I’m At Wordcamp KC!!!
Spending my Saturday at WordcampKC in Kansas City. Follow the fun with the hashtag #wckc
Good Times At The Zaarly Launch Party
So last night was the launch party for new startup Zaarly. Haven't heard of Zaarly or not sure what it is?
Also check out the Zaarly pitch at LA Startup Weekend
So right now there is an iphone app and a mobile browser experience to use Zaarly and of course being an android user I am hoping there is an app for that on the way as well...but for now its kool just seeing the community grow and find out how people are using the new service.
Zaarly has even launched a tumblr called Zaarly Stories to see how others are using the service and their experiences.
Here are some pics I took last night at the party. It was great to see some familiar faces last night and even better that I got to meet a couple of people I follow on twitter in person for the first time. Always great to make those real life connections.
Party took place at the bizperc space in downtown Kansas City. At a great location and a great building
The launch party was presented by the KCITP group and hosted by bizperc
Kool Zaarly logo made of shredded money
View of downtown Kansas City from the bizperc space (4th floor i think)
I even won a Zaarly Shirt!! oh and that is kccopydiva below
Livingsocial vs Groupon vs Facebook vs Google – Which Is Winning? – Infographic
[via SocialWayne.com]
Should You Accept Your Parent’s Facebook Friend Request?
With more and more parents jumping on Facebook these days the question that pops up is when you get that friend request from them do you let them in?
This chart below will hopefully help you answer that question
[found at mashable]
My Conversation With @PeeWeeHerman
We laughed, we cried, we learned.....
So recently I got a chance to have a call with Paul Ruebens who of course is best known as Pee Wee Herman. It was a good time with discussions about his show hitting Broadway and lots of social media chatter (which was really kool).
Check out the video below for more on my thoughts.
THANKS AGAIN!!! Paul. Had a great time!
Free State Social Archives Now Open
Did you miss a panel or want to recap from Free State Social? Maybe you were unable to attend? Or hey maybe this is the first time you are hearing about Free State Social. Whatever be ther case you can now access the archives and check out what was an awesome event last month.
I covered it with some video, tweets, and just plain telling people about it and I came away with a wealth of great information and excitement.
If you actually paid to go to Free State you are good to go all you have to do is contact LJ World and they will provide you with a username and password. If you did not attend you can purchase a pass to view the archives for $9.95
[via]
Free State Social : Location Based Services
Scott Raymond from Gowalla had a great discussion on one of the hottest topics out there on the interwebs in location based services at Free State Social.
I grabbed the video but missed a little of the beginning and a little at the end. Other then that enjoy what he has to say.
Gowalla co-founder and CTO, Scott Raymond, will discuss the growing impact of location based social networks, share insights in to how they will evolve and what’s coming next, and why it’s important for your business to embrace location based technology today.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Free State Social : How To Make Your Brand Stand Out Online
One of my favorite speakers at Free State Social was Sarah Evans who spoke on How To Make Your Brand Stand Out Online.
It's busy online and everyone is competing for your attention. One out of every three online Americans update their social media statuses at least once a week. So how do you stand out or make an impression? Sarah's goal is always to share practical advice you can apply or modify. She'll share nine ways you can stand out online in a non-spammy way. Hear a personal case study to see what "Find an opportunity to showcase what you do best" looks like in action. Be ready to participate during this session...Sarah always likes to get the audience involved.
(note : i missed a little of the end when it came to question time due to my flip cam dying)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Free State Social : Local Panel
This post is my first in a couple featuring Free State Social the social media conference which took place this last week in Lawrence, KS
I was able to get video of some of the panels and I also want to share my thoughts so be on the lookout over the next few days as my stuff starts hitting the blog.
Another good place to get some good video action from the event is from t-rave who is one of my fellow vloggers/geeks.
So onto the panel. This was a panel highlighting some of local talent from the area and there thoughts on the local scene. You had Zena Weist, Shea Sylvia, Ramsey Mohsen, and Tony Botello.
I know I was really looking forward to hearing what Tony had to say and to meet him in person for the first time. He was very professional and I enjoyed hearing his insight. One thing I will say is this panel was TOO SHORT. Maybe next year they will have a longer one or maybe a couple.
Enjoy!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
The Geek To Invade The Free State Social
So this is the big week! Free State Social is here and yours truly will be attending to soak in all the social media madness that will take place.
Social media is much more than a fad - it's changing the way the world communicates. The communities in northeast Kansas are at the forefront of this movement and have made the region a hub for innovative technologies and social media use.
