co-editor of Extreme Democracy.

*Eileen Smith of In the Pink Texas uses her advanced journalism degree to skewer politicians and the political process in her always irreverent and sometimes controversial blog. The Pink Lady is the diva of equal-opportunity snarkiness, delivering her barbs with a generous dollop of humor.

If you’re reading this, you’re invited! The cost is $5, and pre-registration is recommended to reserve a place. Sign up here.