Like 2300 other hopefuls, I have submitted a proposal to present at South by Southwest 2011. This is actually for a dual presentation with Jennifer Wojcik (@TheJenATX on Twitter), co-founder of Pinqued. Here’s the description:

One reason businesses delay entering the world of social media is the fear of swimming in shark-infested waters. Even the most seasoned writer may not be prepared to handle scathing comments or a full-out assault by Internet trolls. This session will include examples from personal experience, case studies, with ample time for Q&A. Attendees will learn: Why every company needs a social media engagement policy and comment guidelines. Why an intern should not be in charge of your company’s social media presence. How to distinguish between snarks–verbal snipers–and attention-seeking trolls who are bent on disruption. Whether to allow anonymous comments. When to moderate comments or suspend them temporarily. How to handle negative comments and help steer the conversation to a positive outcome.

We would appreciate your vote, and I think we’d fall over backwards if you left a comment!

SXSW 2011 PanelPicker – Social Media Engagement Guidelines: Surviving a Snark Attack.

I’m also partnering with Lisa Petrilli on another proposal, titled Resources Roulette: Winning Social Strategies for Shrinking Budgets. The panel will answer this question:

While the low barrier to entry of social networking is attractive to entrepreneurs and small business owners, their resources–which include their time–are quite limited. Can these companies still create an effective social media presence?

Please click on the button above for the full description. Again, we’d appreciate your vote.

But wait … there’s more!

I’m honored to be included in Social Media Club’s panel proposal called Social Media Club: Building a Global Community. I’ve been a co-founding member of SMC since 2006 and co-founded the Austin chapter. Growth over the last few years has been phenomenal: we now have 230+ chapters around the world–every continent except Antartica. Kristie Wells, SMC co-founder, will moderate, with Jason Falls, Serena Ehrlich, Kevin Urie and me rounding out the panel. We’ll discuss how a grassroots organization can become a global non-profit organization. We have so many lessons to share that will help anyone who is organizing a community–online or off.

And, finally, Sheila Scarborough, who has written many popular posts for Every Dot Connects, has a panel proposal that is a must-attend for anyone with an interest in travel or tourism.

Check it out here: Tourism Catches On: Old Industry Meets New Media.

I’m honored to be included for the third year as a presenter for the Women Who Tech Telesummit on September 15. I’ll be giving one of the 10-minute Lightning Talks that kicks off the event. My session, described below, is a sneak preview of what Jennifer Wojcik and I will present at Blogworld and New Media Expo in October.

Each year I’ve been impressed with the great roster of presenters that Allyson Kapin and the WWT team puts together for the Telesummit. The cost is only $20 for seven hours’ worth of information from top women — and, yes, a few men — who are technology change makers. Click the link below for the full lineup of speakers and to register.

How to Survive an Online Snark Attack – How do you deal with negative comments, verbal snipers and the inevitable trolls? As women entreprenuers and techies, are we held to a different standard in responding online? Are we afraid of being labeled a bitch? Connie Reece, Founder Every Dot Connects and Co-Founder of Social Media Club International has seen it all and will discuss the best tactics to take on these snark attacks so we will no longer fear “but what if they say something negative?”

via Women Who Tech | 2010 Panels.

The “fam tour” or “familiarization tour” is standard practice by which tourism boards and Convention and Visitor’s Bureaus (CVBs) introduce their destinations to media people.

In the past, such tours have been filled with only print and broadcast media representatives. Not any more.

One example in progress right now is the “So Much More Hawaii” fam tour just for bloggers; it’s sponsored by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA.)

I’m on the tour covering mostly family travel, and other blogging specialists include:

• Rick Calvert, founder, Blog World and New Media Expo – a huge annual blogging conference.  He’ll cover the islands as a business and convention destination.
• Leah Lamb, covering eco-tourism and green travel for Current TV. I know she must be intrigued by Hawaii’s recent efforts to invest in clean and renewable energy resources.
• Jim Turner, OneByOne Media and host of the Social Mediasphere show on Blog Talk Radio.
• Shira Lazar, blogging on solo travel for Jaunted.com, the pop culture travel guide.
• Aric S. Queen, producer, writer, podcaster and value travel blogger for the UpTake travel site.
• Mark Tafoya, our tour foodie blogger. He’s a professional chef and co-founder of the Culinary Media Network.
• L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine, a native Hawaiian, Chief Evangelist for Alltop.com and founder of Hawaii-basedPono Media.

As we all know, the economy is down around the world. The Hawaii tourism industry is in crisis right now andthe outlook is grim.

By some standards, this social media outreach could be considered a risky move by the HTA, but I think it’s simply smart.

