How have new media outlets shaped our consumption of news? If we had all waited for the printed paper the following morning we would not have been wrapped up in the hype or contributed to the rumors. Instead, we are faced with unfounded facts, perpetuated by supposed reliable sources. Is fact checking the factor that separates old media and new media?

Perhaps this is the responsibility we lay at the feet of traditional news outlets, fact checks. Important news that can potentially shake stock markets should not be left to the amateurs of twitter. Instead, news papers, television networks, and other news sources should differentiate themselves by vetting information for consumption.

Twitter and Facebook are excellent sources of opinion and allow for unique views of events. Even on their own can prove resourceful in verifying information, creating a smorgasbord of tasty news treats. We’ve also shown how powerful social media can be, a hive mind running wild, swept up in hysteria. It’s no wonder businesses strive daily to harness this perpetual marketing machine.

However, I don’t think we are ready for old media to be replaced by the new guys just yet. There is room for both. I like my news accurate, with a side of thousands of verified amateurs.

Be sure to attend the next Social Media Club of Evansville event, where Ryan Reynolds of the Evansville Courier and Press will be discussing changes in online and print media. The event will be held at Ri Ra Irish Restaurant and Pub on Monday, February 20th, starting at 6:00 pm.

Please comment below if you have any questions to ask Ryan Reynolds or discuss the importance of new and old media working to coexist.

Last night the Social Media Club of Evansville met at Ri Ra Irish Pub, to discuss What’s Wrong With Your Website? It was a meeting designed to help web creators and Evansville businesses create more engaging websites and optimize for both search engines and conversions. The review panel consisted of Andrew Epperson, Zac Parsons, and Tim Piazza, each covering different aspects of web development.

The panel’s main focus was of course on social engagement and how your website can better reach the social media crowd. In addition, special attention was given to search engine optimization and how visitors can be funneled into your sites pages. And lastly, how can your website better keep or convert that visitor. Surprising to some, little things can make a big impact and do not take a lot of effort to fix.

Some simple rules to design by:

Paula spoke about how Holiday World first took the plunge into social media, starting with a blog around the launch of the Legend roller coaster.  Up until that time, they didn’t really feel like they had a lot to share, and didn’t feel like filling a blog with pointless updates.  However, the buzz surrounding the upcoming wooden roller coaster provided a perfect opportunity to start sharing teaser photos and information that enthusiasts flocked to.  Communication has changed in Paula’s 20 years at Holiday World and the first theme park blog set in motion the social media presence you see today.

Party Favor

Holiday World’s huge success in the social media realm is attributed to Paula’s idea of what new media should be about.  She recommends you should focus on posting relevant information, asking who cares before hitting enter, even if that next communication is only 140 characters long.  Furthermore, the contacts made on Facebook and Twitter should be more than numbers, they are relationships that require communication.  If you never reply to comments from followers or fans, you might as well be counting business cards in the closet.

Thanks again to Paula Werne for taking the time to speak with us at the November Social Media Club of Evansville event.  Also, thanks for the great party favors, including 2 free passes to Holiday World, Images of America Holiday World book, and a Holiday World Christmas ornament.

Follow Holiday World:

• HoliBlog
• HoliTweets
• Holiday World on Facebook

Thanks the local news media for their coverage and support including: WNIN, AcesTV, Local 7, News 25 and The University of Evansville for hosting the event.

Last but not least, a big thanks goes to Micah Schweizer of WNIN for his great efforts as our event emcee.

Reminder, we meet the 3rd Monday of each month at Ri Ra Irish Pub in downtown Evansville. These monthly meetings are FREE and open to the public.

Media Coverage

Local 7

Link to Local 7 Coverage

News 25

The Evansville Mayoral Discussion Event will be streamed live, here via AcesTV. Broadcast will be from 6pm – 8pm CDT on Monday, October 24, 2011.

Special thanks to the AcesTV crew!

“Knowledge is widely dispersed in society, and public officials benefit from having access to that dispersed knowledge.” -President Obama in regards to using social media as a means to establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration.

