Groundswell Awards

I don’t like tooting my own horn, but when I’ve put a lot of effort into something and my work gets named a finalist above brands like Coca-Cola, VH1, and Oscar Meyer I feel the need to say something!

At the 2009 Forrester Conference they announced the winners of the 2009 Groundswell Awards, and while NASCAR beat us out for the winning spot my work was still named as a finalist. I’m very proud of this because I’ve put almost 2 years into the Social Media at McNally Smith College and there was nothing there before me, so all the work is a reflection of me.

I also wanted to say thank you to all the people who voted for McNally Smith, and those who had such nice things to say afterwords. The timing of this announcement is a funny one in my professional career, but it’s definitely nice to know a group of people as important as the Forrester Group were impressed. Thanks again!

FourSquare: The More The Merrier

I originally started using FourSquare when I found a friend “checking in” everywhere we went, and I wanted to join in the fun, well actually I wanted to kick his butt in the points category.

I quickly found the first week or so is the most exciting week of your life (or close to).  You get points for every stop you make, and bonus points if you go somewhere you have never been before, so that first week it’s a landslide of points! You are a CHAMPION! I had one complaint though, I only had 5 or so friends, because no one else I knew was using it, so it wasn’t very interactive. The friend that showed it to me later stopped using it, I think I hurt his ego with all my tagging and outings. So I wasn’t really connected.

I was again renewed to the use of FourSquare while at the MIMA Summit because I checked into the Hilton Hotel and saw that 15 others had also checked in!! Finally, more people to friend and follow! Within a day I have tripled my number of friends (while searching my Twitter friends list again I found the number of people in my network had more than doubled). Like I always say, the more the merrier!

FourSquare is great because it’s full of real tips and insights from people in your city, going to places you like! It gives you the ability to “phone a friend” for advice on every venue you always or never go to. Additionally, there’s a healthy dose of competitive attitude thanks to the points system and the ability to unlock badges. What does the “BENDER” Badge really mean?! You could Google it, or you could go out until you get it!

With all that said I’m happy that my taste for FourSquare has been renewed, and that more people are trying it out, you can play online, with text messages, or with the iPhone App (opens iTunes), so get in there and start tagging, maybe you can become a Mayor too!

MIMA Summit Recap

I sat down last night with every intention of writing this recap, and then I realized how over-stimulated my brain still was, and how the chances of me actually getting any writing done were slim to none. I then had the intentions of writing a recap today, but thanks to our Twins and their 12 inning game I’m still over-stimulated, but here it goes anyway.

Before anything else is said I want to say a great big thank you (and a virtual high-five) to everyone at MIMA for setting up an amazing event yet again. The new location allowed more room to walk around, which was very helpful. The bigger facilities also made lunch much easier, but with the pluses of lunch also were the negatives. With only 2 things to pick from, turkey/bacon and veggie, it was hard for those with other allergies to fully enjoy the meal.

Now, onto the speakers. I really thought the keynote speakers were inspiring, entertaining, and very smart, I learned something, which is what I came there hoping to do. Many of the break-out sessions were very basic, though I did learn a few key things, so I’m not mad about that. Something to think about next year could be topic tracks as well as experience tracks, I think it can be done.

The after Summit happy hour was a great opportunity for everyone to say hello to the people they had met all day, though with the room cut in half it was a tad crowded. During the happy hour raffle I was informed over Twitter that I had won 2 South West plane tickets, since I have never won anything before I was more than excited!

All in all the day was very successful and enlightening! I’m going to write up a review of some of the individual sessions and speakers, so keep and eye out for that.

I’ll leave you with, I’m already excited for 2010.

Recent Launch: Godfread Law

I recently did a project for a local attorney (Paul Godfread), whom I met at Ignite Minneapolis, who was recently moving into his own practice. His old site wasn’t bad, but it didn’t fit the needs of a tech-savvy attorney who wanted to make his own changes and interact with his industry.

Things he was looking for:

• Ability to make content changes/updates himself
• Addition of a blog
• Incorporation of Twitter
• Incorporation of other social media sites (Facebook and Linked In)

Paul was very excited about the ability to blog, he wanted to be able to respond to news articles and rulings pertaining to his practice area. He was also pretty hip to the idea of using social media to help create a network of clients and colleges, he also wanted to use these networks to expand his expertise in his practice areas.

The new Godfread Law site was built on the WordPress backing, thus giving him the ability to make content changes to all the pages on his site. Additionally WordPress allowed him to incorporate a blog into his site, as well as link to his social media sites, and embed a feed for his Twitter right on the site. I also set him up with Google Analytics so he could better see where is links are coming from, what pages/practice areas were getting the most attention, and see what ads he purchased were giving him links.

In the end the project was well within his budget, even with the training sessions. He was very happy with the work, and I was more than happy to work with him!

Summit Season!

I’m very excited to be attending the MIMA Summit again this year. I was able to attend a couple years ago when I was in the prime of my professional career, I thought it was a great experience, and I’m very excited to attend again now that I knew more about the industry I’m in.

The first year I attended Jason Fried (of 37signals) was on of the keynote speakers, his speech changed the way I looked at businesses, and the ability to do a lot with a little. This year’s keynote speaker I’m most excited to see is Seth Godin, he’s been called “the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age” by Business Week, quite the title!

At the MIMA Summit I’m also going to debut my Twitterhosting skills during Meghan’s presentation! I get to watch all the tweets coming in and make sense of them, as well as be the voice for those of you who are too shy to speak up, or who can only be there via the Twitter Stream since the Summit is SOLD OUT!

