Festivities galore: Social Media Week has arrived!

Posted: February 13th, 2012 | Author: jillfoster | Filed under: Awesome events, Social networks, Women entrepreneurs | Tags: , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

That hilarious 80 second video is just one part of Social Media Week’s story!

It’s a worldwide festival where at least 12 cities across the globe are hosting events online (and offline too), looking at this question:

How have societies, cultures, and economies become more integrated & empowered through a global network of communication?

Want to learn more?
No matter where you are in the universe – if you have web access at your fingertips, you can engage with conversations and festivities by following #SMW12.

There are diverse, fantastic ways to participate offline too. Just take a look at what events are unfolding in or near your city.

Are you in the Washington, DC region?!

Look out! This is the inaugural year for DC as a host city. The dynamic team at iStrategyLabs is leading the way. And I’m excited to be an advisory board member too.

Here’s our local schedule of events with a fun summary of what’s to come this week from DC Event Junkie’s Lisa Byrne.


And are you in DC, ready for fun this week on Feb 15th?!

Please join Women Grow Business editor Tinu Abayomi-Paul and good ole Live Your Talk this Wednesday, Feb 15, as we go offline to get social and have some fun in honor of the week.

How to RSVP for a soiree!

We’re celebrating women’s leadership in DC business and co-hosting a happy hour soiree.

Just visit here to RSVP and join us for great conversation on innovative ideas in the area.

On that note, a big hearty thank you to our fantastic friends and sponsors for Wednesday:

Look forward to seeing you along with these vibrant business minds!

And no matter where you are this week, enjoy – and please remember there’s a place for you in these worldwide events.


Tips from a purple sofa: how to start a videoblog

Posted: June 10th, 2011 | Author: jillfoster | Filed under: Public speaking, Video interviews, Videoblogging | Tags: , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

The good creative folks over at Matrix Group International just launched a new video series called The Matrix Minute. They are neat friends and strong supporters of the social tech community.

From her purple office and purple sofa –
Joanna Pineda asked to talk-shop about videoblogging and if I’d share ideas on how to get started with online video.

Sounds like fun (and it was!).

Videoblogging and the value of impromptu speech
Impromptu conversations via video or audio are such fantastic practice forums for speaking in public — let alone great vehicles for sharing stories with your core communities.

Thanks Joanna and Matrix Group for the time (and congrats again on the Matrix Minute series).

What are your favorite tips for videoblogging or impromptu speaking in general, like giving a toast or a statement of congratulations at formal events?


Staying Sane Online: Which Social Networks Should You Be On?

Posted: March 29th, 2010 | Author: jillfoster | Filed under: Social networks | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Chatters image

I’m more and more fascinated with online engagement and how it impacts (or inhibits?) the development of offline engagement in public speech scenarios. It’s an ongoing observation on my part. And my friend Joanna Pineda recently blogged on an issue central to the online engagement piece:

Where should she participate online?

Which social networks and why?

(Image Chatters by Ingirojiro, Creative Commons)

In her post, Joanna dives into all of this and asks for my approach to some of her questions (thanks Joanna for the chance to share on this!).

Her cross-published post follows here:

I’ve been on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for some time now. I’m also on FoodBuzz, Plaxo, Delicious and StumbleUpon. Most recently, I signed up for FourSquare, Amplify and Buzz.

Some context
FourSquare is a location-based social network that allows subscribers to check-in from their current location using their mobile phones and provides tips and recommendations. Amplify asks “users to share news and information they find thought provoking and conversation-worthy,” not anything and everything about their lives, status and locations. Buzz is the latest offering from Google that lets you share updates, links, photos and videos.

Now that I’m signed up for all of these services, I’m asking myself these questions:

  • Which social networks should I be on personally and professionally?
  • Most of the social networks let me share out updates from one network to another; should I share out my tweets or does that defeat the reason to be on multiple networks?
  • Am I reaching a different audience on each network or will I be talking with the same group of social network-obsessed friends and colleagues?
  • Just how many networks is practical for me to keep updated without losing my mind?

Walking and talking red border

Image Walking and Talking by Litherland, Creative Commons

To try and get some perspective on these questions, I turned to my friend Jill Foster, social network guru, video blogger, and co-founder of DC Media Makers. Jill has over 5,000 followers on Twitter, nearly 600 Facebook friends and she’s prolific on what seems like every major social network. Here’s what she has to say about being active on at least a half dozen platforms.

Jill responded via email, per below:
There are online networks where my content may overlap but that’s intentional and less frequent.

Twitter:
It’s my central hub of online conversation plus a place to observe other users’ content – and share content I produce. Twitter frankly goes beyond a business platform for me. Twitter is a liberal arts engagement pool (with a water cooler chat mentality mixed in) that never stops.

Twitter Search:
If I want to virtually attend a conference – I follow that conference’s hashtag or the feeds for those able to attend in person. Also, to observe and engage on core topics of interest with people, I keep certain Twitter feeds active, e.g., women entrepreneurs, public figures, public speaking, social media.

Amplify:
It’s not a water cool chat mentality when I use Amplify. It’s an excellent platform and opportunity for sharing deeper perspective. I forward links to these conversations (which include entire clipped excerpts) to Twitter or, if content is more on the personal development front, to Facebook as well.

Posterous:
I enjoy Posterous for sharing mobile content – audio, video, and pics – which forwards to Twitter, where I can respond and engage.

Facebook:
I use Facebook for more personal engagement, although my professional drive/views may be shared there.

LinkedIn:
It has a fantastic array of subject-centric, professional groups. I am starting to use LinkedIn to join groups and be part of discussions. It’s less a place to share regularly or engage through content (vs. Amplify or Twitter).

So there you have it. A social media maven’s primer on the major social networking platforms and how to use them. As for me, I’m slowly getting hooked on FourSquare and I’m trying to find time to post on Amplify.

How about you? How many and which networks are you on? How do you distinguish between them? How much time do you spend updating each day? And which one is your favorite?