We will be starting next Thursday June 4, 2009 at 9am at the Roger Smith Hotel.  We have a few rooms available and will be mostly running Social Media Camp in a traditional Open Space / BarCamp format, with one additional ‘introductory’ track intended for people looking to learn the social media basics for use in their job search, for use in their marketing efforts and for generally joining the conversation about how to use social media for their organization.

For those of you unfamiliar with Open Space and BarCamp, the premise is that the majority of the day’s agenda / schedule will be created by participants, the morning of the ‘camp’.  We will be taking time in the morning, from 930am until about 1015am to introduce ourselves to each other and to discuss the topics that will fill our day together.  If you have something you would like to teach or something you would like to learn, you can add it in the comments below on this post.  We will be collecting them and also adding them to the wiki and/or you can add them there yourself if you would like.

Social Media Camp Schedule

• 9-930 Arrive, Get Settled, Meet People
• 930-1015 Social Media Camp Kickoff, Introductions, Creating the Schedule of Sessions
• 1015 – 1100 First Session, 2 rooms open for scheduling
• 1115-1200 Second Session, 2 rooms open for scheduling
• Noon – 1pm Lunch Provided at Roger Smith Hotel
• 100-145 Third Session, 3 rooms open for scheduling
• 2-245 Fourth Session, 3 rooms open for scheduling
• 3-345 Fifth Session, 3 rooms open for scheduling
• 4-445 Final Session, 3 rooms open for scheduling
• 445 – 515 Wrap Up, Close Day Together

We are still looking for people to help lead the creation of the Social Media 101 Curriculum we are also offering at this Social Media Camp.  We will be shooting video of these sessions especially to make available to the SBA and other local New York focused government and non-profit organizations to help more people learn the key insights for applying social media tools effectively to help their small business, to help them find jobs through new job skills and pretty much anyone who wants to figure out what this social media discussion is all about.

Our Social Media 101 Track, which will be happening in addition to the many sessions being offered by leading Social Media Professionals will include sessions on

• Introduction to Social Media – What it is, What it isn’t; Social Media Principles; Tags, Conversation, Community, Social Networks and why this shift in technology is important for all organizations (and employees to understand)
• Creating a digital identity, building a personal brand – Before you can engage in these conversations, how do you portray yourself in your profiles? Where should you make profiles? How do you want to be perceived
• Social media tools, services and networks – Highlighting the key services and software that are at the heart of the online social universe, we will discuss Twitter, WordPress, Flickr, Digg, Disqus, Lijit, FaceBook, Linkedin and much more
• Using Social Media for Job Searches (Job Seekers & Employers) – At this time, your presence online, or lack thereof, is speaking volumes about you to potential employers (and vice versa).  In this session we will discuss how social media is changing the job search process and what you can do to stand out as well as what you can do to find the right person if you are hiring.
• Marketing Through Social Media – In this session, through case studies and practical examples, we will discuss how Social Media is being used to develop better customer relationships, reach new markets, cultivate word of mouth and create better search engine optimization of your web site.  Specific and practically applied tactics will be discussed and your questions will be answered.
• Small Group Consultations – At the end of the day, during the last session, several social media professionals from New York and beyond will sit down in smaller groups with participants to answer questions and help you apply what you have learned to your specific business challenge.

Given that the educational sessions we will be offering are similar to what we would normally put together in a $300+ workshop, we hope to see a bunch of people jumping into social media through Social Media Camp, which only costs $25 to attend.  Please register today so we now how many lunch’s, t-shirts etc… we need to secure.  Better still, if you have a friend who needs to learn the basics of Social Media, send them this link and have them join us for this great day of social media sessions.

Social Media Camp Logo

Wondering what you think about this draft of the Social Media Camp logo and the back of the t-shirt with the current list of sponsors as of this morning. Thoughts?

It looks right now as if the cost per person is going to be about $42 – since we are only charging $25, we wouldn’t be able to make this happen without their support. Each of these companies want to support small businesses, start-ups and most importantly, the ideals behind out effort to empower more PEOPLE with an understanding of how they can get the most from emerging Social Media and general technology.

It is with much gratitude and respect that I introduce them to you…

About HubSpot

HubSpot is an Internet marketing system that helps your company get found online, generate more inbound leads and convert a higher percentage of them into paying customers. HubSpot helps companies get found by more prospects using search engine optimization and marketing, leveraging blogs and the blogosphere and engaging in online social media. By using landing pages, lead intelligence and marketing analytics, HubSpot customers convert more prospects into leads and paying customers. Based in Cambridge, MA, HubSpot can be found at http://www.hubspot.com.

About Market Wire
The only fully integrated North America-based global newswire, Marketwire, Inc. is a full-service partner to IR, PR and MarCom professionals seeking top-tier press release distribution, media management, multimedia and monitoring solutions. Marketwire’s customer-centric corporate philosophy focuses on being the best by infusing every aspect of its business with the following core attributes: precision, adaptability, innovation and simplicity.

Marketwire delivers its clients’ news to the world’s media and financial communities, fulfilling disclosure requirements in North America in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), and serving as Primary Information Provider (PIP) with the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA). With a reputation for technology leadership, Marketwire offers innovative products and services — including Social Media, Search Engine Optimization, Dashboard Mobile Financial, News Dashboard coverage reports, exclusive access to networks such as the Canadian Press Wire Network, Easy IR and Easy PR workflow solutions, and more — that help communication professionals maximize their effectiveness while ensuring accuracy and best practices. Having merged companies (Market Wire and CCNMatthews) in April 2006, and enjoying a combined history of 25 years of service, Marketwire is now majority-owned by OMERS Capital Partners, the private equity arm of one of Canada’s largest pension funds.

Marketwire distributes the majority of press releases issued by publicly traded companies in Canada and serves more than 8,000 clients worldwide through 20 offices on four continents. For more information, visit us at http://www.marketwire.com/

About Microsoft BizSpark

Microsoft BizSpark is a three-year program made available to technopreneurs and start-ups that have formed private companies developing software-based products or services and have been in business for less than three years with an annual revenue of less than USD$0.5 million or RM1.75 million.

By joining the program, a start-up has access to Microsoft’s current full-featured development tools, platform technologies, and “production licenses” for software hosted in the “software as a service” model free of charge for up to three years. The production licenses include Windows Server (all versions, up to and including Enterprise); SQL Server (all versions); Office SharePoint Server; Systems Center, and BizTalk Server. For more information in Microsoft BizSpark, please visit: www.microsoft.com/bizspark.