• TONIGHT! The Wordpress Memphis Kickoff!! – 6pm at the LunaWeb offices, 5180 Park, Suite 305
  (FREE)
• LaunchMemphis presents After Hours with Larry Farrell – Sept. 13^th, 5:00 –7:00pm at LaunchMemphis (FREE)
• LaunchMemphis presents a Book Signing with Larry Farrell and Bridget DiCello– Sept. 14^th, 6:30 –8:00pm at Davis Kidd (Also FREE)
• WordCamp Birmingham, Sept. 18 & 19 – http://wordcampbirmingham.org/
  
• BarCamp Jonesboro, Sept 25 – http://www.barcampjonesboro.com/
• Ignite Memphis, Oct. 20, 7:30 pm at Playhouse on the Square
• BarCamp Memphis – November

So go! Jonesboro is only an hour or so away, and we’re trying to put together a caravan to go to Birmingham for WordCamp.

But besides our raves about BarCamps, the podcast also includes a great interview with Michael Synk: the business man, the consultant, the book club organizer. In one of his many roles, Michael coordinates the In-Synk Executive Huddle, a peer group for entrepreneurs and CEOs. In the same vein, he has also formed a Business Book Club, which he describes as “the book club for people who don’t have time to read the book.” RSVP here for the next meeting, which is tomorrow, September 3, 8 am at Davis Kidd, when they’ll be reviewing Blue Ocean Strategy.

After you listen in, find Michael on the web at www.in-synk.com, or on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook!

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

Then there’s that big news in the social space this week: Facebook Places. We are curious as ever to see how the launch affects the established location-based services, like Foursquare and Gowalla. We are still big proponents of Foursquare rewards in Memphis, though, and we’re even starting a website dedicated to it! It’s not live yet, but it’s on the way!

So join us for the breakfast for sure, on September 1 at 7:30 am at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn. Chris will share some more insight into the world of video, and then we’ll jump into the core conversation in which we talk about what social media issues are on your mind! RSVP here.

The September Twilight Camp will be on September 16th, at LunaWeb this time (Davis Kidd must be getting tired of us, after all). 5:30 to 7:30, don’t miss it!

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

We were delighted to have some new-comers, and of course, always great to see some of our regulars. Once again, we did not get kicked out of Davis Kidd, which is really a shame because…

The next Twilight Camp will be at the LunaWeb office! Though I suppose it still wouldn’t be wise to get ourselves barred from Bronte Bistro. After all, there is that yummy chicken salad.

Now for the recap. The conversation kicked off with the news of the hour (of the literal hour), Facebook Places launched in Memphis at approximately 4:30 yesterday afternoon. As of the meeting, only one of us had gotten to use it at all, but what information we did have:

• There aren’t any prizes, badges, or any other “game” element to it.
• You can push check-ins from Foursquare to Facebook Places, but not vice-versa.
• You can tag your friends in your check-ins to let people know they are with you. This could be potentially problematic.*

*If you do not want friends to be able to check you into Places, go to “Account” in the Facebook toolbar, then “Privacy Settings.” Look for “Customize Settings,” then scroll down to the second section, “Things others share.” Find “Friends can check me into Places.” Change the setting to Disabled, and you’re done!

A matter of hours impacted some of the arguments from last night’s discussion of Foursquare vs. Facebook Places. Today, Mashable featured an article on the travel rewards program that will now be affiliated with Facebook Places. Topguest, the service that’s tapping into Facebook’s API, is fresh off the market, rendering its partnerships limited. So limited that, for now, rewards only come in the form of discounted hotel stays, watering down our argument just a bit, but it’s not null and void just yet – and we don’t expect it to be so any time soon… if ever. As for the privacy issues, well, they are still there. All this in mind, it seemed we all agreed that Foursquare is our preferred check-in app/game/stalking mechanism. It seems that it’s becoming that way for many others too. While we were Twilighting, Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley (@dens) was tweeting: “Just heard from The @HarryH that today was @foursquare’s biggest day ever in terms of new user signups. #dball4life.” Because Rachel isn’t giving up anytime soon, stay tuned for http://www.foursquarememphis.com/ (not yet live).

Also in Location-Based news, did you know there are different levels of editors in Foursquare? Well, I know at least one of you did. When you’ve checked in enough, it seems you can become a “Level 2 Editor,” which enables you to combine locations. So, if two people created two different check-in locations for Davis Kidd, say “Davis Kidd” and “Davis Kidd Booksellers,” a Level 2 Editor could merge the two locations into one. Who knew? Andy Glover did!

In iPad news (and there’s always iPad news, isn’t there?), Andy has an awesome new case with a very clever strap on the back to slip your hand through so you can easily hold the device with one hand. So simple, yet so brilliant. Then, our iPad scholars sang the praises of the Academic research sharing application, Mendeley (also available for desktop!).

Is the iPhone coming to Verizon? Well, of course, none of us know for sure, but signs point to… maybe. Verizon customers thinking about switching to a smartphone might want to wait a bit longer to see if any more evidence leaks (and we all know Apple has some trouble keeping their announcements under wraps these days).

Wordpress bloggers – check out the Zemanta plug-in! This thing is nifty. Once you install it, start writing a blogpost. The plug-in combs your content and recommends links, photos, Wikipedia articles, etc., and it’s super easy and awesome. I know another plug-in that does pretty much the same thing was mentioned. What was the name of that one, Andy?

Don’t miss the breakfast on September 1!

Amanda Mauck – Facebook 101

Think you know Facebook? Well, maybe you did a day or two ago, but chances are, they’ve changed something since then. It seems like the internet’s most popular social network site rolls out a new update almost daily, and for the last few months, each and everyone has a parade of privacy complaints right behind it.

