Why Austin Rocks (and Why You Want to Work Here)

There's something unusual going on the universe. I'm not sure what force is behind it but about 3-4 years ago, a new set of "railroad" tracks of sorts -- that of the virtual variety -- were laid down coming from locales north, east and northeast to a little old town in Texas called Austin. Well, Austin's actually not that little. And it happens to be the capitol of Texas. But that's besides the point. The key here is that some of the smartest social business minds in the country are flocking in droves to the live music capital of the world.

While I don't necessarily consider myself in that set of "smartest social business minds," I have worked in the community/social media for business space for the last five plus years. And two and a half years ago, that same force I referenced in the first paragraph drew me like a migratory bird to the ATX (a cutesy little name we like to use to reference the capitol city). Of course it didn't hurt that my former company, Powered, was recruiting me to become their CMO. But that was only one of a dozen factors that played into my attraction to the great city of Austin.

At the risk of rambling on for too long, you'll notice that in this post [orchestrated by one of those great minds, Peter Kim] that a number of the Austin transplants I referenced earlier have weighed in on why they decided to move here to work (or in some cases, stay).

Peter Kim's post is here.
Virginia Miracle's post is here.
Kathy Mandelstein's post is here.
Greg Matthews post is here.
Spike Jone's post is here.
Kate Niederhoffer's post is here.

And to directly "borrow" Peter's closing quote...

"Our town will soon welcome 15,000+ visitors for SXSWi. You might be one of them. If so, while you're here I encourage you to think about the nice people, great weather, low cost of living, live music, nationally recognized public schools, BBQ and breakfast tacos, and the growing community of your peers that call this town home. I know all of the people on this post are seeking great talent to join their firms and you might want to drop an inquiry or two while you're here. (Click here for [WCG's] open positions.)

I have no regrets about leaving that brand new house behind in Boston, because we're building the social business capital of the world.

Any interest in joining us?"

Field Guide to South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi)

Originally posted on December 7, 2010 [UPDATED as of 3/7]

Every year, I have a few new friends that ask me if I have any tips for them as they get ready for SXSW -- an interactive, film and music extravaganza! Today, my friend Christine Perkett let me know that she was taking her maiden voyage to Austin next spring for this very event. My promise to her was an insider's guide to "South-by" as it's referred to by us geeks. I know I've missed a ton so I'm hoping that my fellow SXSW veterans and local Austinites will help fill in the blanks.

Lodging and Airfare
After buying your ticket to SXSW, this is the first thing you want to take care of. And by first thing, I mean now. Today. Not in two months. Trust me when I tell you that you will end up flying into San Antonio and staying somewhere halfway between San Antonio and Austin if you don't take care of this soon. Here are several hotels that are close that you should consider.

Map of Downtown Austin


View Map of Downtown Austin Hotels for SXSW in a larger map

HINT: I am not kidding about staying near San Antonio (which is an hour away from Austin) if you don't plan ahead.


Scheduling
One of the first things you will realize as you start to prepare for SXSW is that there are A LOT of things happening at the same time. This includes keynotes, breakout sessions, happy hours, etc. Per my friend, Kyle Flaherty's advice from a post he did about SXSW 2010, get focused on the 6-8 panels/sessions you really want to see. Make sure you're not just going to see the latest social media rock star but look carefully at the session title and description. Is the speaker a seasoned speaker or is this their first rodeo? As a result, you may want to have a "plan B" session" lined up for any selections you make just in case you need to call an audible.

HINT: Have all of your your notes/schedules printed out. Wifi and cell coverage can be spotty at times at SXSW.

Parties/Networking
There are a lot of parties at SXSW. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. More than you will ever experience anywhere else in your lifetime. This is obviously a great time to network so go light on the drinking (or at least pace yourself -- more on that in the next section). Also, just like the conference sessions, you will want to choose these wisely. Take note of the fact that for the signature parties (Mashable, DIGG, TechSet) there will be lines. Long lines. So get there early and move on to your next party before that party winds down. Also keep an eye on key people like Chris Brogan and Robert Scoble's Twitter streams. These guys create flash parties everywhere they go. Sometimes, those are the best ones. Another smart idea is to make sure you are signed up for services like Plancast and a location-based provider or two like Foursquare, Gowalla and Whrrl so you can monitor the action a little more methodically.