I applaud this major tourism organization for seeking new, more effective ways to use social media to showcase the islands for potential visitors.

More from Every Dot Connects

• When women blog, it’s fashion?
• Social Media Marketing GPS: Twitter Tactics – American Marketing Association

“Birds of a feather….”

Connie and I do realize that when you spend a lot of time around the feathered tribe of tech-savvy folks (thereby miraculously becoming two of Austin’s Social Media Mavens) it can be easy to forget that not everyone’s world revolves around LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and blogging, aka “the tech-o chamber.”

As my teen would say, “Duh.”

We know that lots of people find social media to be one big confusing alphabet soup of applications, jargon and insider jokes.

That’s why we run classes and workshops; to demystify the gobbledygook, and that’s why we love speaking engagements with great organizations like Austin’s venerable Metropolitan Breakfast Club.

From the MBC Web site:

“The Metropolitan Breakfast Club is a 20-year Austin tradition that’s anything but traditional.  Every Wednesday morning our members are informed and entertained by a variety of local and internationally recognized experts in business, politics and education. Our speakers share stories of Austin’s past, our current challenges, and future opportunities in and around Central Texas.”

Since 1984, the Club has been renowned for its extraordinarily eclectic speakers – everyone from the city Police Chief to historians to company CEOs to astronauts to the person who organizes the local rodeo.

Connie and I are thrilled to be included in the distinguished lineup on this coming Wednesday morning, March 11 – you can RSVP here if you happen to be in Austin.

We will do our best to rock the house with a combination of two of our favorite presentations:

• Email is for old people – Connie gets laughs and lots of attention with this one because, just like me, she IS one of those “old people.” More mature and particularly more skeptical audiences tend to listen to someone who does not appear to be 22 or live in her Mom’s basement, especially when she cheerfully blows up preconceived notions about social media for businesses and nonprofits. 




• Follow the bouncing blog post – I use a series of tabbed Web pages to show audiences how the information in a single blog post moves through the Web on other blogs, Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, StumbleUpon and even (how retro!) email. Newcomers to social media say that it gives them a clear visual demonstration of the power of Web communications.

We’ll then open the floor for lots of questions and answers.

If you’re in town, we hope to see you bright and early Wednesday morning!

It’s that time of year again, when the tech universe is abuzz with the digital creative delights of the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) conference in Austin, Texas.

Since I live in the Austin metro area and this is my third “South by,” I thought I’d update last year’s post on why SXSWi is like Disney World and revisit the lure of conferences.

Just yesterday at Jelly Coworking, I discussed the five geeky days of craziness with City of Round Rock communications guy Brooks Bennett.

This will be his first SXSWi and he’s really psyched about it, but also a bit overwhelmed by the barrage of offerings.

Here’s the advice I gave him….

• Forget about seeing everything. Heck, forget about seeing half of it!  There are the big keynote speakers, a crazy-huge number of panels, the smaller Core Conversations (I’m speaking at one with writer Pam Mandel, about travel blogging) plus book readings on the Adobe Day Stage (where I heard then-unknown Tim Ferriss of The 4-Hour Workweek speak in 2007,) early evening salon discussions and my personal “secret” favorite that often has big names in a small setting, the Studio SX discussions in the northeast corner of the Exhibition Hall.  There are hang-out lounges and parties galore, both official and “unofficial.” This goes on for five days – you’ll be fried.
• Pick everything that sounds good, and weed it all out later. Here’s what I do – I go through the online schedule and say, “Yes, Yes, Yes” to everything that sounds good and every speaker that I know and/or like.  I don’t worry that I’m double-, triple- and quadruple-booked for events. I print the whole thing out (yes, print – paper always boots up & never needs a power outlet or WiFi) and stuff Beast Schedule in my purse. Each morning of the conference, I do ruthless triage to pick the happenings that it would KILL me to miss, saying a fond farewell to the rest. It really sorts itself pretty clearly as the conference wears on;  some people hardly make any panels, but their whole day is a schmoozefest in the hallways and lounges. Whatever works for you!
• Loud, packed parties are overrated. Networking and socializing are not.  Look, I’m not a big party girl if it means jammed, loud rooms full of people that I don’t know.  I assure you, however, that I get plenty of fun time at South by – I’m socializing in smaller gaggles, with lots of folks I don’t know but a few that I do, hanging out in places where we can actually find a seat.  Many people do the same thing – go to the “big” parties, discover they’re not all that insanely fun, go back out on the sidewalk and regroup, run into someone from the day’s panels and all go off together to have a civilized beer and proper geek bonding. (OK, you want a nice bar? The Driskill Hotel, since 1886. Take that, Sixth Street lemmings.)
• The basics – bring business cards, check that your cell phone has unlimited texting, pack a couple of energy bars, bring a water bottle, comfy shoes, power cords. It is truly an endurance event, but I mean that in the most positive way.  While we’re talking basics, there’s good BBQ right around the corner from the Convention Center: Iron Works BBQ at 100 Red River.

