There’s no shortage of SXSW Interactive 2011 “reviews.” Give it a Google; you’ll find all sorts of contradictory soap boxes, from SXSW has “jumped the shark” to O M G, it was “awesomesauce.” Other than the mediocre panels, tsunami of street-marketers and QR codes, and an on-again-off-again AT&T 3G signal, three things about this year’s conference stand out:
1. We should all talk to strangers more. Seriously. It wasn’t the panels or keynotes that rocked my world, (could have skipped most of them, honestly) it was the limitless conversations with talented people. There were talkative geeks at every turn. And this wasn’t just a “shake hands and be on your way”-type of networking, these were hour-long talks where you walked away a smarter, more motivated person. I hated leaving before the closing party because I kept wondering not what, but WHO/WHOM, I’d miss.
2. You can solve your Meetup location crisis using only an iPhone and tha Twitter. About a week before the conference started, Dave had this great idea for us to declare a Meetup for DC-area folks attending SXSW Interactive. We called it DCxSW. He made a website; I filled out a Twitter profile, started a #DCxSW hashtag and got to spreading the word. We immediately saw a positive response from DC-ers, including retweets and offers to help.
The problem came about five hours before the event was to start, when I discovered that our venue, Shakespeare’s Pub, had been bought out by Maxim. Thanks, guys. But I didn’t have my laptop with me; Dave was at the hotel with the Team Newman iPad; all I had was an iPhone and a panicky feeling. How would I tell everyone? Where would we go?! Less than 10 percent of an iPhone 4 battery later, a new location at the Driskill Hotel bar was secured, the DCxSW Twitter profile edited and DMs and @ replies sent to every RSVPing person. Except Tod. Oops. Sorry, man. It really proved to me how powerful that tiny little Swiss Army Knife of a phone actually is. Oh, and 45 folks showed up! And Tod eventually found us.
3. The New York Times, Verizon and Quora need to have a frank talk with their marketing folks. I’ll sum this up this way: Read More…
Introducing Dallas Flacks
Congrats to my friend Rebecca for founding the new Dallas Flacks Meetup! If you know a public relations or PR pro in the Dallas area, tell’em to join the group and mark their calendars for the first happy hour on September 28.
Nashville Flacks first Meetup a Tremendous Success
If you declare it, they will come! Congrats to Jena, Mary Beth, Rob and Cindy on their first–and fabulous–Nashville Flacks happy hour! View the photos here. And if you are a Nashvegas PR pro, join the group and attend their next event on September 27.
Nearly one year ago, I moved to D.C. declared a PR people happy hour and was shocked when a dozen folks actually showed up. Now, DC Flacks is more successful that I could have ever imagined. We are 250+ members strong, each happy hour is attended by anywhere from 25 to 60 flacks and we’ve even got a fancy-pants sponsor: Vocus!
Building on the success of DC Flacks, I’m proud to introduce Nashville Flacks, co-organized by the lovely and talented Cindy, Jena and Mary Beth. I can’t hardly wait to see what the future holds for this group!
If you’re a PR or communications pro in the Middle Tennessee region, I hope you’ll join us. Membership is free. Like DC Flacks, the group meets once a month for beverages, conversation and ranting laughs. We’ve only been an active group for two days and already have 40 members! Pretty cool.
Now, for those of you not living in D.C. or Nashvegas, you should start your own ____ Flacks chapter on Meetup.com. If you need help, tips or encouragement, just shoot me an email at Margie (at) Flackrabbit (dot) com. Read More…
One minute I’m minding my own business, the next, PR rockstar Amanda Littlejohn has somehow found a way to include me and the DC Flacks in an impromptu Mopwater PR + Media Notes and DC PR Flacks: Coffee for Media Pros DCWEEK event. I love that woman.
If you’re going to be in the DC area on Tuesday, June 15 at 4 p.m, join me, Amanda and Gia at the Corner Bakery Cafe at 1828 L Street NW from 4 – 5:30.
For those who don’t know, tonight marks the launch of Digital Capital Week (DCWEEK), a 10 day festival in here in DC focused on technology, innovation and all things digital. It’s such a thrill to be a part of the DCWEEK schedule; thanks for thinking of DC Flacks, Amanda! Read More…
My friend Veronica would like you all to take a moment to think about any women you know who just happen to be communications rockstars, work in-and-around the D.C. area and will be between the ages of 21-35 on June 1, 2010. Now, Veronica would like you to go nominate those ladies for the Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) Emerging Leaders Awards.
WWPR President Debbie Friez agrees with Veronica: “By recognizing emerging leaders in the field, WWPR is highlighting the intelligent, innovative young women who already are making a name for themselves as public relations, marketing and communications professionals. Whether you’re an entry-level professional seeking mentors or an employer seeking new talent, knowing exactly who are the up-and-coming professionals in the field is valuable. WWPR is proud to be honoring these impressive individuals and creating value for the community at the same time.”
Amen, Debbie! This kind of stuff is important. Trust me, taking the time to nominate a friend or colleague for an award like this means so much.
In 2008, friend and co-worker Kriste nominated me for the PR News 15-to-Watch. I was honored that she thought that much of my work/me, but never thought I’d win. Well, guess what: I won. And it gave me confidence and street cred that most 20-somethings just don’t have. I’m forever grateful; I’ve had some great career opportunities as a result of that award. I owe it all to Kriste!
So, whether your rockstar PR friend is a newbie or boasts 10+ years of experience, WWPR wants to know and love her.
But you had better get to filling out that application (PDF), nominations are due on April 30.
Thank you, Katie Place, for the invitation to share with your University of Maryland public relations class my thoughts about Web content strategy and my obsession with the Internet.
Among other things, we talked about the importance of ensuring your Web and new media content is truly in service to the audience you’re trying to reach, as well as the goal of your communications campaign.
Does the client just want Twitter because everyone else is doing it? Or is there a purpose? The burden is on you, the PR pro, to ask these questions of your client.
Of course, you know I can’t speak to a group of people and not work in a quick lecture on how there is no privacy on the Internet and how if you want to be known for your pr and new media expertise, you must strive to be your own guinea pig. So there was plenty of that, too. Read More…
Overheard in D.C.:
“If YOU ask me to be a fan of YOU on Facebook, I’m not going to do it. That’s like handing out foam fingers with your own name on them.” Read More…
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