So, if you haven't noticed, I'm not here anymore...

I was talking to a buddy of mine the other day and he said,

"You know, you should probably put a post up on your old blog letting people know that you're no long blogging there..."

I've never been good at housekeeping stuff. Just ask my wife.

So, you'll no longer find my rummbling and bummbling social media adventure here. Social Media Birmingham has been moved to a self-hosted Wordpress Blog.

You can find it at (strangley enough) SocialMediaBirmingham.com.

Blogger has served me well, but it's time to kick the blog up a notch.
--DW

Thursday Thoughts - Twitter: The Public Exchange Server for Communication

In my day job, Microsoft Exchange is a big deal. Not so much the name, but the idea behind the name. Exchanging of information, instantly.

C-level executives have been using this for years as a way to keep their businesses in constant check and up-to-date with the latest contact and calender information.

But it's only taken 140 characters to make Twitter pretty much the largest information exchange service in the world (and no, the Web and Google don't count).

The ReTweet in question was about 100+ tools that can help you achieve your goals. One person's comment caught me funny. Why would you need to reconsider your life? I mean, Twitter is a very powerful tool.

My comment back to him emphasized that point. Now, as some of you know, I've been using Twitter as a tool to help my dreams and goals. I find that it's a great networking tool, source of information that's relevant specifically to me, and might someday contribute to advancing my professional career.

Why has Twitter been so effective at doing this?

Simple. It goes back to the basics of Exchange. Getting information instantly. Just 3 to 4 years ago, I would have missed a great demonstration @PepperPlace, not gotten to join in an impromptu talk about co-working @BarCampChatt, or not been able to get 6 near-strangers to meet and converse for lunch at a random place in just under 30 minutes.

Media Outlets have known for quite sometime that information is power. As we all know, that power has shifted to be in the hands of the people. People like us. It's up to us to get out there and use it. Find out just what it can do. I'm not saying that just having access to this live-stream of information is instantly going to make all of your or my dreams come true. It's not. It would have worked for more people by now. However, given enough time, practice, and dedication to nurturing the relationships that are built using Twitter (and really any social media platform), Twitter can help you to achieve whatever your set is mind.

Right about now, mine is set for a free lunch. Who's buying? ;-)

Podcast Author hosts Tailgate Tour in Birmingham Sept. 7th

So, as much as I'm trying to hold in my excitement, I really can't. If you want the short version, skip to the last paragraph. I'm a bit long-winded tonight.

Back in 2005, I remember moving in to one of my old apartments listening to a podcasted book. A podiobook, if you will. The first of it's kind. Earthcore was the name, and it was great to keep my mind entertained while I mindlessly emptied boxes and organized my room. Now, I'm not one for the horror genre, at least not movies. But there was something that drew me into Earthcore. Maybe it was the fact that it was read by the author, his clear descriptions of the desolate Utah mountains, or the way he wields words like BlueRay shows details. I can't be certain. All I know it that I loved that podiobook.

Now I'm horrid with filling in the gaps, so here's a snip from Wikipedia...

"Scott decided to start podcasting his novel in March, 2005 as the world's first podcast-only novel to build hype and garner an audience for his work. Sigler considered it a "no brainer" to offer the book as a free audio download. Having searched for podcast novels and finding none, Sigler decided to be the first. Sigler was able to get EarthCore offered as a paid download on iTunes in 2006. After EarthCore's success (EarthCore had over 10,000 subscribers), Sigler released Ancestor, Infection, The Rookie, Nocturnal, and Contagious via podcast."

Fast-forward to about a month ago. I'm casually tweeting up a storm when I see a random tweet from @weknowbooksETC talking about Scott possibly stopping in Birmingham after Dragon-Con this weekend.

Much to my surprise (my how we idolize people), I've been conversing with @ScottSigler since about the time I heard of him coming and he's super stoked about the "Krakens Tailgate Tour", which is to promote his latest accomplishment, getting is novel, "The Rookie" printed in hardcover!