Another important point to touch on here is that you will do some of the best networking you've ever done at SXSW. That's at least 67% of the value of the conference. Some of that happens at parties. Other times, this can happen via coffee, breakfast or in the Blogger's Lounge (this is one of the hidden gems of SXSW). I'll put up a link to more details about the BL as we get closer to SXSW. However, because there are so many events going on simultaneously, be sure to reach out via e-mail or phone with anyone you want to connect with in advance and set a time and a place to meet.

HINT: For most parties, you will need a SXSW badge. If you attend the conference rogue (sans badge), there is usually a list of parties that don't require badges (I will link to that when it's up). What I will tell you is that unless you are 5' 10", blonde and drop dead gorgeous, there is a 99% chance you will NOT get into any party that requires a badge.

Pace Yourself
As I noted in the "Party/Networking" section of this post, there are a lot of parties that go on during SXSW. Combine that with the late nights and the fact that SXSW takes place over the course of several days, it is imperative to pace yourself. Trust me, I'm not scrooge when it comes to having fun but ensuring that you eat well, get sleep whenever you can (hint: take naps in the afternoon), drink plenty of water and try and not pull an all-nighter during the first day or two that you're here.

HINT: The weather in March is usually mid-70s to high 80s during the day and low-60s at night. Shorts and t-shirts are de rigeur but you may also make sure you bring a fleece and a few pairs of jeans for the evening activities.

Content Creation
If you're a blogger, podcaster or videographer, SXSW is a wonderful place to create content. There is usually space in the hallways of the Austin Convention Center to set up shop although they hallways can get noisy in between sessions. Weather permitting, you can also shoot/record outdoors. Just make sure you bring extra batteries and be sure to test your equipment before you come down. If you're podcasting, you might even arrange with someone to be editing remotely so that you can post during SXSW. This means pre-recording your bumper music, creating a tag/hashtag in advance, etc.

HINT: As I mentioned in the "Networking" section, you will also want to try and schedule as many interviews ahead of time as possible. This includes putting together a schedule and finding a meeting place in advance e.g. outside the blogger lounge or near the Chevy pavilion near the entrance.

Restaurants
I'm in the process of adding more places to the map below (suggestions are welcome). [POST SCRIPT 2/29/2011: Our friends at Where.com just added a curated list of Austin/SXSW faves from a list of about 20 people -- food bloggers, Austinites and people like @SchneiderMike and I that just like food). For the BEST recommendations, go to my friend (and big time Foodie blogger), Natanya Anderson's expert post on this topic.


View Good Restaurants to Visit During SXSW in a larger map

HINT: The Salt Lick is a MUST visit while you are here for anyone that likes BBQ. Because it is in Driftwood which is a good 30 minutes south of downtown, you'll need to drive there. If you do decided to go, plan on it taking a good three hours out of your night. Also note that they are cash only and because Driftwood is in a dry county, you must bring your own beer and wine if you want to drink.

Other Useful Links

As we get closer to the event, more and more "how to do SXSW" posts will crop up. So that I don't overwhelm you, I will try and keep a running list below. I promise that I will personally curate these posts so that I only provide the posts that I see offering additional value.

• Do512 - as I was reminded about in the comments, these guys are all over SXSW in terms of the best events, restaurants, etc. Make sure you head over to their site before/during/after SXSW.
• Great newbie post from 2010 from Bonnie Sashin (I like her perspective).
• Friend, Dave Delaney, shares 20 SXSW tips via SlideShare.
• On Quora, find out what Aaron Brazell and Robert Scoble think you should do at SXSW [you might not be surprised that they do NOT agree].
• From the Social Media Club, another great SlideShare deck with 16 tips.
• Where.com's curated list of Austin/SXSW faves from a list of about 20 people -- food bloggers, Austinites and people like @SchneiderMike and I that just like food.
• Friend and foodie blogger, Natanya Anderson's, expert post on where to eat with input from the smartest foodies in Austin.
• Austin local socialmedia-ite, Kate Buck's take on what's what at SXSWi.

As I noted above, I'm sure I've missed all kinds of other good tips so please let me know via the comments below. Or you can send me a link via Twitter @aaronstrout.

Movember Time, Austin Style!

Some of you may remember that last year, a bunch of us Austinites teamed up against some of my former Bostonians to raise awareness and help fight prostate and testicular cancer during the month of November. The end result of our Movember campaign was a 50 person team with over $18,000 in donations. This year, we're hoping to make it bigger... five times bigger to be exact. We have big plans to incorporate corporate donations, scavenger hunts, famous sports figures and lots more.