Because of this, The World Company is hosting a brand new social media event: The Free State Social.
"The Free State Social will highlight the best in social media from our area and put local innovations and ideas on a national - even global - stage," Ben Smith, World Company Social Media Manager, said. "Our purpose is to educate attendees about the current state of social media, present opportunities for its use and talk about where the industry is headed."
Some of the speakers at the conference will be Chris Brogan, Jeremiah Owyang, Sarah Evans, and the list goes on as well as a local panel that will feature some familiar faces to those in the KC area including Zena Weist, Ramsey Mohsen, and Tony from Tony's Kansas City! (Now there is a guy I look forward to meeting).
Overall it should be a great event and I look forward to posting up on the blog videos from the speakers/panels, pics and tweets as the day goes on, looking forward to meeting new people and putting faces with the many people I follow on twitter, as well as absorbing some of the great social media knowledge that will be dropped all day long.
Hope to see you there and if not at the event at the tweetup that night in downtown Lawrence.
My Exploration of ESP In Kansas City
So I was recently told about something a local company here in Kansas City is doing called ESP or The Ethnographic Sampling Project which caught my interest.
Now I am just in the learning stage and exploring of what ESP really is but wanted to share with you and see if maybe it is something that peaks your interest as well....
What is ESP?
The Ethnographic Sampling Project, ESP, is designed to sample brief moments of life by tapping into the citizen anthropologist.
What is the Ethnographic Sampling Project? It’s actually quite simple. We are a network of people who love sharing video, photos, audio and thoughts about why people do what they do, think what they think, buy what they buy. We believe technology has enabled observation and the ability to capture a moment on an unprecedented scale, creating a space where individuals can become part of a larger community.
The Ethnographic Sampling Project is designed to sample brief moments of life by tapping into the citizen anthropologist. Members of the group are given periodic challenges to capture specific experiences and share those experiences for discussion. The goal is to gain insight into human behavior and consumer culture through a dynamic range of personal perspectives and social contexts. Our hope is to prove a new, collaborative model for ethnography we call "open" ethnography.
ESP: The Ethnographic Sampling Project from Gavin Johnston on Vimeo.
Caught your interest? Come hang out at the Tweetup this Thursday night at Two West. [More Info]
My New Blogging Gig with Mobile Local Social
So recently I was asked by another local blogger/social media ninja Travis Wright aka teedubya (on twitter) if I would be interested in doing some blogging for his new site Mobile Local Social which he was launching.
I thought about it for a bit and my thinking is hey its a great way to find other kool people out there as well as get my name/blogging out there even more on the interwebs so I agreed to do it and now I will be putting content up that I want to share with everyone that I find kool.
Wanna follow my posts then this is the link for you
http://mobilelocalsocial.com/author/jeffisageek/
Well I just wanted to let everyone know about my new gig over there and to check out the site as there is some good content over there.
Status Update Overload!
If you are like me and I personally know a few who are when it comes to the status update/location based update you just have to do when you arrive at a location you will find this hilarious!
This is from a new blog/webcomic called Status This that I will be following for sure. Jump on over there and give some comic love to them. You can also follow the creator on twitter @AtlantaJones
[found via Status This]
WTF Is Social Media?
One of the local social media companies here in Kansas City Spiral 16 did a blog post and had this slide show that I thought was pretty kool.
Check it out to get some pretty amazing numbers dealing with social media and all the social media site out there today.
Big Omaha – The Recap
I didnt get a chance to head to Big Omaha this past weekend like I wanted to but one great thing about the internet is there are always resources out there to check out a bit of the action like the Big Omaha site as well as the blog
Here locally in KC Whitney Mathews from Spiral 16 put together a kool recap video.
BIG Omaha 2009 from Whitney Mathews on Vimeo.
readwriteweb also had some coverage of the conference including some videos. [Big Omaha : The little conference that could]
Other Big Omaha resources
Shane Adams - Big Omaha
The Social Lites - Overheard in Omaha
flickr pics tagged with 'bigomaha'
Silicon Prairie News recap
Social Media Meets Severe Weather
Whitney Mathews of the local Kansas City company Spiral16 recently sat down with a local blogger/podcaster Ed Roberts who runs the KC Weather Podcast and they discussed using social media when it comes to reporting or talking about severe weather
Some new features Ed has added when it comes to sever weather in the social media realm is adding a chat room for everyone to get together and interact with Ed and others as well as using the hashtag #kcstorms on twitter.
catch me on the interwebs:
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