Amanda Mauck’s Facebook 101 session was an open forum to ask questions about using the ever-expanding site for your business. Amanda runs the Facebook page for Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center, which has 8700 fans (or… likers?), posts new content at least a couple of times every day, and uses photos and videos to promote the message of the hospital. She is also on Facebook chat as I write this. She’s definitely someone who’s got the skinny on utilizing Facebook for a business.

The discussion ranged from the basic, like the difference between fan pages and personal profiles, to the more advanced, like Pay-Per-Click ads and Facebook’s statistics service, Insights. Everyone in the room had a different level of familiarity with the site, and Amanda was really great about answering all of the questions thoroughly.

As for “Like” versus “Become a fan?” Amanda’s stance is that it’s just plain ridiculous, and pretty much everyone in the room had to agree.

(Fun fact: it was Dave’s 62nd presentation in the last two and a half years on social topics, to more than one thousand people.)

Dave talked us through all of the new plug-ins being offered by Facebook to connect the site and its features with sites across the web. The first one on the agenda has already been adopted by around 50,000 sites, and Dave says it will likely be the most game-changing tool of the group: the universal “Like” button.

A user simply needs to grab a snippet of code and plug it in to a site to see the now iconic “thumbs up” appear on a page. When someone visits the site and clicks the button, an item will appear on their personal activity feed and the news feeds of their friends on Facebook, just as it would with activities and interactions within the four walls of the site itself.

Other plug-ins Dave discussed included a comments tool, which will bring the function of commenting — as you would on Facebook in response to a photo, video or note — to external sites, allowing users to leave text comments and, of course, linking that activity back to the user’s news feed.

The fan page widget has gotten a new name, as well, and is now called a “like box.” Other plug-ins include the activity feed, Facepile, Live Stream, Login with Faces (Facebook Connect reborn) and Recommendations.

After the plug-ins, the discussion turned to privacy. Facebook’s recent partnerships with external sites like Yelp and Pandora have made public information that many users thought was only being shared among their friends and connections. Dave noted that one of the main problems with Facebook’s privacy settings is that users have to choose to opt out rather than choosing to opt in.

He walked us through the steps a user would need to take to access privacy settings and discussed each section and potential implications of each — for example, information your friends can share about you. You may think you’re protected because you’ve tightened up your personal security, but your profile details can still find their way out into the public through your friends.

Generally, Dave advised against putting anything remotely sensitive on Facebook; even if you think you have that portion of your profile locked down, Facebook could change the rules of the game at any time, leaving you exposed.

If you want to learn more about online privacy, Dave recommended OnGuard Online, EFF.org and DotRights.org.

Dave wrapped up his presentation with some highlights from his recent trip to SOBCon, including the advice “Quit collecting blueprints and start building something.”

Join us for our next meet-up on May 20, Twilight Camp at Davis Kidd’s Bronte Bistro, and be sure to mark your calendar for next month’s breakfast, happening Wednesday June 2.

LaunchMemphis and LunaWeb recently co-hosted TribeCamp, a day-long conference on social media, web topics and professional development. The Social Expedition was proud to be a Platinum Sponsor of the event. We’ll be posting notes from some TribeCamp sessions over the next couple of weeks. The posts will be on a variety of topics, from social media to production to content.

Amanda Mauck – Facebook 101

Think you know Facebook? Well, maybe you did a day or two ago, but chances are, they’ve changed something since then. It seems like the internet’s most popular social network site rolls out a new update almost daily, and for the last few months, each and everyone has a parade of privacy complaints right behind it.

Amanda Mauck’s Facebook 101 session was an open forum to ask questions about using the ever-expanding site for your business. Amanda runs the Facebook page for Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center, which has 8700 fans (or… likers?), posts new content at least a couple of times every day, and uses photos and videos to promote the message of the hospital. She is also on Facebook chat as I write this. She’s definitely someone who’s got the skinny on utilizing Facebook for a business.

The discussion ranged from the basic, like the difference between fan pages and personal profiles, to the more advanced, like Pay-Per-Click ads and Facebook’s statistics service, Insights. Everyone in the room had a different level of familiarity with the site, and Amanda was really great about answering all of the questions thoroughly.

As for “Like” versus “Become a fan?” Amanda’s stance is that it’s just plain ridiculous, and pretty much everyone in the room had to agree.

RSVP here and be sure to connect with us on Facebook as well. We’ll see you in May!

The second “un-conference” of its kind in Memphis, SocialCamp was an even mix of planned sessions and peoples’ choice, with topics ranging from SEO for Social Media, Facebook for Small Business and round-table discussions on topics like non-profit web strategies. Regardless of the specific topic, though, the overwhelming theme of the day was that social media is less about the internet and more about real life: the whole point is to connect. It’s not about being attached to your PDA or your iPhone (though we’ll admit that’s often a side effect); it’s about community. Whether it’s a business connecting to customers or a blogger connecting to an audience, there’s a community of real people behind those avatars.

The idea of connecting came up again and again: in the Grow and Foster Your Blog session, we learned about applications that can increase comments on blogs, allowing the blogger to return more comments, visit more blogs and create more conversation to yield repeat visitors. In The ‘Cheers’ Model of Marketing, we learned that, well, you want to go where every body knows your name. And in Don’t Be A Social Media Douche Bag, we learned that you’ve got to engage as a real person, or else you and social media have failed each other.

But really — in keeping with the theme of connecting — what gets us excited about SocialCamp is truly the social aspect: bloggers, marketing pros, SEO experts, web designers and avid tweeters meeting up and sharing ideas. Not only were some of Memphis’ best and brightest in attendance at SocialCamp 2, they fit into no one mold; the range of ages, professions and personalities represented inspires a lot of confidence in the future of the medium. We just hope we can have breakfast with some of them soon.

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.