If you’re anything like us, you’ve been spellbound by the trailers for the upcoming theatrical adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s children’s classic, Where the Wild Things Are. We’re so spellbound, in fact, that we’ve decided we just have to see it the day it comes out — and we want you to come, too.

What better occasion, we thought, for a good old fashioned Tweet-Up? On Friday at 5:30 p.m. we’ll meet up at Osaka for some tasty sushi or a cold beer (or a little of both) before heading to the theater for the 7:15 p.m. showing of Where the Wild Things Are. Since Friday will be opening night and the movie has already gotten a fair amount of buzz, we recommend ordering your tickets online just to be on the safe side.

So mark your calendars and prepare to put some faces on those Twitter handles this Friday!

After our usual announcements (which, by the way, included SocialCamp), we were treated to a special welcome from Shelby County Commissioner / founder and CEO of Flinn Broadcasting / radiologist Dr. George Flinn who had some kind, generous, and flattering words to everyone who takes part in the Social Media Expedition – and that includes attendees.

It’s easy to get so deep into what you’re passionate about that you lose perspective on how what you do affects the community around you. To be reminded that the relationships and communities we build bring noticeable good into Memphis was a powerful and empowering way to start the morning.

To have Dr. Flinn come and remind us of the good that we are all building is nice. But what would be nicer would be to pass on the good will – and to pass on his closing sentence, “Thank you for making Memphis and Shelby County great.” Seriously. Thank you.

What really made the September breakfast something special was the structure. Rather than have a single speaker, as usual, we embraced a show-and-tell format.

Each presenter shared a single topic, service, program, or idea for about seven minutes. One of the greatest things about gathering people together for is the wide range of experience, knowledge and curiosity that everyone brings to the breakfasts.

Our presenters were, in order, Blake Palmer, Beth Sanders, Matthew Crawford-Trisler, Jonathan Lyons, Dave Barger, and Robert Staub.

Palmer and Crawford-Trisler are both social media specialists at LunaWeb, though Blake will leave at the end of this week for CommercialAppeal.com. Sanders is a freelance design and social consultant. Lyons manages social media in the marketing and PR department for the Peabody Hotel. Barger is President and CEO of LunaWeb. Robert Staub is a small business success coach and host of the weekly Small Biz Show.

Blake Palmer Presenting the Yelp iPhone app

Between Blake Palmer’s talk about the emerging trend of augmented reality applications for smartphones and Beth Sanders’ run through of Evernote, the online/real world service that works as an augmented memory application, we were handed a very interesting view of the future in which technology will aid and combine human tasks and knowledge in ever more helpful, present, and intuitive ways.

Matthew Crawford-Trisler delivered an in-depth presentation about the need for and use of the Free Music Archive, a curated cache of Creative Commons-licensed music which, because it is free – as in both beer and speech – is a great resource for music to use in videos, podcasts, presentations, or to load up your iPod.

Jonathan Lyons talked about how he uses Social Media on behalf of the Peabody to build and expand upon existing relationships in the community, and to positively impact the image of the hotel among Memphians. He had to figure out how to promote the hotel without being spammy, create personal content, and navigate photography rights when covering events. He shared his experience with the blurring line between Returns on Investment and Returns on Engagement.

Dave Barger spoke about the trouble in looking at social media as a way to expand your business’ audience. While it’s possible, he notes that it is a big time commitment. If you’re just stepping foot in for the first time, it’s likely going to be best to focus on existing relationships. Facebook and Twitter are important, but are not the only answer.

Barger recommended the simplified blogging service, Posterous, to communicate with employees and clients alike, along with internal tools, such as Yammer or Socialcast. When it’s time to turn outwards, there’s always services like Ning, which are quite useful, but, Barger warned, only if you’re going to put the time and effort into making it a good resource before the doors are ever even opened.

Robert Staub has put a tremendous amount of effort into his latest venture, Small Biz Memphis, which launches Sept. 18th. The site, built on Ning, promises to be a valuable resource for small business information and for online business networking in a city where most networking is done face-to-face. By gathering as much information as possible about small businesses and events in one place, it promises to be a one-stop shop for small businesses in Memphis.

Each presentation went off without a hitch, and we felt honored to host such a stellar series of presentations. Dr. Flinn had it right when he thanked everyone who came this morning for making Memphis and Shelby County a great place. And once again, we’ll pass that thanks along. Thank you.

Tomorrow, we’re looking forward to the TwilightCamp for August at Bronte Bistro inside of Davis Kidd. The main topic of conversation is going to be the upcoming SocialCamp on September 19. If you want to get involved, this is a great chance to find out more, ask questions and make your opinion heard.