What's fun about this fund raising effort is that not only focused on encouraging people to donate money but more importantly, it's about team building and creating awareness so that blockheads like me who at least one point in time in their lives thought they were invincible, do something about getting regular checkups. Oh yeah, we also get to grow mustaches (or if you're female, you get to Photoshop on a mustache). In fact, the pictures you see here are some of our late stage "mo's" that team Austin grew last year.

Most importantly, you're probably asking yourself how you get involved. Well, I'm happy you brought it up. First and foremost, we'd like you to sign up. Don't worry, there isn't any hazing (well, not that we can speak of anyway). We have about 30 people 56 people on the team now with another 20+ that have verbally committed. That means we have 170 more to go. So get your friends, family and colleagues to sign up too.

Note - if you want an easy way to pass colleagues along to this post, you can use shortened URLs:

• http://bit.ly/austinmo  OR
• http://budurl.com/movemberATX

The second way you can help is to donate. Now I won't lie to you, if we're going to get close to $100,000 this year, we need people to donate. But if I had my druthers, I'd rather have you sign up for the team and not donate a penny than the other way around. With that said, I know many folks are pressed for time (or don't want to grow a mustache) so if this is your thing, far be it from me to stop you.



Finally, we will be spilling the fun over to Facebook and a central touch-base site that my man, Wesley Faulkner will be running. Stay tuned for details on that front.

[NOTE: You (and others) can also now pledge $$ using tweets. Find out more details here on the Help Attack! blog. Or contact Sarah Vela and/or David Neff for details.]

I'll also be keeping a running list of new team members below. Let me know if I've missed you:

1. Joseph Jaffe
2. Aaron Bramley
3. Aaron De Lucia
4. Aaron Strout
5. Albert Morales
6. Alex Stivers
7. Amanda Adams
8. Amanda Wagner
9. Andrea Lipizzi
10. Andrea Schulle
11. Andrew Stidvent
12. Art Thompson
13. Avan Allen
14. Bacon Ator
15. Becky Parker
16. Beez "the dog" Chen (our first canine on the team)
17. Beth Gwazdosky
18. Bill Gillespie
19. Bob Dilly
20. Brandon Herrin
21. Brandon Sockwell
22. Bret Cunningham
23. Brett Agnew
24. Brian Kotlyar
25. Britt McMillan
26. Brittany Oster
27. Bryan Chaney
28. Bryan Menell
29. Bryan Person
30. Carlos Urreta
31. Charlie Browning
32. Chino Monteleon
33. Chris Bailey
34. Chris Dienna
35. Christopher Uhland
36. Colin Alsheimer
37. Corey Pudhorodsky
38. Cuyler Owens
39. D'Ann Faught
40. Dara Quackenbush
41. Darin Kirschner
42. David Breshears
43. David McCarl
44. David J. Neff
45. Dennis Hall
46. Dennis Kristensen
47. Denver Bronco
48. Doni Wilson
49. Doug Wick
50. Dustin Wyatt
51. Dylan Spurgin
52. Edgar Dapremont
53. Ehren Foss
54. Elijah May
55. Elmer Boutin
56. Emily Babb
57. Eric Weiss
58. Erik McMillan
59. Evan Sanders
60. Felicia Adams
61. Fernando Labastida
62. Gard Mayer
63. Glenn Banton
64. Greg Ackerman
65. Greg Matthews
66. Greg Verdino
67. Haley Odom
68. Hawk Mendenhall
69. Ian Greenleigh
70. J Noel Kvale
71. Jacob Burns
72. Jacqueline Hughes
73. Jake Sussman
74. James Young
75. Jared Haas
76. Jason Kapler
77. Jason Stoddard
78. Jason Vogen
79. Jeff Rousel
80. Jen Orr
81. Jennie Chen
82. Jennie Loev
83. Jeremy Brooks
84. Jill McFarland
85. Jim Bean
86. Jim Cochrun
87. Jim Keeler
88. Joanie Pechenik
89. Joe Cohen
90. Joey McGirr
91. John Cartwright
92. John Johansen
93. John Knox
94. Jon Dunn
95. Jonathan Gesinger
96. Jonathan Weldon
97. Jordan Viator
98. Justin Crandall
99. Justin Edwards
100. Caitlin Pesl
101. Karen Pascoe
102. Kate Buck
103. Kendall Schmidt
104. Kenneth Cho
105. Kevin Koym
106. Kevin O'Brien
107. Kim Hollenshead
108. Kimbria Andreassen
109. Kyle Flaherty
110. Laura Beck
111. Lee Baker
112. Lee Parker
113. Lisa Maxwell
114. Mark Couvillion
115. Mark Young
116. Martin Montero
117. Matt Curtin
118. Matt Harris
119. Matt McDougall
120. Matt McGinnis
121. Max Chirkov
122. Melissa Reiss
123. Merton Young
124. Michael Adams
125. Michael Yockey
126. Mike Hamilton
127. Mike Neumann
128. Mitch Wilson
129. Morgan Brown
130. Paul Bonser
131. Paul Walhus
132. Peter Poulin
133. Peter Bramley
134. Rachelle King
135. Ray Grill
136. Ricardo Guerrero
137. Ricardo Sanchez
138. Rick Vlaha
139. Robert Gilbreath
140. Russ Somers
141. Sam Eder
142. Sarah Vela
143. Saurabh Das
144. Scott Hanson
145. Scott Metler
146. Sean Bell
147. Sean Claes
148. Sethho Sulser
149. Shaine Mata
150. Sherry Lowry
151. Siam Saechew
152. Simon Salt
153. Sonny Johns
154. Stacy Libby
155. Sydney Owen
156. Talmadge Boyd
157. Tamar Weinberg
158. Texas Stars Hockey
159. Tim Hayden
160. Tim Walker
161. Tom Niemeyer
162. Tom Trantham
163. Tracy Trevino
164. Travis Kenney
165. Trey Swain
166. Wesley Faulkner
167. Will Staney
168. William Kelleher
169. William Mitschke
170. William Morrow
171. Yvette Leroux

