It’s show No. 23 and we’re sans Dave — at the time of recording he was en route to Texas for SxSW Interactive and the preceding unconference on social media and health care, SXSH. (You can hear more about all both on this week’s Core Conversation podcast, Friday at 11:30 a.m.

In Dave’s absence, we kept our sights on the pressing issues of technological importance, like comedian Betty White’s upcoming appearance on Saturday Night Live, thanks in some part to a Facebook fan page demanding such an event. We like Betty White, but mostly we’re impressed at the idea that a fan page (and its almost 500,000 fans) could impact the decisions of a major network. It’s not exactly social change, but it’s proof that even giants like GE are paying attention.

We also talk about Launch Memphis‘ 48 Hour Launch, which went down this weekend and has Matthew still recovering. Eight teams worked tirelessly throughout the weekend to go from pitch and concept to functional business. Some of the start-ups launched are already on Twitter – Tourney Caddy, TippJar, One Song Concerts, and Matthew’s The List of Bands. Keep an eye out for these startups’ Facebook pages, too – and don’t forget that they have real Web sites, as well.

Our guest this week was Rod Kirby, success coach and editor in chief of The Success Center. We met Rod back in September at Social Camp, where he gave two presentations on blogging topics. One of those was “Treating Your Blog Like A Magazine,” which we explored with Rod a little further, delving into advertising, readership surveys and building community. You can check out the full presentation on SlideShare.

We also picked Rod’s brain about keeping content fresh, his forays into video blogging and his recent Ebook release. If you want to hear more, be sure to join us in April for the Social Expedition breakfast. Rod will be joining us as our speaker; check back to the MeetUp site soon for full details on his presentation.

Don’t forget Friday’s SxSW Core Conversation, and of course check back here next week for podcast No. 24, featuring guest Amanda Mauck of LeBonheur. Amanda was one of the team who headed to Haiti following the earthquake to administer medical aid — you won’t want to miss this one.

Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.

Tags | 48 Hour Launch, Launch Memphis, OneSongConcerts, Rod Kirby, Social Camp, The Success Center, TheListofBands, TippJar, Twitter