I’m also headed to the UnSummit on Saturday October 10th, this will be my first time at the UnSummit, and I’m excited to see how things go. I like the idea of a place for thinkers, and doers to get together and talk about what it is that they want to talk about. Attendee’s get to suggest ideas, and then become the facilitators. Seems pretty sweet to me!

International CES

2009 marked my first visit to Las Vegas, and more importantly to my first CES experience. During my time at CES I learned so many amazing things that changed the course of my career and my view on technology as a whole.

I was amazed standing in the room after room of the technology wonderland, it was sensory overload, and after I came back there were so many things I would have done differently. I was blessed with a Blogger Badge which allowed me access to some of the top exhibits and presentations, again it was sensory overload.

Here are some of the tips I have learned and advice that I will be taking with me to the 2010 CES Convention:

1. Don’t bring a bag. If you are going to bring a bag make it a small one, there will be a million handed to you within the first 50 feet of the convention doors, and you will want them all.

2. Bring the smallest laptop you own. I have a bigger MacBook Pro, I brought it the first day and halfway through wished I could throw it in the trash can. The second day I didn’t bring a laptop and then I wanted to blog and write about a thousand things I saw. I figured I could just write about them at the end of the day, but I must remind you, you’re in Vegas, and there are hundreds of parties surrounding the various tracks at CES. Needless to say, I never wanted to write anything by the end of the night.

3. Bring your smart phone. Having Twitter, a camera, email, and text messaging at your fingertips is KEY!

4. Bring business cards. I know is a digital world, but it’s very easy to hand your card over, then stop in the middle of thousands of people exchanging information. On your business card make sure you have email, phone, and Twitter if you have one.

5. Wear comfortable shoes. This should be self explanatory.

6. Bring a phone charger. I would recommend you bring a charger that can charge without plugging into the wall, lots of the outlets will be occupied.

7. Bring your confidence, but leave your cockiness at home. At a conference this size first impressions matter. Be friendly, be outgoing, and never think someone is below you.

This year I am much more prepared, and I hope that I will have the chance to gain the Blogger access again and do it the right way. Look for more here, and crazy amounts of tweets come January 7-10, 2010.

Social Media Can Make a Difference

Anyone who is active in the world of Social Media, especially Twitter, knows that you get enough people behind something and you can get the attention needed for change. For instance, #BlameDrewsCancer, a simple hashtag, but a powerful movement of people unwilling to let cancer win.

” On May 20th, 2009, Drew Olanoff was diagnosed with cancer.

Ever since that day, Drew has blamed everything on his cancer. Losing his keys, misplacing his wallet, Twitter being slow, the Phillies losing, etc.

Why? Because you have to beat up on Cancer to win…”

The idea of getting a group of people together to inspire change isn’t a new one, but in the digital world it’s now easier than ever to acheive, and to get involved.

I wanted to try my hand at this, in the name of animals that can’t always help or speak for themselves, only I’m not asking for money, just a click.

Meet Pork Chop, my room mate and I’s foster puppy; he needs to gain some confidence (he lost an eye in a tragic accident on the 4th of July), and all the money he wins will go to the Animal Humane Society in Minnesota.

Twitter and Social Media is a tool, use it for something good!

McNally Smith Summer Symposium – New Media Presentation

I was fortunate enough to speak at the McNally Smith Summer Symposium, we talked music rights, publishing, licensing, and new media. Here is my presentation on new media basics:

I’m a Character – 140 Characters Conference

I’ve been selected as a character at the 140 Characters Conference in New York City next week. It’s short notice but cross your fingers I get approved to head out!

UPDATE: I’ve been approved! I will be headed to NYC for the #140conf armed with my iPhone, Tweetie, camera, and a smile. I can’t wait to hear what other people are doing with Twitter and how it’s changing industires all over the world.

DIY Musicians: RSS Feeds & Alerts

I’m no musician, but I’ve worked with a lot of them, and I can’t even imagine trying to balance the life of a working musician. Gigging, practicing, writing, performing, and then the business of being a working musician, guest lists, show dates, load out/in, payment, marketing, releasing an album, the list could literally turn into a blog post. In the new world of social media fans are also expecting more from artists, they want instant and endless access, and they want it from all directions. Which begs the question, how does one keep up? The answer can be an easy one, RSS Feeds.

Do you as a musician know every time someone mentions your band name, or reviews one of your songs or albums? Probably not, as it would be nearly impossible to know by simply stumbling upon them. Did you know you can set up alerts and feeds to do the hard work and searching for you? It’s really easy, and if it’s not something your band has in place I think you’re doing an complete disservice to yourself and your band mates. If you’ve never tried using RSS feeds, or Google Alerts it’s really easy to set up, and if you’re still confused, do a search.

RSS feeds are also really handy if you frequent many websites looking for new news or updates as most of these sites now have the feeds built right in, you can have all the blogs, news feeds, or news sections you frequent displayed in the same space, making it incredibly easy to see who has new information without visiting each site everyday. I prefer using Google Reader on my computer, I have a list of the sites I’m most interested in, and if the title is bold I know there’s something new for me to read.

Twitter also offers an RSS feed function for search terms you’re interested in. Say for example you’re really into hip hop, you can set up a feed for the term “hip hop.” I recommend using the quotes if you have more than one term in your search, that way it looks for only that instead of some one talking about how hip they felt while they hop on one foot.

In a social world where it’s important to make contact and keep connections I think it’s only smart to have as many “eyes” watching the internet for you, why not use the tools to your advantage?