Last but not least, here is our Flickr collection from THIS YEAR. I'll be swapping this out for this year's once we start to get our Mo on.




NOTE: Weekly team conference calls every Friday at 11 AM CT. Number is: 888-693-8686 / 2053266

7 Reasons You Know You're Experiencing SXSW Withdrawal

There's no doubt that by the end of South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi), we are all tired, brain dead and a little overwhelmed... yet we all seem to have a big ole' permagrin on our face (not to mention hundreds of new Twitter, Plancast and and Gowalla followers). This is partially due to the fact that there is just nothing quite like "South-by" as locals call it. It's just such a perfect mix of sun, friends and a deeper understanding of what makes "social," well... "social."

As a three time veteran, I feel the need to let other South-by attendees that they aren't the only ones to feel that twinge of remorse as their planes touch down, especially those that have to go back to colder climes. What better way to empathize than to share my seven reasons you know you're experiencing SXSW withdrawal with my friends.

Drumroll please...

7. You can't stop using the world "douchebag"... including with your kids, grandmother and your boss.
6. Checking into every room in your house using Gowalla and Foursquare feels perfectly normal.
5. You find yourself daydreaming about BBQ... ALL THE TIME
4. Neighbors look at you funny when you ask them which parties they are going to tonight.
3. None of your co-workers know where or what the "Blogger's Lounge" is.
2. You can't help but wonder if you'll randomly bump into Robert Scoble, Gary Vaynerchuck or Guy Kawasaki  in your local Starbucks.

AND THE NUMBER ONE WAY YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOING THROUGH SXSW WITHDRAWAL...

1. You keep looking at the @RedSoxGnome's Twitter stream to see which wild and crazy guy or gal he'll end up with next!

Great seeing everyone. Sorry we didn't get a chance to visit more. A more serious wrap up SXSW post will be coming soon!

Photo Credit: my main, techmology man, Jim Storer. (respect, respect)

Ubiquity Marketing UnSummit: An Event Worth Checking Out in the ATX

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine, Jason Stoddard, told me that he was pulling together a conference here in Austin. Based on the description and the group of people he was pulling together (see below for list), I couldn't help but agree to speak. To that end, I've been a bad partner in letting people that follow my blog know about the Ubiguity Marketing UnSummit.

To that end, here are the deets (if you live in Austin, you MUST come)...

