New Media Atlanta 2009 - #NMATL

I am attending and will be on a panel at the first ever New Media Atlanta conference at the Georgia Tech Research Institute Conference Center in Atlanta, GA.

The keynote speaker is Chris Brogan (his blog: chrisbrogan.com) and I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with him. He also autographed his new book for attendees: Trust Agents - Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust.

Here are pictures of Chris Brogan, with Stainless Steel Sharpie in hand, and I taken by Jenny DeVaughn and Jennifer Carter:





My panel was titled: Are You Ready For Social Media?: Preparing Your Teams to Listen, Engage, Measure & Adapt

Bert DuMars, Peter Fasano, Seth Miller (and TBSVeryFunny, MostlyMuppet) with Jeff Turner moderating:

Managing an effective social networking campaign is both an art and a science. This panel will give you insight into the tools and techniques used by several large companies in their efforts to engage their customers using Social Media.

Also, I came in 5th during the special Chris Brogan/New Media Atlanta TwitterINGO game. I will be hosting TwitterINGO on September 29, 2009. Hope you can play, should be a challenging set of words.

So many great Atlanta friends in attendance it is difficult to list them all. But you can follow everyone's tweets at #NMATL.

September 26, 2009 Update:

Stacy Williams wrote a thoughtful post on the Backnoise channel at New Media Atlanta. Well worth the investment of your time to read the post and the comments. Unexpected Learnings: BackNoise Can Be Toxic

September 27, 2009 Update:

Another excellent blog post on New Media Atlanta - Blog: New Media Atlanta and Chris Brogan by Ilyce Glink

And another: New Media Atlanta - Social Media Rockstars by Jenny DeVaughn

September 28, 2009 Update:

More blog posts that are excellent reads on New Media Atlanta and the backchannel noise on BackNoise:

Do Backchannels Know No Boundaries by Jason Keith

Who Can Be Brogan by Matt Fagioli

He Said, She Said Volume 5 (and here) by Todd Schnick & Stephanie Lloyd

Snarkiness, anonymity, and backchannel conversations at professional conferences by Paul Chaney

September 29, 2009 Update:

What I told them at New Media Atlanta by Chris Brogan (includes some comments and video of presentation) - Interesting, Insightful and Fun

Atlanta Bloggers Meetup

Had a great time last night (September 2, 2009) meeting other Atlanta bloggers. The Atlanta Bloggers Meetup at Manuels Tavern was a kick and I enjoyed the conversation.

Here are some of the fun and interesting bloggers who attended:

Chad Rothschild - @chadrothschild - Blog: http://chadrothschild.com/
Marisa Sharpe - @marisasharpe - Blog: http://marisajaffe.com/
Jenny DeVaughn - @JennyDeVaughn - Blog: http://socialprecision.com/
Wendy Parker - @wparker - Blog: http://inkdrainedkvetch.wordpress.com/
Taryn Pisaneschi - @tarynp - Blog: http://tarynp.com/

There were 20+ more who attended as well. Looking forward to the next one I am able to attend. As an FYI - next Meetup is scheduled for Oct. 7.

Atlanta PR Camp

I had the pleasure of being a camp counselor/moderator today at the PR Camp Atlanta (press release) event developed by Dan Greenfield of Bernaise Source Media.

The event was held at the Georgia Tech Research Institute Conference Center and there were approximately 200 attendees.

I had the pleasure of moderating the first session for the Green Team. We discussed the following:

• What obstacles have to be overcome to gain executive level trust to support the creation and execution of new media and social web marketing programs?
• What tactics and strategies are off the table?
• What new media and social web marketing programs are much easier to explain and execute? What programs are easier to get executive buy-in?

Team Green had great insights, energy and ideas on how to answer these questions and address these very important topics. The main point of the event was to provide an immersive social media and fast paced experience.

Team Green proposed the following in response to the questions above:

• overcoming executive fear through education
• developing a cohesive and well-thought out strategy
• explaining how social media is another channel to the consumer

It was a fantastic event and I had the pleasure of meeting many new people in Atlanta. Dan Greenfield did a great job arranging and managing the event.

AMA Atlanta Panel Presentation: Advocacy In The Digital Age

I was honored today to be part of a panel presenting ideas, concepts and case studies related to social media, social web and interactive marketing to the American Marketing Association - Atlanta Chapter. It was an energized, sold out crowd that provided insightful and eloquent questions during the Q&A.