We’re also very excited to announce the speaker for September’s Social Media Expedition breakfast… you. Next month’s breakfast is an old-fashioned show and tell for anything and everything Social Media related that you’d like to share. We accept shiny new toy demonstrations, rants, tutorials and ideas. The only things we don’t accept are mean people and sales pitches.

We’ll be having 7 presentations by 7 people on whatever your able to share with the rest of us. We only ask that you email or call us (888-5862) beforehand, and arrive early enough that we can load your pc-friendly PowerPoint (if you have one) on our projector.

So show us what you’ve got! Whatever get’s you excited about Social Media is fair game, and we can’t wait to see what you have to offer.

A shot from April's Twilight Camp

This month’s Twilight Camp will be switched up a little from the usual pattern. Rather than holding the event at an area restaurant, we’ll be gathering at ArtsMemphis.

The same habits remain, however – we get together for food, networking, and informal conversations about how we use social media in our day-to-day lives. (ArtsMemphis itself has a solid social presence, as we learned from Lindsay Coates at our last Breakfast; check them out on Twitter and Facebook.)

ArtsMemphis is located at 575 South Mendenhall. The event is free, and the mingling starts at 5:30 p.m. Parking is available at Holt Tire on Mendenhall or on Black Street (same street as Brown Dog Lodge). As usual, RSVP is preferred.

May Twilight Camp by LunaWeb on Flickr. View the full May Twilight Camp photoset.

Social Media Expedition’s latest Twilight Camp descended upon Davis-Kidd bookstore’s Bronte Bistro on Thursday. The food was delicious, the company was dear.

It was great fun to chat about new ways to distribute information in a place where printed media still thrives.

It’s funny, but most of the conversation around our dinner that evening centered around feeds. We gathered our minds together trying to sort out how best to use RSS feeds and the social aggregator Friendfeed.

The ease and convenience of using RSS feeds – through readers like Google Reader, Newsgator, and even mail applications like Outlook or Apple’s Mail.app – leads pretty much every regular user of the technology to the same problem: overload.

And while talking about how to trim the content to what’s useful, we also swapped our favorite feeds.

Discussion around Friendfeed centered around how to find real usefulness from a service that essentially aggregates content from other services. Some people were very much in favor of it, and everybody seemed curious.

It was great to see everyone out at the latest Twilight Camp, and we hope to see you again next time. Stay tuned for more information about our next Twilight Camp, as well as the Social Media Expedition Breakfast.

Like the Expedition, SocialCamp will seek to address how Social Media plays into all facets of our lives, from business to family, and from faith to politics. It is an unconference focusing on Social Media and Social Networking.  Just imagine a convention where the morning is comprised of designated speakers/topics, and the afternoon is comprised of focused discussions and impromptu presentations that are decided on by the attendees.  There will also be core conversations, very similar to the ones we include in our monthly Expedition breakfasts.  Be sure to register for SocialCamp to reserve your spot.

Speaking of breakfasts, this Wednesday, March 4, is the 1 year anniversary of our Social Media Expedition breakfasts.  This one will be at the Crescent Club on Poplar, and will feature Lausanne Collegiate School’s Stewart Crais speaking on tactics for the safety of minors on Social Networking sites.  These breakfasts have grown tremendously over the past year, and the conversation has only gotten better.  This will be another great opportunity to see what the Memphis Social Media community has to offer.

We look forward to seeing all of our Expeditionary friends at both of these great events.  Come out and join the conversation!

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The University of Memphis Holiday Inn was buzzing extra early this morning, with another record breaking crowd joining us for this month’s Social Media Expedition breakfast.  Over 50 people braved cold weather and early morning to be a part of the growing community of Memphis social media users. Thanks to Matt Ceniceros, a member of FedEx’s media relations team, we received an insightful glimpse into what large businesses are doing to take advantage of the growing Social Media space.  Matt had some great anecdotal support of his company’s use of corporate blogs and the success that it has brought them, so far, in multiple branches of their industry. Core Conversation time is always a favorite, and this meeting was no exception.  Topics covered included Business Blogging, Community ROI, Social Media 101, Beyond Facebook, and Best  Practices.  These smaller groups are designed to allow a mindshare discussion on specific topics, wherein Expeditionaries can engage in focused conversations, drawing on the mutual expertise of the group. As always, we want to thank everyone who attended and helped make this another outstanding breakfast.  We appreciate you all being a part of the conversation with us, and can’t wait to see you next month for the 1 year anniversary of these morning gatherings.  You can already RSVP.  Be sure to find us on Facebook as well! Mark Your Calendars: Upcoming Events Thursday, February 5th – SocialCamp Planners (5:00) ** Saturday, February 7th – Business Boot Camp (all day) ** Thursday, February 12th – Twestival to raise money for water (5:00 until) Thursday, February 19th – TechFuel Mixer ** Thursday, February 26th – eMarketing Group * Wednesday, March 4th – Social Media Expedition Breakfast *** Friday, March 6th – SocialCamp Memphis – Mixer ** Saturday, March 7th – SocialCamp Memphis – Main Event ** March 13th- 17th – SXSW South by Southwest Interactive (Austin, TX) * Organized by Melanee Hannock ** Organized by LaunchMemphis *** Organized by LunaWeb, Inc.