Focus: How Local Entrepreneurs can Save the World and Pay the Rent in any Economic Climate

Agenda & Schedule

Date & Time: September 3, 2009

8:00am – 6:15pm

Location: Shoreline Grill

98 San Jacinto Blvd - Austin, Texas (directions)

Speakers: Chris Brogan | Aaron Strout | Kyle Flaherty | Dr. Graeme Saruk | Paul Janowitz | Tim Hayden | Kim J Wilson | Brandi Clark | Mason Arnold | David J Neff | Michelle Greer | Benn & Lani Rosales | Scott Ingram | Bill Leake | Scott Allen | Ricardo Guerrero | Andy Meadows | Steve Brothers | Paul May | Josh Dilworth | Cynthia Baker | Steve Golab | Enzo Monfre | William Hurley

There's also a tweetup after where Brogan will be doing book signings. If you haven't heard, he's on the NY Times bestseller list! He's selling and signing books (drinks will be available for cash as well).

Oh yeah, the most important part of this (in addition to the opportunity to see some great national and local talent) is the fact that all proceeds are benefiting the Capital Area Food Bank, Mobile Loaves and Fishes & PlanetCancer.

SIGN UP HERE!

Software Advice Relocates to Austin (psst, there's free beer)

Software Advice, just moved to Austin! They're celebrating by throwing their 1st Annual Summer Bash. Let's help welcome them.

What: Free hors d'oerves and beer from Independence Brewing Co.
When: 6:00 P.M. on Thursday, August 13th
Where: 714 Congress Avenue, Suite 200 (upstairs)

They're eager to meet Austin's press, bloggers, technocrats and party people.

Software Advice Moves to Austin (more deets here)

Time to Help Mobile Loaves & Fishes Do Good!

This is a re-post from the MLF blog. I want to support Mobile Loaves and Fishes so this is a re-post. Please feel free to re-post this to your blog as well.

Mark Horvarth (@HardlyNormal) for those of us on Twitter, has been garnering national attention for his efforts to bring voices to the homeless. His blog and his website have given him a place to explore unexplored stories, and call attention to some of our most overlooked citizens—the homeless among us. Alan Graham, President of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, (@MLFNOW) invited him to come see Austin and go on a truck run, attend the screening of Happiness Is, and serve the homeless. So, Mark decided to make Austin a stop on his nation-wide tour! He’ll be here from the 29th of July through the 1st of August.

Mark, who is, as he puts it “not a solutions guy,” is embarking on his road trip to “see homelessness” and to “help people” by calling attention to their stories. According to Mark, he has two main strengths going for him: he’s "pushy,” and he’s "loud”—not to mention compassionate. During our conversation he was particularly upset about the stories he has heard of families “downsizing” by kicking out their eldest children.

So why is he doing this now? Good question. As Mark puts it, we are entering into a “perfect storm of homelessness,” with the economy in the place it is, with government out of money. (In fact, some of his sponsors haven’t even been able to commit because of financial difficulties!) So, what better time to call attention to this immense need?

Mark will be arriving in town just in time to take part in our social media extravaganza around the movie “Happiness Is.” You’ll likely be able to have your OWN conversation with Mark at any of the events below:

Happiness Is DVD Signing:

• Waterloo Records Downtown from 5-7 PM on Thursday, July 30th.
• free BBQ from Stubbs and free beer from Shiner
• MLF catering truck and Stubb's BBQ World Tour trailer

Tweetup (you don't have to go to both the movie and the tweetup--stop by for a few!)

• Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar from 7-9 PM on Thursday, July 30th
• cash bar + free popcorn
• Here's a link to the twtvite (#nosuffering), spread the word and RSVP: http://twtvite.com/bn6p48/2

Happiness Is Screening [I will be watching the documentary as well. MLF is prominently featured in the movie. Preview here.]

• Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar (directions) at 9:30 PM and 9:50 PM
• Two theaters--one for the movie, and one for social media! You can tweet to your heart's content :)
• Reserve tickets by visiting their site at www.HappinessIsTheMovie.com and clicking on the email link for “tickets” on the front page.

For more information on the events visit: www.mlfnow.org/happiness

We would love your help in spreading the compassion and awareness, please help!