I hope to run into any and all of you during South by Southwest – I’m @SheilaS on Twitter, Connie Reece is @conniereece and Jennifer Navarrete is @epodcaster (don’t forget @sxswi – unofficial tweets – and @sxsw – official tweets.) See you there!

More good advice:

• Attend Friday’s How to Rawk SXSW: The Basics
• A guide to SXSW Interactive networking, from the Austin American-Statesman (and the Statesman‘s latest Austin Dining Guide.)
• The SXSW09 PBWiki.
• SXSW Interactive survival tips, from The Adventures of CindyLi.com
• SXSW Baby! especially the forums.
• The SXSW09 Insider’s Guide Ning group.
• Kent Brewster’s Things to Remember About SXSW

(If this post was helpful for you, please vote it up on Kirtsy, or Stumble it on StumbleUpon. The Digg and Delicious links are just below the post as well. Thanks very much!)

The lineup for this year’s IA09 is … well, it’s mind-boggling the expertise the organizers have put together for the April 27 event. I know that SxSWi is much more well-known, but for my money the content at IA09 is a better value. Keynote speakers are Dion Hinchcliffe and my pal Whurley. That’s worth the price of admission right there. But wait, there’s more!

I’m looking forward to sessions by:

Ynema Magnum, project manager, cloud computing, Sun Microsystems

Ed Nicholson, Tyson Foods’ Hunger Relief program

Andy Meadows, CEO of Live Oak 360 and creator of BudURL, one of my fave tools

John Rasco, founder of Refresh Web

Susan Scrupski, Enterprise 2.0 specialist

Jon Lebkowsky, historian of the social Web (who has forgotten more about social media than I’ve ever learned)

Lisa Goddard, Advocacy and Online Marketing Director for Capital Area Food Bank, who took to social media like a duck takes to water

Sam Lawrence, CMO for Jive Software

Bryan Person, LiveWorld evangelist and Social Media Breakfast founder

And yes, I’ll be presenting in sessions with Dave Evans, who wrote the book on social media marketing, literally. His Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day from Wiley, is a veritable textbook on the subject.

A final note about Mike Chapman–he continues to keep the Austin Social Media Club blog active and twitters @mikechapman. He is also one of the 25 winners of the Statesman’s Texas Social Media Awards. Congratulations, Mike!

On Sunday, March 15, an overall winner will be announced at an awards show and party at Ballet Austin downtown. It’s open to the public, and I hope that some of my friends who will be in Austin for SXSW will be able to join the celebration. Tickets are on sale now for the event, which will include a cocktail party and an awards show: https://www.tickets.balletaustin.org/public/

I’d like to thank the people who nominated me, and those who took the time to add a comment to my nominations page. Reading the words of my social media peers has been humbling and gratifying. You always like to think you’re making a positive impact; seldom, however, do you have the opportunity to know that first-hand.

I’d also like to thank the Statesman for not turning this into a popularity contest. While the judges will take the comments into consideration when choosing the overall winner, that person will be selected solely on merit and not on how many votes they can garner or how much traffic they drive to the Statesman’s Web site. That’s very refreshing.

To view the profiles of all 25 winners, click here: Texas Social Media Award Winners

Our client Homeaway is sponsoring a Getaway contest, a dream vacation worth up to $5,000, to the blogger, videographer or photographer who creates the most compelling answer to this question: Why do you need a getaway, and where would you like to spend it?

Oy, I wish I could enter this contest. The whole time Sheila Scarborough and I have been helping the HomeAway team put this contest together, my imagination has run wild. Travel is something I rarely get to do–for pleasure, that is; I’ve done a fair bit of travel this year to speak at conferences.

But a real vacation? The kind without succumbing to the tuneful ring of a cell phone or squelching the urge to check email every hour? Haven’t had one of those in five long years. A day off here and there, maybe a long weekend, that’s it.

Oh, and sick days. Had quite a few of those. 2008 has been a year of struggle health-wise: I’ve battled an antibiotic-resistant staph infection, undiagnosed autoimmune disorder, and a back injury. Then there was selling the family homestead and moving my mom out of the house where she’d lived for 38 years into a house with me and my sister. Combining 3 households took 2 estate sales, 2 garage sales, and trips to auction houses and consignment stores as well as donations to the Salvation Army.

How’s that for a sob story for why I need a getaway? Well, at least you can understand why I’ve been daydreaming about where I’d go for my dream vacation.

