Communicators Anonymous

Priceless

1.25 tank of gas + 6 hours drive time + seeing 'friends' face-to-face for the first time or again = PRICELESS

Yesterday started at 3am with drive from Dallas to Austin. I am a morning person, but even this early drive was a bit much. Without a GPS (only female instinct) I arrived at the Dell HQ at 7am for SMC Austin seminar. A big Thank You to host, Dell!

With an energy drink I sat at the front of the room. I took prestigious notes with pen and paper and live blogged the day event. The first half of the seminar was a social media primer. A review for me, but much needed for those surrounding me.

Locked and loaded, the morning hot topic was Shel's research on education and social media-a topic near and dear to my brain.

Chris Heuer is a great speaker. The man does not miss a beat; he can type, navigate through sites and keep the conversation going! It's exciting to see others excited.

I met Geoff Livingston for the first time. As my Twitter feed indicates I was most excited about this introduction. I hope I did not blow it looking like a babbling idiot! This man has a dynamic personality and extremely down-to-earth. It was truly a pleasure. Eagerly anticipating his new book, Now Is Gone...

Yes, Connie Reece really does have hot pink streaks in her hair and looks fabulous! Connie and the Austin SMC team did a great job organizing the event and fighting for wifi access in our conference room.

It has been way too long since I last saw Kami Huyse in person. What a treat! (Kami, I forgot to give you your baby shower present again!) She showed me the latest pics of her two gorgeous children. Kami was truly luminary yesterday! Of course I asked her for her secret...I think it is her passion radiating. Kami presented metrics after lunch. Her presentation was marvelous and packed with resources.

Live bloggers (Kami, Geoff, Connie and me) captured the key moments via Twitter. I encourage you to go into the archives and fill up your knowledge tank.

The trip home seemed much faster than the trip to Austin. Perhaps it was because I was on an emotional high, too psyched about future posts (all recorded on mp3 player during drive) and talking to Kami on the phone.

Make it a point to meet followers/friends face-to-face.

Feedback: Austin SMC was my first live twittering experience. How did I do? Too much; too little; too vague?

WhooHoo SMC Dallas at Yahoo!

While I was sick as a dog yesterday (I have no idea what that expression means) it was not because of the previous nights Social Media Club in Dallas launch. The color purple was intoxicating as was the enthusiasm in the room. All walks of life were present and moderated by Giovanni Gallucci of Kinetic Results. The Yahoo location was buzzing (thank you for the space).

The discussion topic was the vague and broad social media press release. As you will hear (from the soon-to-be posted) podcast, there were two discussions (1) the smpr as a tool and (2) content and integrity of the public relations profession. Imagine how heated this conversation was coming on the heels of this weekend's firestorm.

Highlights:

• press release is "propaganda" -- repeated opinion
• press release is lipstick on a pig - ouch
• press release is creating copy and paste citizen journalists
• "Good" bloggers are more in-depth compared to ms journalists b/c of the Long Tail and passion
• blogosphere is run by the "mob mentality"
• negativity is a conversation stimulus
• smpr is missing the "personality piece"
• BIG End-of-Night Questions -- "At the end of the day who are we trying to reach? Who is the audience?" (Dreaded word, audience!)
  • Is the smpr written for journalists or SEO
  • smpr is multi-layered and needs a "PR Army" to support -- loved that b/c it is job security
• I brought up the "social" media Steve Ruebel post -- whoa! Majority opinion was "social" would not go away as a definer - "social" is "inherently interactive"

I'll stick to my guns (figuratively); the debate is about integrity of the pr profession. Let's be clear.

The discussion was spirited and I look forward to new topics. For more posts on the Social Media Club and Dallas, look up 'smcdallas' tag.

Social Media Club -- List of those present at Dallas launch