The panel: Advocacy in the Digital Age was moderated by Glen Caruso (@glencaruso), FY 2008-2009 AMA Atlanta President, and Director of Advertising Sales at Tremor Media.

Panel Description:

Social media is greatly impacting the lives of everyday people and as well as the marketers that are trying to reach them. After all, online communities provide businesses with an efficient way to reach targeted segments of the population as well as monitor their customers’ opinions about products, services and brands. But what does this sea change really mean for brands? Join us to learn how to:

Effectively tap into this groundswell of activity.

Leverage your most passionate fans to drive bottom line value.

Foster brand advocacy while adhering to the delicate and varied mores that govern marketing’s role within social networks

Panel members included:

Thought Leader Perspective on Social Media and Advocacy - Dave Rollo (@iRollo) – SVP, Director of Digital Media Strategy, 22squared

WOM as Social Media – Dave Balter (@DaveBalter), CEO, BzzAgent Dave will look at the role of WOM in creating advocacy and spark a discussion of what social media means for brands. Balter will explore a selection of word-of-mouth generating success stories and highlight how marketers have effectively engaged with brand advocates and measured the outcome. Mr. Balter is also the author of several books including: The Word Of Mouth Manual: Volume II and Grapevine: Why Buzz Was a Fad but Word of Mouth is Forever.

Brand Case Study - Bert DuMars (@bwdumars), Vice President E-Business & Interactive Marketing, Newell Rubbermaid. Bert will present how Newell Rubbermaid has successfully used social media to drive business results.

Dave Rollo and David Balter did an excellent job of framing the social web ecosystem and provided a number of statistical insights and case studies from their clients. I discussed our social media marketing efforts at our Graco Baby, Rubbermaid and Sharpie brands. See my post: Newell Rubbermaid Social Web Ecosystem Update.

I want to send a big Thank You out to the AMA Atlanta Chapter and especially Glen Caruso and Tracy Frank for running an excellent event and inviting me to participate.

Bernaise Source Story on Sharpie Blog

I find myself catching up on another excellent post by Dan Greenfield, an Atlanta, GA focused communications, PR and Technology blogger. Dan writes the Bernaise Source blog.

Dan and I were on a Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) panel together discussing "Consulting 2.0 is...All About The Customer."

Dan also moderated an online panel on "Global Brands: Social Media Pays Off" that included myself, Adam Brown of Coca Cola, Jennifer Martin of CNN and Debbie Curtis-Magley of UPS.

Dan also wrote a blog post on the Newell Rubbermaid Sharpie blog based on an interview with me. He discussed our goals of creating a place that highlighted the fun, creative, artistic and innovative ways people use Sharpie pens. The post is titled: Sharpie Blog Puts Newell Rubbermaid's Social Media Strategy Into "Sharper" Focus.

Dan is a great resource on Atlanta based company, social media marketing activities and success stories. If you are exploring social media marketing and technologies like me, please reach out to Dan to connect with others in the Atlanta region and make sure to keep up with his Bernaise Source blog. There is much we can learn from each other in the ever changing and evolving social media ecosystem.

Atlanta Web Executive Rountable at Newell Rubbermaid

On November 6, 2008 I will be hosting the Atlanta Web Executive Round Table (AWERT) at Newell Rubbermaid's new headquarters in Atlanta, GA. I will be discussing Newell Rubbermaid's social media marketing efforts related to our Graco and Rubbermaid brands. Looking forward to meeting Atlanta area interactive marketing and ebusiness leaders. Attendance expectations are high with an estimate of 30-40 attendees.

Atlanta Area Gas Shortage and Social Media

We are starting to see the real power of social media. As the gas shortage in the Atlanta area continues, traditional news media are unable to keep up with where you can actually find gas. Sites that tracked prices are no match to the speed of fuel showing up at stations and then running out. Some gas station managers have been quoted saying their supplies are lasting no longer than 7 hours. So, where does social media step in? Check out Twitter where Atlanta drivers are informing each other of gas stations that have fuel. A special hash tag #ATLGAS has been created so that drivers can track the conversation, post questions based on location, and, most importantly, see where gas is available.

The power of social media and the crowd is amazing and was even more exciting during the Obama vs. McCain debate. Twitter has a live feed Election 2008 page that is both fun to participate in and fun to watch.