Archive for October, 2009

Posted on October 30, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

What I'm sharing on Google Reader for October 30th

Today, while reading RSS feeds in Google Reader, I came across these interesting blog posts and wanted to share them with you. I hope you find some of them interesting. If one of them was useful to you or if you have a comment about one, let me know in the comments. For real-time results of what I’m sharing on Google Reader see my feeds on FriendFeed: http://friendfeed.com/waynesutton
Thanks

Shared Bram Stoker’s Dracula – Full Movie from Crackle.

Posted on October 30, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

One week later: Why we planned a Social Media Conference in NC? #SMBF Thank you!

Photo via: toprankonlinemarketing on Flickr
It has been a busy year for me in the terms of speaking and traveling to attend various conferences accross the United States. It started in January where I was on a panel at a conference called Chicks who Click in Boulder, CO where I met @GeorgeGsmithjr & @GeekMommy. Then I attended the Future of Web Apps in Miami, FL., next came PubCon Austin where I was on a panel with Chris Brogan, Reem Abeidoh and Lee Odden. Then I was able to speak at SXSW on a panel with Angela Benton. After that I stayed local for a while, working on the Triangle Social Media Club Chapter and attending one day conferences, such as (ConvergeSC) in South Carolina and (New Media Atlanta). Somewhere in between those two conferences I was on a panel at Jason Keath’s Social Fresh conference and after that Ted Murphy asked if I could moderate a panel at IZEAFest. Recentlly I was humbled to be able to speak at Blog World Expo with Robert Scoble, Amber Cadabra of Radian6 and Patrick O’Keefe aka @iFroggy. You can see a full list of my 2009 speaking events here: http:/FriendWayne.com

Photo credit: (cc) Cameron Gawley – www.buzzshift.com

To say it has been a busy year is an understatement, all while launching a company called “OurHashtag” and planning local events in the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, NC ). But last week my partners and I, along with the help of a great team of volunteers planned the Social Media Business Forum in Durham, NC at North Carolina Central University. The conference goal was to bring in national and local speakers together with businesses, marketing agencies and individuals who were looking to have conversations about using social media in their work environment. Basically to discuss “how social media is changing the way businesses communicate”. Personally another goal of the Social Media Business Forum was to bring the experiences I’ve collected while traveling to various conferences to the Triangle. Also I wanted bring in some of the industry leaders in social media marketing, Twitter, marketing, video and blogging to the area so others can learn from people who I consider my peers.

Another reason why we planned the conference is because if you look at your Facebook inbox, gmail and Twitter stream, I’m sure you see a tone of “social media” bootcamps, workshops and meetups from all types of individuals. Everyone from beginners, to copy cats, to other experienced individuals are planning events to share their knowledge on how to use social media. While there is nothing wrong with that, as Brogan would say, “you have to feed the babies” or something like that, my only caution is take a step back look at what your needs are, look at the agenda, speakers, “teachers”, your budget and other attendees to make sure you get the best ROI (return on your investment) while spending time at various “social media” events. Evaluating the ROI of attending meetups / conferences is a blog post by itself that I’ll touch on next week.

But back to the post title, why did we plan a Social Media Conference in North Carolina? Why not? Social media is about sharing, relationships, community, information, business and people; North Carolina has some of the smartest people in the technology / social web living right here in the Triangle and we wanted to bring some of them together and let everyone know it. So to all the speakers, sponsors, volunteers, my partners and attendees Thanks for making the Social Media Business Forum a success and we’ll see you next year.

Also read: Jeffrey L. Cohen Talks About the Social Media Business Forum

Posted on October 30, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

Why I have a Verified Twitter Account and what does it mean… to you?

We’re almost at the end of the year and Twitter is still the “buzz” of the social media and main stream media world. With every little feature added such as Twitter List or new partnerships such as the one with Bing to API updates it sends the blog world in a posting frenzy. Earlier this year a feature that Twitter added was Verified Accounts. Via the http://twitter.com/help/verified page, Verified Twitter Accounts were created to “To prevent identity confusion, Twitter is experimenting (beta testing) with a ‘Verified Account’ feature. We’re working to establish authenticity with people who deal with impersonation or identity confusion on a regular basis.” So for those of who you are new to Twitter, have I had anyone impersonate me on Twitter? Yes, late last year and earlier this year someone create a “lilwaynesutton” and a “bigwaynesutton” Twitter accounts posting rude and disruptive content that I would never say.