He's been boxing and shipping the books for his junkies, err... fans for the last couple weeks and "should" have books and t-shirts for sale on the "Tour"

Speaking of the "Tour" (and kinda the point of having this post), I'd love to have the social media community come out and show their support for Scott. If nothing else, come out and eat ribs/watch Monday Night Football and have a great time.

The "Tailgate" will be at Dreamland in Southside from 5:30pm to (it says 9pm but I'm betting we'll leave after the game). For more details check out the Eventful page. I hope to see all of you out there!

Twitter reports: Car Flipped in front of @Urban_Standard

@freeThinkBham is reporting that there is a big wreck in front of @Urban_Standard, a local coffee shop on 2nd Ave. North in downtown.

Social South Wrapup - My 5 Takeaways

5) There really are NO "Social Media Experts".
One of the speakers this weekend wore a mechanic's shirt calling himself the Social Media Handyman, others just called themselves marketing and pr consultants. But for as much as I learned this weekend, I must have shared that many insights as well this weekend. No one is an expert in this. It changes too fast. However, we are the ones who are the power users. We are the ones who will be looked to as the "experts", whether we like the moniker or not. It's up to us to keep collaborating and expanding our knowledge of Social Media tools and stratagies.

4) Online relationships flow right into offline relationships.
I can't tell you how many people seemed to see each other and pick up right where they left off online. Though most were meeting people for the first time in person, personalities meshed as if they were meeting old friends. Bringing people together with that kind of camaraderie always breeds great things. And I think everyone at Social South can say that the entire event was a great thing.

3) I just added about 50 more people to my RSS feed.
Not that I haven't been trying to find great content on the interwebz, but having it all come to me in one convenient conference? How could I say no? Now, finding the time to get through all the great content. Who needs sleep anyway?

2) We have to remember that we are still in the "bubble".
One of the podcasts that I listen to all the time, "TWIM" constantly talks about being in a bubble of technology and I think that those of us up to our elbows in Social Media sometimes forget that we do surround ourselves with this stuff damn near 24/7. We have to remember that it's still up to us to bring it down a notch, come out of the clouds and put it on the level of a C-level or that middle-manager to hopefully get excited about these tools.

1) Social Media really IS changing the world.
Don't believe me? Check out Jason's post about Saturday's Keynote Speaker. Words don't do it justice, but Jason comes damn close.

Can't Get to Social South, Follow the Hashtag!

So, I'm going to be bussing speakers and handing out nametags for @SocialSouth. And I know there are a bunch of people who wanted to come, but couldn't for one reason or another. But make sure to follow the hashtag #soso in your favorite twitter client!

You can't blame the SEC...

I'm a huge football fan. My personal preference is the UAB Blazers, but I am still a fan of great football. So, I have to be a fan of SEC football. And I'm not going to pick sides (my wife bleeds orange and white), except to side with the SEC.

If you haven't heard already, the SEC (Southeastern Conference) got seemingly blindsided by Mashable, a staple of information for the Social Media community, for a policy that was updated nearly two weeks prior.

Now, as Ike has pointed out, the SEC is working on updating their policies, but that's not what I want to talk about today.

As much as the SEC has been pounded for their far-reaching statements, the SEC is trying to incorporate new marketing and communication technologies, while protecting the interests of their traditional media partners. That is a lot more than other marketers in the country are doing. So, don't blame the SEC, they are trying.

What will be interesting to see is how far they go to protect those traditional media partners. Now, from talking to one of the marketing directors there via email, they seem to be very concerned about game video. I'm taking that as actually capturing the action on the playing surface. I can't say I agree completely with that, but I do understand. Being not so removed from college, I know how valuable having a short video of a touchdown panning to a celebration in the student section is going to be to me, especially years down the road.

And I think that's what the SEC needs to a strong second thought about. Our culture, especially college-age students, demand on-demand, well, everything. Traditional media partners haven't found a solution for tech/social media savvy people that's as easily accessible as YouTube (nor do I think they will, but that's beside the point).

Yes, streaming video from any public sporting event w/o expressed permission should not be allowed. You get no argument from me there. But please don't go overboard and go after students/fans who want to capture a moment that may solidify their loyalty to their team.

What do you think the SEC policy on fan video in stadium should be? Leave a comment...