Originally posted by David B. Thomas on conversations and connections – social media at SAS
Photo by United Nations Development Programme / CC BY 2.0
Recently Mitch Joel and Joseph Jaffe promised to auction off keynote addresses for Haiti relief, with their services going to the highest bidder. This idea inspired me to do something similar here in the Triangle. As with all human endeavors involving more than one person, it took some time to organize, but we’ve got the participants lined up, so let’s get this started.
We will plan and present a half-day social media workshop to the Triangle-area company that makes the highest donation to Red Cross Haiti relief, with a reserve of $1000. The workshop will be held onsite at your company and tailored to your needs. I’ve lined up a solid group of social media professionals to make this a truly valuable event:
Wayne Sutton, nationally known blogger at https://socialwayne.com and social media/community strategist for Twine Interactive,
Jeff Cohen, a social media consultant and practitioner and one of the principles of SocialMediaB2B.com, one of the most active and useful sites for social media for business,
Mur Lafferty, award-winning podcasting author, writer, blogger, and speaker, co-author of Tricks of the Podcasting Masters, host of I Should Be Writing, the Tor.com Story podcast, and several fiction podcasts,
Brian McDonald, marketing director at Zencos, blogger at http://squarejawmedia.com and Social Media VP of the Triangle chapter of the American Marketing Association,
Ryan Boyles, community manager at IBM, focused on connecting with customers and partners with social media and nurturing brand advocates with engagement inside and outside the company firewall,
David B. Thomas (me), social media manager at SAS, responsible for directing SAS’ social media strategy and the practical aspects of integrating social media into the company’s operations globally.
Ready to start the bidding? We’ll do it by email. Send your bids, starting at $1000, to trianglebenefit@gmail.com. We’ll keep the bidding open until 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 19. The workshop will go to the company that promises by email before the deadline to make the highest donation over $1000 to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund. Once you’ve been notified that you’ve won the bid, you’ll be asked to provide proof of your donation before we plan the event.
A few common-sense rules: This auction is open to companies and organizations in the Triangle area of North Carolina (Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Chapel Hill and environs). We will present the workshop at the donor company’s Triangle location or a Triangle site of your choosing. The winning donor company is responsible for providing the location and facilities. Any expenses related to the facility and the event, and any required materials, as well as any refreshments you want to provide, are the responsibility of the winning donor. In other words, we’re not bringing the coffee or pads and pencils or any of that stuff, and it would be great if you could supply a projector. Any tax implications of this donation are solely the responsibility of the donor company.
We’ll work with you to find a mutually-agreeable time for the workshop before June 1, 2010.
If you know a company that would be interested, please help us by forwarding this, and sharing it with your networks.
Please note: I’m involved in this and promoting it on my blog, but this is not an official SAS-sponsored event. All of the folks involved in this event are participating on their own and not as official representatives of their respective companies.