Twitter Accounts are limited to what seems like celebrities, athletes, government officials, major brands, A-listers in the blogging / social media space and friends who know people at Twitter. With only a select few of the million of Twitter users having a Verified Twitter account puts me in company to where “some” value the Verified Twitter Account badge as a symbol of status and/or creditability. From http://twitter.com/help/verified

Who has a ‘Verified Account’ badge?
We’re starting with well-known accounts that have had problems with impersonation or identity confusion. (For example, well-known artists, athletes, actors, public officials, and public agencies). We may verify more accounts in the future, but because of the cost and time required, we’re only testing this feature with a small set of folks for the time being. As the test progresses we may be able to expand this test to more accounts over the next several months.

Personally I didn’t seek out to get a Verified Twitter account but I was wondering why @ScottMonty and @comcastcares didn’t have Verified Twitter accounts because they represent major brands and after doing some “research” I was able to reach out to a few contacts and I figured why not me too. Either way, the outcome is @ScottMonty and I are now verified. But Scott works at Ford and for myself I’ll let you decide. Hear are what a few Tweeple are saying:

mattkoz81: Does Wayne have a problem w/ evil imitators? RT @iFroggy:@waynesutton is a famous Verified Account.  #iknowacelebrity

ryanpthompson: Props to Wayne! Your picture is putting a Verified Stare into my soul jk @iFroggy: .@waynesutton is a famous Verified Account.

iFroggy: .@waynesutton is a famous Verified Account.

BillCammack: @waynesutton: Congrats, Dude. Can you tell me the value of getting a twitter account verified? We already have our accounts. \o/

What does a Verified Twitter Account mean to you?

Posted on October 29, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

NC State launches mobile & Twitter website embracing the social web. NC Colleges Get It.

For those of you who know me, then you know that I love to talk about what North Carolina is doing in the technology / social media/ mobile industry. Also you know that I’m a UNC fan but that’s another blog post. Today, while looking at my local @WayneSuttonNC twitter stream where I only follow people form NC, I saw a tweet from @Jason_austin who’s a NC State Developer about NC State new Mobile site featured in the campus bulletin. The tweet caught my attention so I clicked on the link to find more information.

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The article talks about how Jason Austin, with little/zero budget along with other NC State staff members created NC State’s new mobile website along with the NC State on Twitter site and maps page. Here’s an excerpt form the article.

At a meeting last spring, staff members from the Office of Information Technology and Web Communications met with volunteer Web developers from units across campus, such as engineering and the libraries.

They all agreed that the future of the Web was tied to mobile applications and that NC State needed a mobile site. No budget, no time, no formal structure? No problem, they decided.

The price tag for Duke’s recently launched mobile site, created by an outside vendor, was clearly out of reach, says Jason Austin, senior solutions implementation engineer with OIT.

I must say that I’m very impressed with NCSU mobile site and the fact they decided to build the site internally instead of spending the money to have it built like Duke University did is smart. Those Blue Devils…., remember I’m a UNC Fan.

The NC State Twitter page is designed very simimlar to search.twitter.com and provides links to the schools official twitter accounts and hashtags. They also provide the source code so even if you’re a business or another college you can create your own branded Twitter page too.

Update:John Rees shares the link to the UNC mobile site.

A big congrats to the university on embracing technology and understanding that the future of the web is mobile and embracing the use of Twitter. It will be interesting to see if other university will provide the same service. If you know of other university that have created their own mobile or Twitter page let me know in the comments.

Posted on October 27, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

What I'm sharing on Google Reader for October 27th

Today, while reading RSS feeds in Google Reader, I came across these interesting blog posts and wanted to share them with you. I hope you find some of them interesting. If one of them was useful to you or if you have a comment about one, let me know in the comments. For real-time results of what I’m sharing on Google Reader see my feeds on FriendFeed: http://friendfeed.com/waynesutton
Thanks

	Shared Social Media Time Management: Resource Allocation.
	Shared Creating Valuable Content Online.
	Shared Real-time Attribution.
	Shared The Apple App Store breaks the 100,000 approved applications mark.
	Shared It’s Official. Google Wave to Get Its Own App Store (with potentially more than just apps).
	Shared ABC TV Interview: How business can create value with Twitter.
	Shared What Is Twitter Now?.
	Shared R.I.P. Deleted Tweets.
	Shared Chart: Newspaper Circulation – the Last Two Decades.
	Shared One in Five Americans Now a Tweeter.