First choice: a sweet little château in the south of France.

I studied at the Université de Clermont-Ferrand the summer between my freshman and sophomore years in college, and I have always wanted to go back to France someday. Here’s a lovely place I found on the HomeAway site–a charming little castle (in fact, that’s its name) with 7 bedrooms and 5 baths. (Not too big; I wouldn’t want to appear pretentious!)

The Chateau de Charme is a 12th-century castle. Totally restored and modernized, it offers luxury accomodation, inlcuding a private swimming pool. Situated in a rural hilly area where the famous ‘Charolais beef’ is bred and offering panoramic views, the château is 5 minutes away from the medieval village of Charlieu. Many vineyards are nearby–the Beaujolais region is just 30 minutes by car. The local wine is Les Côtes Roannaises.

Second choice: a stylish San Francisco house with panoramic views

A U.S. city I’ve always wanted to visit is San Francisco. HomeAway’s site features vacation rentals from Nob Hill homes to Victorian apartments in Pacific Heights and even a Sausalito houseboat. But the one that captured my eye was this stylish, 3-story, architect-designed house with two killer features: panoramic views of downtown San Francisco as well as the Bay, and a Steinway grand piano in the living room. A Steinway grand–hello!

This home, high on Potrero Hill, would be a perfect spot for a writer’s retreat. I feel creative just looking at the photos! The owner, who lives here when not traveling, says: “There are sweeping views of downtown San Francisco and the Bay from almost every room. The large, open living room has a dramatic marble fireplace, an award-winning staircase, antique Japanese furniture, original art and sculpture, a Steinway grand piano, and a soaring cathedral ceiling with sunlight streaming through the two double French doors, and a huge skylight. The master bedroom, which occupies the entire third floor, has a Japanese-style bath, a wall of glass framing a magnificent view of San Francisco, and a private redwood deck.”

It even has wireless Internet throughout the house. And, this vacation rental is under $3,000 per week–which means that HomeAway would give me $2,000 cash to cover travel expenses!

Oh, wait. I can’t enter the contest. *big sigh*

But you can. Where do you want to go on your dream vacation? You’ve got 120,000+ vacation rental properties to choose from.

I hope you’ll give it a try with a blog post (350 words); a YouTube video (two minutes); or a set of photos on Flickr (up to 10 photos w/ captions of less than 20 words each). You can find more information here: How to Enter the Contest. Just tell us (and the world) why you need a getaway, and where you’d like to spend it. Entries will be accepted through January 7 and voting begins January 8.

If you win, all I ask is that you send me a postcard so I can live vicariously.

More from Every Dot Connects

• Blogging Basics: How to start a blog, and whether you’ll ever make money from it
• 6 ways to improve your destination marketing (and why you’re toast if you don’t)
• Why this travel writer is going on a tech tour in China

It wasn’t enough that Marketing Profs lined up two full days of outstanding content, broken down into three tracks (search, email marketing and social media) for their Digital Marketing Mixer this month in Phoenix … now they’ve gone and added Hot Seat Labs and One-on-One sessions.

I’m the designated Social Media Therapist, and I’ll be doing almost four hours’ worth of 15-minute consultations over the two days. I especially love working with “newbies” — bring your laptop and I’ll provide hands-on help building your profile on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Or we can talk about what the entry point into social media should be for your company, or you can ask questions about how your company is integrating social media into your total marketing strategy.

If you haven’t registered yet, click here or on the Digital Marketing Mixer badge in the sidebar to receive the Every Dot Connects guest discount of $200.

Note: Kool-Aid will NOT be served. It’s all about using social media to meet real business objectives.

Reminder: the early bird discount for the Blogging Blitz workshop ends tomorrow, September 10.

The Every Dot Connects team has another Austin workshop scheduled on September 17, and this time it’s all about blogging. Many clients have told us that they are ready to jump into blogging and increase their visibility online, but are unsure of the best way to start or how to build a successful blog that draws traffic.

This learner-driven workshop will answer those questions.

We’ll teach you basic blogging tools and techniques, including:

1. Setting up a blog on one’s own domain name or WordPress.com, plus some basic HTML.
2. Adding photos and videos to your blog, including using Creative Commons alternative copyright.
3. Building blog traffic and using blogs to enhance your brand and your business.
4. Tips on writing for the Web.
5. Sustaining vision and momentum as a blogger.

Bring your blogging questions that aren’t included in the above list, and we’ll get the answers for you!

Click the orange button below to find out all the details and register online.

Look for another Web 2.0 Tools workshop in October. If you’d like to be on our workshop and seminar mailing list, add your email address by clicking here:

Get Email Updates