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Caritas Village, which is centered around the idea of racial reconciliation, proved to be the ideal setting to hear the stories that arose out of this unifying ceremony. Expedition members and community residents gathered round the pair in an upstairs room to share an intimate conversation about hope, unity, and the role both of these play in creating a more positive future.

"Mother King," who played a significant role in the American Civil Rights movement from a young age, was able to share inspiring anecdotes about her early efforts to help register black voters, and her part in the march on Washington. Her experience and commitment to Civil Rights earned her a place near the front of the inauguration audience, and a chance to watch history happen from up close.

Harry Brown spoke strongly of the unity of the crowd. His spot near the Washington Monument was not as close to the ceremony as Mother King’s, but the sense of excitement, unity, and connection with his fellow onlookers was not diminished by distance. The cheering and enthusiasm of the crowd impacted him strongly, and he was kind enough to share his coverage of the event that helped illustrate the emotions that were running through the group of onlookers.

Those of us who were able to meet with these two and hear their stories personally, left feeling inspired, and a little more hopeful for our nation’s future. Below we have posted videos of our conversations for all to see. Thank you for letting us sharing with you.

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TechFuel: Taking Startups to New Heights Organized by LaunchMemphis February 19th, 2009, 5pm-7pm Location: The Tower Room in Clark Tower (5100 Poplar Ave) Inspired by other networking events occurring across the country like Tech Cocktail, the LaunchMemphis TechFuel is designed for technologists, entrepreneurs, media (bloggers), and other business professionals to meet, and share ideas in a fun and open atmosphere. The event is open to the public. With the LaunchMemphis TechFuel we hope to see the Memphis tech community better connected. Follow @launchmemphis on Twitter

eMarketing Group Meeting Organized by Melanee Hannock Evening of February 26th Location: Quetzal The purpose of this group is to let Memphis e-marketing individuals meet each other to connect and discuss marketing topics that are relevant to the group.

Expedition Breakfast Social Media Expedition’s increasingly popular monthly gathering of Social enthusiasts and practitioners for a breakfast of networking, presentation, and collaboration. RSVP and addl. Info March 4th – Wednesday 7:30 – 9:30 UofM Holiday Inn Follow @smexpedition on Twitter

SocialCamp Memphis Organized by LaunchMemphis Evening of March 6th(mixer) and the day of March 7th(main event), 2009 Location: TBD SocialCamp, like BarCamp, is an un-conference; An open format event where programmers, designers and business owners can network and learn. A SocialCamp conference is unlike any other technology conference. Rather than being planned by a committee in advance, each community works together to create its own event. A SocialCamp generally has an underlying theme, but the individual topics and sessions are organized shortly before or even at the event. This enables SocialCamp to be much more than targeted to the needs of its community. Follow @socialcampmem on Twitter SxSW Interactive March 13-17th in Austin, Texas. Are you going? (see local forum)

Upcoming Events Quick List:

Thursday, February 5th – SocialCamp Planners (5:00) **

Saturday, February 7th – Business Boot Camp (all day) **

Thursday, February 12th – Twestival to raise money for water (5:00 until)

Thursday, February 19th – TechFuel Mixer **

Thursday, February 26th – eMarketing Group *

Wednesday, March 4th – Social Media Expedition Breakfast ***

Friday, March 6th – SocialCamp Memphis – Mixer **

Saturday, March 7th – SocialCamp Memphis – Main Event **

March 13th- 17th – SXSW South by Southwest Interactive (Austin, TX)

 * Organized by Melanee Hannock

** Organized by LaunchMemphis

*** Organized by LunaWeb, Inc.

Bookmark These: SocialMediaExpedition.com SocialCampMemphis.com LaunchMemphis.com TweetMemphis.WetPaint.com Follow @smexpedition , @socialcampmem, @launchmemphis

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