• What the metrics are for figuring out where to concentrate your efforts.
• Whose province social networking is. Is it a function of marketing, editorial, or both?
• How you can best complement, not cannibalize or duplicate, the efforts on your main site.
• How to make sure any information you present is perceived as helpful, and not purely self-promotional.
• Ways to automate your participation – and when not to automate.
• What free or low-cost tools are out there to help you disseminate video, podcasts, discussion, slide shows, etc.

Panelists will be:

Erin Erickson, ASBPE Chicago board member and senior web editor at Putman Media in Itasca, Ill. She created UBrandMedia.com, a how-to website that aims to teach nontechnical people how to create, use and manage social media. In addition to consulting with small businesses on social media strategy, Erin has created several social networks of her own.

You can connect with Erin on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Lorna Li, an online marketer with expertise in social media, search engine marketing, and online reputation management. She is the founder of Search Marketing Salon, a growing LinkedIn network of over 5,000 search engine marketers. Lorna is currently part of the SEO Team at Salesforce.com. Her blog is Green Marketing 2.0.

Connect with Lorna on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, or subscribe to her FriendFeed.

Webinar Details

Date: Friday, May 29

Time: 1:00–2:00 p.m. Eastern time

Where: Your computer. You will need a dial-in number, URL and access codes to participate.

Charge: This webinar is $10.00 for all ASBPE members and $35.00 for nonmembers.

How to register: To reserve your place, you must complete two steps:

1) submit payment; and
2) visit the web page where you will actually register.

Fill out our registration form (76K Word doc), submitting payment (credit card or check payable to ASBPE) to the contact listed on the form. Upon receipt of payment, you will receive an e-mail with the online registration link. A second e-mail will follow identifying the dial-in number, URL and access codes needed to join the webinar.

Labels: Social Networking, Technology, Web, Webinars

From ASBPE Boston Board member Matt Kelly, via Facebook:

Yep, it's that time of year: the Media Chowder Annual Christmas Party. We will meet, imbibe, discuss the crappy state of the industry and poke fun at the Herald as usual. All are welcome; Santa attire is strongly encouraged.

When: Wednesday, Dec. 17, 7 p.m.
Where: Sidney's Grille, Cambridge, as usual.

Anyone bringing gifts for needy children will win a free drink, and then can stroll to the Salvation Army office across the street and drop it off for said needy children.

All are welcome! Shooting for a new turnout record of at least 20 folks this time, so please bring friends, writers, PR folk, and other hangers-on.

Details:

Sidney's Grille at the Meridien Hotel
20 Sidney St
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 494-0011

• cash bar
• on street and garage parking available

See area map.
Get driving directions from Google Maps.

Directions via public transportation: short walk from Central Square T stop on Red line. (Exit T stop and walk down Mass Ave. about 10 minutes towards Boston. Sidney Street is on the right side of Mass Ave., just past the fire station, behind the Asgard bar)

Labels: ASBPE Educational Programs, Social Networking

Tell us who B2B editors and journalists should be following on Twitter. To vote, simply log onto Twitter and send a direct message or an @reply to ASBPE. Remember to include the person's Twitter handle. The top 10 will be posted on the ASBPE National Blog.

Labels: Social Networking, Web

The Media Chowder Society, the social group for journalists that we told you about earlier, will be getting together again on Thursday, Nov. 13. The invitation says:

The Media Chowder Society, a happy hour organization for local journalists, writers, and media types, will be meeting again. No agenda, no nonsense.

Please feel free to invite friends and colleagues.

Day/Date: Thursday Nov. 13
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Sidney's Grill at the Meridien Hotel
20 Sidney St
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 494-0011

Details:

• cash bar
• on street and garage parking available

Directions: short walk from Central Square T stop on
Red line. (Exit T stop and walk down Mass Ave. about
10 minutes towards Boston. Sidney Street is on the
right side of Mass Ave., just past the fire station,
behind the Asgard bar)

Brought to you by the Medill Club of New England

See area map.
Get driving directions from Google Maps.

No need to RSVP -- just show up. Hope to see you there!

Labels: Social Networking

That's the slogan of a new journalists' group that's hosting a happy hour on Oct. 16. Wanting more frequent opportunities to network than Media Bistro has been providing, a group of Boston journalists took matters into their own hands and started Media Chowder. ASBPE Boston board member Matt Kelly is a charter member, and he sent me this info about the October event:

The Media Chowder Society, a happy hour organization for local journalists, writers, and media types, will be meeting again. No agenda, no nonsense.

Please feel free to invite friends and colleagues.

Day/Date: Thursday October 16
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Sidney's Grill at the Meridien Hotel
20 Sidney St
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 494-0011

Details:

• cash bar
• on street and garage parking available

Directions: short walk from Central Square T stop on Red line. (Exit T stop and walk down Mass Ave. about 10 minutes towards Boston. Sidney Street is on the right side of Mass Ave., just past the fire station, behind the Asgard bar).

See area map.
Get driving directions from Google Maps.

No need to RSVP for this one -- just show up. Matt tells me "Media Chowder parties have been known to last until 11 or so," so even if you can't make it early on, it's still worth stopping by.

To keep apprised of Media Chowder events, join their Yahoo group.

Labels: Social Networking

If you need a networking fix between now and December, when ASBPE's State of the Industry banquet takes place, you might want to attend Media Bistro's All-Media Party at Bella Luna in Jamaica Plain. It's an informal evening mixer featuring a cash bar and hors d'oeuvres. All guests must RSVP and be approved -- space is limited, and the event is or full-time media professionals only, either staff or freelance (no college interns/students). I plan to attend. Hope to see you there!

Labels: Social Networking

ASBPE's National Blog is updated every Monday and Thursday with posts by ASBPE chapter and national board members — and occasional guest bloggers from B2B media companies, consultancies, and the like. Of course you'll find association news there, but most of the commentary deals with issues such as web site do's and don'ts, the financial state of our industry, making yourself marketable in the media world, and reassessing the way you do business. There are also posts to help out with day-to-day work, such as improving your writing and finding good web resources.

If you use an RSS reader, subscribe to the national blog's RSS feed. If not, sign up to get new national blog posts automatically emailed to you. Those of you with Twitter accounts also have the option to keep up with the blog (and other ASBPE news) via ASBPE's new Twitter page.

Twitter isn't the only social networking site where you can find ASBPE.

• There's now an ASBPE group on the networking site LinkedIn where you can see the profiles of other B2B media types — and see who's in their networks, too.
  
• There's also an ASBPE Facebook group where you can share links, start discussions, and network with B2B editors.
• And we've started a group on the book-review site GoodReads, where you can get recommendations from other B2B editors on the best books for learning about journalism, the web, the business world, and other job-related topics.

Now's as good a time as any to mention that from now on, I'll be using this blog more for strictly local stuff and posting about topics of general interest to all B2B editors over on the national blog. Head over and take a look.

Labels: ASBPE National, Blogs, Social Networking