It’s hard for a candidate in the information age to argue against transparency and keeping an open office.  It becomes a necessity to know what our elected officials are doing and making sure they are staying the course.  The election process does not end at the polls, it is an ongoing process of evaluating what takes place inside our mayoral office and voice our public opinion when necessary.  Social media and other online tools help assist with this by providing an unparalleled level of behind the scenes access available to everyone.

The flow of information also presents new risks and challenges, there needs to be a method of delivering information in a method that includes all pertinent info, yet excludes the static.  In addition, many social media websites require very detailed information about the user, privacy then becomes a factor in government policy and how these new media outlets are utilized.

Our Federal Government has already established a set of rules and regulations(Privacy ACT of 1974)  with the use of information gathered from citizens through 3rd party websites like Twitter, Facebook, and Google+, it’s important that our local government does the same.  Details collected should not surpass their usefulness in terms of governing better.  Because of privacy, the government is also faced with the challenge of providing the same information available through social media, on free alternatives, such as their official website.

When it comes to information through social media, a user can be as specific or vague as they wish.  Consistency will no doubt be a key factor in how well a local government social media account is received.  Our likes and retweets will play a vital role with shaping how successful a transparent government is, through social media.

• How specific would you like the Evansville Mayoral office to be?
• What social media websites should the Evansville Mayoral office use to share information?
• Should policy be made to ensure that social media remains a 2-way street at a local level?

Remember, the Social Media Club of Evansville and the University of Evansville Social Media Club will be hosting a Mayoral Discussion on transparency and accountability within the Evansville Mayoral Office.  The event will be on October 24th, is free to attend and open to the public.  The event will open at 5:30pm, with Lloyd Winnecke starting the discussion at 6:00pm, followed by Rick Davis at the Ridgway University Center in Eykamp Hall.  Click here for more information and to register for the Mayoral Discussion Event.

It is anticipated for the discussion to cover the following:

• Boy Scouts of America’s guidelines to social media – don’t identify kids with first and last name, closed group – individuals have to ask to join etc.
• Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn
• Creating Private Groups

As this training is for the volunteers of Boy Scouts of America, this role is volunteer only. Lunch will be provided.

Interested parties can contact us at web@smcevansville.org.

Recap

What: Volunteer(s) needed to provide social media training for local Boy Scout Council event.

When: November 19th. 9:30 – 10:20 am and again at 1:10 – 2:00 pm

Where: Gibson Southern High School

Help us spread the word!

This was my first time talking about something informational so I was a little nervous.  Most of my on-stage time was based on making people laugh, not giving them information that would be useful.  A couple years ago, I was giving a speech at a Toastmasters meeting about conflict resolution.  Several people were writing down what I was saying.  It really threw me off my pace.  I had to ask them to stop writing and start laughing.

My presentation was made up of examples of how I use humor in social media.  I showed examples of photos, videos, and Facebook/Twitter posts.  I wanted to show people not to be afraid to try different things.  I wanted to show them, it’s ok to make a fool out of yourself and be humorous. I showed a video of me getting carjacked by two recently fired television news anchors and some of my work for Chick-Fil-A.  Video is a great source for using humor because it allows you to tell a short story to get to the punch line.  You have more time to get your point across to the viewer.  Being funny on Facebook or Twitter is a little tougher because you are limited by the amount of charactersyou are allowed.  One example I showed was two different Facebook posts.  I was limited by space, but I also used the time between them as a dramatic pause.

Another area that I spoke about was knowing who your audience is.  I worked this point into each of the main topics.  It is important to know your audience because if your core audience doesn’t understand what you are talking about, they will not get the joke you are trying to  making.  Your audience will also dictate how far you can push the envelope of humor.  If your business is very conservative, you will not be able to push the line that far.  You will violate your audiences expectations, which may make them question why they are your customer. The humor that I use is not appropriate for every business.  My work for Chick-Fil-A was more conservative than my work for Paul Poteet dot com.  Had I suggested a fat guy running around with no shirt to Chick-Fil-A, our relationship would have ended quickly.  However, Paul Poteet hired me exactly for that reason.  I had a conversation with a man after the event.  He was in the banking business.  We talked social media humor and analytics.  One thing we both agreed on was that edgy humor in banking was not acceptable.  Their audience is not open to that any type of humor from the institutions managing their money.