• Make a micro-donation to Mobile Loaves & Fishes (www.mlfnow.org/NoSuffering)
• Tweet and Blog the events and the movie--what did you think?
• Follow @MLFNOW
• Follow Happiness Is the movie @HappinessIs_tm
• Help @MLFNOW start a conversation around homelessness and palliative care by interacting on Twitter and the MLF blog
• Help MLF win a $25,000 social media makeover! Retweet the following: RT to help Mobile Loaves & Fishes win a 25K social media makeover http://ow.ly/4pcs @CommuniCause #cause3324
• Hand out water to the homeless

I'm now a Texan (humorous)

As any of you that follow me on Twitter or read my blog regularly now know, I've officially settled in the great republic of Texas -- Austin, TX to be exact. To that end, I'm working on acclimating myself and my family as fast as possible. Fortunately, I have co-workers like Mary Lemons who was kind enough to share a list with me via e-mail titled, "To Help with your Texas-ifying." It was a list of 40 items -- all humorous -- that I'm sure has been amassed through blog posts and e-mail forwards over the years.

Knowing my proclivity for sharing, I couldn't resist posting the "best of" this list below. Apologies to the original source of this list -- if anyone knows who owns it, let me know and I'll be sure to provide proper attribution.

You know you’re a Texan if:

1. You know it’s a given that the true value of a parking place lies in the shade, not the distance to the door.
2. You see just as many Texan flags as American flags.
3. You end a lot of words without the letter “g.”
4. You can drive all day (and more) and never leave the state
5. You’ve actually burned your hand opening your car door. (or front door for that matter)
6. You know all 4 seasons: Almost summer, Summer, Still summer, and Deer season.
7. You choose a brand of salsa with the same care that another might use to select a bottle of fine wine.
8. You know that “Fixinto” is one word.
9. You have owned at least one belt buckle bigger than your fist.
10. You aren’t surprised to find movie rental, ammunition, and bait all in the same store.  
11. You know there are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in Texas.
12. Your biggest bicycle wreak fear is, “What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?”
13. You know everything goes better with BBQ sauce.
14. You don’t consider people from Austin to be real Texans.
15. You can fix anything with Duct Tape.

Image credit: http://www.sxc.hu

Experts in the Industry: Dave Evans (68 of 45)

What can I tell you about Mr. Evans. Well, for starters he has one of the best background photos on his Twitter page EVER [hint: think Whole Food's "Miles of Chocolate"]. In a more official capacity, Dave is a big brain in the social space and has been thinking about all things digital for a while now. In addition to being the author of the book, Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, Dave is also a principal at Digital Voodoo and writer for ClickZ.

Having followed Dave on Twitter for a while (note, he's @evansdave), it was a pleasure to finally meet him in person down in Austin. Fortunately for me, Dave lives down here so we get together semi-regularly for coffee with a group of other smart folks like Bryan Person, Peter Kim, Heather Strout, Tim Walker, Jackie Huba, Paul May, Kyle Flaherty, Ben McConnell, Kate Niederhoffer, John Johansen and Sara Dornsife.

But enough about coffee and chocolate though, let's get on to Dave's answers:

In one sentence, please describe what you do and why you’re good at it.
I work with marketing and operations professionals interested in applying social media based concepts. I am good at this because I have direct experience in ops (Product Management, Progressive Insurance), marketing and advertising (Interactive Strategy Director, GSD&M), and a passion for understanding the fundamental issues (BS, Physic and Mathematics.)

How did you get into the world of online community, social media or social marketing?
I was involved with advergaming and decided to pursue non-interruptive forms of media. That led me to Web 2.0 and the Social Web as a business platform.

If you had $10 million to invest in one company and one company only based on their use of “social,” which company would it be and why?
Powered, of course! Quite seriously, it was through my work with Powered and its predecessor, Not Harvard, that much of my quantitative thinking around social media and its application to business developed. Clearly, the company has “social” in its DNA.

Which business leader, politician or public figure do you most respect?
Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos. Tony has been built an amazing company, in a segment (online shoe sales) that few thought possible, and fundamentally positioned the firm for success via social media by aligning his people with his customer’s best interests.

Would you join a toothpaste community? Why?
Yes, absolutely. One of the best jobs I ever had was as a Product Manager for Progressive Insurance. They recruited me from Jet Propulsion Labs where I was working in Mission Control on the Voyager Spacecraft. My initial inclination was to say “no way” -- I mean, how do you go from rocket scientist to insurance guy? But I interviewed anyway, based on what I’d learned about the company. The ten (yes, 10!) people who interviewed me were among the smartest, brightest, and engaged people I’d ever met. I took the job--opening up the business offices in Austin, TX--and proceeded to learn how business actually worked. One of the best decisions of my life.

