What is Social Media Club?
In cities across America, people are gathering at least once a month (for free) to learn about and discuss “the purpose of sharing best practices, establishing ethics and standards, and promoting media literacy around the emerging area of Social Media. This is the beginning of a global conversation about building an organization and a community where the many diverse groups of people who care about social media can come together to discover, connect, share, and learn.”
Benn & I went to our first SMC meeting early this year and have been to every one since. We have met some of the industry’s biggest and brightest names in social media and new technology and are always amazed at their generosity with sharing their knowledge. Social Media Club gatherings attract bloggers, website designers, coders, media insiders, programmers, graphic designers, and more and the wealth of insight is simply astounding.
Why Get Involved?
I find that surrounding myself with people more advanced than I tends to be more challenging, humbling and most of all, inspiring than being the tech genius in the room (which I am far from being but do stand out when people haven’t heard of blogs, twitter, etc). In Austin where technology is still one of the biggest industries locally, it is not hard to find people that aim to improve upon and learn about social media. Advancing your business by being on the forefront of technology only improves your practice and this is one exceedingly awesome way to do it.
How to Get Involved?
Several cities already have people leading Social Media Club meetings but there are many many cities missing. I suggest either getting involved in the pre-existing SMC in your city or getting in touch with @someone to learn how easy it is to bring SMC to your town! Visit the SMC wiki for the most information, the blog to learn current events or message me on Twitter or message Connie Reece, Austin’s SMC Queen if you’d like an introduction to anyone involved in SMC!
Where?
The following cities already have SMC:
Austin, TX
Boston, MA
Dallas, TX
Louisville, KY
Minneapolis, MN
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Seattle, WA
St. Louis, MO
Research Triangle, NC
Washington DC
The following cities are working on their chapters and need involvement:
Atlanta, GA
Ann Arbor/Detroit, Michigan
Birmingham, AL
Charlotte, NC
Chicago, IL
Denver, CO
Des Moines, IA
Houston, TX
Kansas City, MO
Las Vegas, NV
Los Angeles, CA
New Orleans, LA
Pittsburgh, PA
Portland, OR
Rochester, NY
San Diego, CA
Salt Lake City, UT
South Florida, FL
Tampa Bay, FL
If you’re already involved in SMC, tell us how it has helped YOU! If you’re not, let us know if you’ll be pioneering SMC in your hood!
