Tag: sxsw

Categories
not-for-profit

SXSW Cares

Here at the South By SouthWest conference, several of my friends noticed the “fiddling while Rome burns” effect of people socializing and going to parties while tragedy continues in Japan. Realistically, people here are not going to drop everything and become rescue workers, and I think it’s challenging to keep up with news during a conference of this size.

But we can’t and shouldn’t ignore the situation abroad and that’s why many people I admire here at the conference started SXSW Cares. Donations at http://www.sxsw4japan.org/ will go directly to the Red Cross, with no transaction fees, meaning 100% of funds raised go to charity.

I encourage my friends to take a moment to make a quick donation, and help our Japanese neighbors in their time of need. Thanks.

Categories
INC Magazine articles

My Latest Inc Post – Bringing a Company Back from the Brink?

Today I wrote about Wendy Tan White of Moonfruit, and how she helped bring her company back from the brink of disaster when investors pulled out earlier in the decade.

I met White at the Social Media Clubhouse, where I stayed at SXSW. Moonfruit sponsored one of the summit events at the house.  (Note: As I disclosed in the Inc. piece, I received no specific compensation from Wendy or MoonFruit, and SMC is a filed-for non-profit.)

Her story is really inspiring, as she had to take steps as radical as firing family members to keep the company solvent. I hope you enjoy the story.

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Categories
Random Thoughts

SMC Clubhouse brings Social Media Club people together

Social Media Clubhouse SXSW It’s been quite incredible living in the Social Media Clubhouse. Not quite unlike living in the “Real World” house or on a movie set. There are many interesting folks, always events going on and cameras to look at (or avoid.)

Our SMC Clubhouse bus is quite the hit downtown taking people to the house in the daytime, and to the parties at night.

As a resident and beneficiary I’d like to thank all our sponsors and everyone who has visited to be part of our panels or part of the greater Social Media Club discussion.

The real value to having the house was as a gathering place for those who work on or support Social Media Club. I’ve met great people from SMC chapters all over the country and some from Europe, and am proud of the enthusiasm and creativity from each of them. We enabled them to share their ideas, network and engage with each other in person, and they can then take their conversations online as our new site goes live. If you are from one of the SMC chapters, write in the comments and tell us what you got out of our SXSW experiment.

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Categories
social media socialmedia socialmediaclub

Thrilled to Participate in the Social Media Clubhouse at SXSW

I’m excited to be part of Social Media Club‘s Social Media Clubhouse #3, in Austin this week and next, for SouthBy Southwest Interactive and Music. Chris Heuer, Kristie Wells, and the SMC team have been working really hard to get the house sponsored, set up, and ready for the rest of us to arrive, and I give them a huge amount of credit for planning it.

As a board member of Social Media Club, and of the original team behind the group, we always envisioned being able to bring together professionals form important discussions. This is part of what we are chartered to do – “2. Share lessons among practitioners.” At the Social Media Clubhouse, we’ll have summits on Co-Working, Engagement, and the Synaptic Web.

I hope you’ll follow us via our #smch3 hashtag, our Twitter list (forthcoming) and our site. And, if you’ll be Austin, please get in touch – I’d love to meet or catch up with you.

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