Freeform – here’s where you can riff on anyone or anything – good or bad. Or just share a pearl of wisdom.
The Social Web is, to me, the dream of Tim Berners Lee come true: “An interactive sea of shared knowledge… to bring our friends and colleagues closer (so) that by working on this knowledge together we can come to better understandings.”

Experts in the Industry: Connie Reece (67 of 45)

Is there a more colorful person in the socialsphere than Connie Reece? I got to find out in person for the first time a few weeks ago at my first Social Media Club, Austin meeting where Connie and I were able to connect in person after following each other on Twitter for a while.

In addition to colorful, Connie is also charming, funny and stoic. If you haven't met Connie yet, she's a co-founder & advisory board of the Social Media Club and founder of Every Dot Connects.

So how did such a cool and wonderful person answer the Experts in the Industry questions? Let's find out:

In one sentence, please describe what you do and why you're good at it.
I teach companies how to communicate conversationally and how to use social technologies to leverage those conversational skills into relationship building with constituents--both internally and externally. I'm a naturally gifted teacher and lifelong learner who is passionate about using my knowledge to connect people, ideas and causes. (Okay, that was two sentences. Go ahead and count off, but I didn't want to risk writing a run-on sentence and having the grammar police come after me.)

How did you get into the world of online community, social media or social marketing?
I'm a "seasoned citizen," not one of the so-called digital natives who grew up in the personal computer era. So before there was such a thing as the World Wide Web, I was using online tools for research as well as connecting with others. My old 300-baud dial-up modem should be in a museum somewhere, along with my Kaypro II suitcase computer (26 pounds) that I lugged self-importantly to clients' offices to demonstrate my prowess with technology.

My experience as a professional writer and communicator, along with a background in direct marketing and direct mail fund-raising with a bit of PR thrown in, made it easy for me to transition into the world of social media and community building. My skill set is all about connections through communication. Emerging technologies have simply enabled those connections to be made much faster and to a greater scale.

If you had $10 million to invest in one company and one company only based on their use of "social," which company would it be and why?
Twitter, or another microblogging/presence app I thought had the potential to knock Twitter out of its number one position. I was an early adopter (January 2007) and have watched as users tried out each new service that came along--Pownce, Jaiku, Plurk--and then came right back to Twitter because of its simplicity and because that's where they have built their network.

Which business leader, politician or public figure do you most respect?
I won't single one out, but I have a great respect for entrepreneurs. They work hard, take great risks to turn dreams into reality, and they create jobs that fuel the economy. Most of them are overtaxed and underappreciated.

Would you join a toothpaste community? Why?
Yes, if it were a specialty toothpaste. I have Sjogren's Syndrome, which causes extreme dryness. So I have done a lot of online research and even participated in forums where people discuss various products that help relieve dry eyes and dry mouth. I've used about every artificial tear product on the market, and even special toothpastes and chewing gums. So if a toothpaste company built a community that created value for me in terms of information, product sourcing, and cost savings, I'd join.

Freeform – here's where you can riff on anyone or anything – good or bad. Or just share a pearl of wisdom.
If you guzzle the social media Kool-Aid rather than taking small sips, you'll contract a bad case of Shiny Object Syndrome and become totally ineffective. Remember that it's not about the technology, it's about people. Develop your people skills first, then master the social media tools.

Experts in the Industry: Sara Dornsife (61 of 45)

Funny? Gosh darn Sara Dornsife is funny. I suspected it the first couple times we talked but what sealed the deal for me was her recent post about What your car says about you and why the U.S. auto industry is failing. I won't spoil it for you but I guarantee you won't be able to read it without laughing out loud.

That's not the only thing I like about Sara, however. She's also smart, insightful and has a certain hipness that makes me happy about the fact that I get to hang out with her semi-regularly (she and her husband live in Austin). She's also on the market -- think marketing meets great blogger/social media-type -- if you're looking (she's @SaraD on Twitter). Given her most recent experience running projects at Sun Microsystems, she can definitely "hang" when it comes to the corporate environment.

I could go on all day but I won't. Instead, let's jump over to the answers to her five questions:

In one sentence, please describe what you do and why you’re good at it.
I am a community advocate and marketing purist.