We talked about testing your humor on people before releasing it to your social media streams.  You want to see if it’s funny and non-offensive. Testing is great in the early stages of utilizing humor because it let’s the creator, you, know if they are on target for that organization. Sometime, material that is funny to you may not be appropriate for your organization.  Using humor can be risky.  It is better to mildly offend a couple of people that you know than most of your customers.  I listed several examples of people who had gotten into trouble for making bad jokes about world tragedies.

Using humor can be risky.  However, you can offend your audience by making a casual comment about religion or a political party.  If used properly, for your audience, it can be memorable and successful.

While we were in Evansville, we made some videos around town.  Here is one short video we made at the Sign-A-Rama of Evansville. – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY8IK8ORd70

BgKahuna has used social media to become The Court Jester of All Social Media. BgKahuna has a reputation for destroying all that is sacred in the social media universe. Despite all the chaos he has caused, he has worked with several popular brands, from Indiana’s Weatherman Paul Poteet to Chick-Fil-A. The Blog of BgKahuna was voted the 2010 Top Humor Blog by Linking Indiana and MetroMix Indy voted him one Indy’s Top Tweeps. BgKahuna was recently mentioned on WTHR morning news because he’s “not always appropriate but he will make you laugh”. BgKahuna is highly sought after by businesses looking for an overweight, shirtless guy in their video promotions. From YouTube to Twitter to Facebook, BgKahuna’s goal is to make you laugh out loud (LOL).

Contact information for BgKahuna:
Twitter, @BgKahuna
Facebook
YouTube
Website
MySpace

Membership

Membership is not required to attend our events. We do strongly encourage you to be a member of the National Social Media Club. For us to continue under the umbrella of the SMC we need memberships in this area. Check out the benefits for you as an individual and for a corporation! 

Jobs:Jodie Lynn Mowrey announced a job opening at  Daniel Burton Dean, in SEO and project management.

If you have a job or internship to announce, please let us know and we’ll announce it at our meetings.

Training:

Several Free trainings will be taking place at Henderson County Library:
Skype, May 24

Facebook Basics, May 18 (Taught by Mary Biever)

Facebook Advanced, May 25 (Taught by Mary Biever)Classes from Dana M Nelson:

6 hour Intro to Social Media June 2 9AM-4PM

Advanced Social Media Skills Series June and July

If you know of any up coming social media training, classes, or seminars in the tri-state, please let us know and we’ll announce it at our meetings.

House Keeping:

We’re grateful to RiRa’s for allowing us to use the upstairs for our meetings every month. We want to remind you to be sure to pay your bill after the meeting. (It’s easy to get excited after the meeting, when you’re running around meeting all your tweeps IRL, and forget to pay.) Also, please be sure to tip the wait staff.

Congratulations to our book winners. Thanks again to Que Publishing.

The Non-Profit Communications Summit is an opportunity for non-profits (charities, organizations, clubs, churches, etc.) to meet together and share their experience, tips, and best practices within the realm of communications.

It will be held Wednesday,

February 16 · 8:00am – 12:00pm

Breakfast and Lunch will be served by Gattitown ($10 charge at the door).

We will have 3 one-hour sessions covering topics such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, email newsletters, websites, fundraising, and more.

Please RSVP at the Facebook Event or email dan [AT] creativeiscreative.com so that they know how many donuts to buy for breakfast! The $10 covers the fee for Gattitown, there is no markup for this event. There is a limit to how many people we can get in that room. PREFERENCE will be given to RSVP.

Please come and tell your volunteers, co-workers, etc. Also, if you are a professional and you would like to be a table moderator, let me know. So far we have some WordPress experts and Twitter experts that have already RSVP-ed.

If your organization cannot pay to meet with a consultant, this is your day! We will have the room until 3:00, so that people can setup meetings after lunch for one-on-one help or for additional meetups.

This #NPComm <– That is the official hashtag, is NOT an SMCEVV event. There will be several steering committee members involved and other members participating as well. While not an official SMCEVV event, this is the kind of sharing of knowledge that we encourage, and support.