How did you get into the world of online community, social media or social marketing?
The old fashioned way, I fell into it. When I saw the opportunity to get involved in something new and to learn new skills and new ways to market, I took it. In my case it was through open source. We used forums, wikis, IRC, local user groups, and blogs to communicate with our communities. That was my foray into social media tools. As a marketer it was a big shift. Our users weren't interested in glossy color brochures full of catch phrases and adjectives, they wanted the facts. And more importantly, as users, they wanted to be involved to improve a product they use. It was both fresh and refreshing.

If you had $10 million to invest in one company and one company only based on their use of “social,” which company would it be and why?
I like Zecco's model and their use of social tools and a vibrant community to help their users learn how to invest.

Which business leader, politician or public figure do you most respect?
I have enormous respect for the people who generously give their time and energy to their local communities. The local Social Media Breakfast had the people from Mobile Loaves and Fishes in to get advice on to use social media to get their message out. I give them a huge and hearty standing ovation. I know they aren't really public figures, but they deserve our respect.

Would you join a toothpaste community? Why?
Ah, the toothpaste community. No. Exactly, why? Communities are a relationship, and like any relationship require commitment and time to be meaningful. I wouldn't give my time to toothpaste. It already gets 10 minutes of my life everyday. If I had an autistic child, for example, I could see giving a ton of time and commitment to that community as a means of mutual support. I can handle brushing my teeth all by myself.

Freeform – here’s where you can riff on anyone or anything – good or bad. Or just share a pearl of wisdom.
To me, social media is a tactic. A very important one listed with other important ones like branding, messaging, PR, website content, events... Where social media differs is in that it doesn't fall into a single bucket, it helps with support, QA, communications and development. That makes a pretty powerful tool. Cluetrain came out over 10 years ago and we are finally just starting to get it. I'm pretty excited to see what comes next.

Experts in the Industry: Paul May (37 of 45)

Paul May, CEO and co-founder of Buzzstream, is one of my favorite people in Austin. So favorite that I had dinner at his house with his wife and his two beautiful children recently. But it wasn't the food that won me over. It is the fact that Paul is interested in the same thing that I am, namely delivering a return on investment in the world of social and online communities (Peter Kim, Kyle Flaherty, Adam Cohen and Lewis Green also fall in this camp).

Check out how Paul (Twitter handle) answered the five questions from the Experts in the Industry interview series -- he does some nice sucking up in question three (it worked btw):

In one sentence, please describe what you do and why you're good at it.

I'm the CEO and co-founder of BuzzStream, a startup that's building DIY tools for managing word-of-mouth relationships.  I'm good at starting companies because I love doing it (despite the 24/7 schedule, it doesn't feel like work to me).

 

How did you get into the world of online community, social media or social marketing?

I like to tinker with new technologies, which drove my initial use of social media tools.  Things grew organically from there for me.  I got into social marketing through my business partner, Jeremy Bencken, who founded ApartmentRatings.com.  He relied on PR and social media participation to build his company, and managing those relationships was his biggest challenge.  That led to BuzzStream.

 

If you had $10 million to invest in one company and one company only based on their use of "social," which company would it be and why?

Ugh...I guess I should say BuzzStream, but the truth is I don't think that having that kind of money would be good for us.  Companies that need a $10 million investment don't really interest me.  Part of this is simply because I'm more passionate about smaller companies and the other part of this is because I think the really exciting uses of social media are happening in smaller organizations (not that surprising to me, given that social media is a bottom-up phenomenon).  Give me the $10 mil and let me invest in 20 companies like Balsamiq, BreakingPoint, BackType, Powered, etc. Shining examples of scrappy businesses working with small budgets, but leveraging social media and DIY tools to build brand awareness, generate demand and get product feedback. 

 

Which business leader, politician or public figure do you most respect?

I like leaders who aren't particularly flashy but build value over a long period of time and engender great loyalty. In politics, it's people like Lee Hamilton and Harry Truman.  In business, it's people like Warren Buffett. 

 

Would you join a toothpaste community? Why?

No…but I was on a hiking trip once with a guy who cared so much about white teeth that he brushed them as he hiked.  I'm pretty sure that guy would join a toothpaste community.

 

Freeform

If you've been thinking of starting a company, there's no better time to do it (yes, even with the economic mess we're in).  The great companies of the next 20 years are going to get started now.  And the best part is that there's never been a time where you could get a company up and running for less money.  Google has leveled the playing field for all of us. We just have to be smart about getting our mindshare on Google.