When Land Park resident Ken Parks was first strolling through the listing of available places he wanted to rent, he thought “wow, newly built, upscale neighborhood, pool, gym, great price, quiet home away from home living, what more could a guy ask”. However the listing that Parks was searching through wasn’t your typical rental listing in the apartment or home market, it was a room space being rented by a homeowner out of her Natomas condo complex. Parks, a 34 year-old state employee represents a growing number of people within Sacramento County and around the country that have taken to calling someone else’s home their home with room space renting or sub-leasing housing. It is not a tota

Thanks to all of you who came to the Media Panel at the Urban Hive Wednesday night! We have another engaging event scheduled for next week. Jeff Marmins, who taught our last Facebook workshop, will be leading the Google event titled, "Get Google in your Social Media Mix." Jeff is the creator of Social Media Path and partnership director of Social Media Club Sacramento. The event will be at the Sacramento Press office Dec. 15 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Jeff will discuss how to condense all of the social media sites you post to into one application on Google, successfully use RSS feeds and answer your specific questions. This workshop is designed for intermediate Google users. If you'd like a

There have been recent reports online regarding the use of social media by small businesses.  As fast as social media has gained in popularity, businesses have expanded their use of it.  It appears as though most social media users are okay with this.   Many businesses have given it a try while others have found too difficult a platform.  Some local perspective about Sacramento Press readers and thieir expectations on social media would be valuable to the local business community.  Please, share your perspective with us.  What do you like from the small businesses you follow?  Who locally is doing a great job using social networking?  What advice do you have for those considering

Twitterature, Twitterverse, Twibe, Tweetaholic and Twitterhea were some of the noteworthy word clusters mentioned by the New Oxford American Dictionary committee while choosing its 2009 Word of the Year. With this new dialect, it should come as no surprise that Sacramento TweetUps (social events that allow Twitter users to meet in real life) are drawing crowds of more than a hundred people. Earlier this month, an entire weekend was dedicated to social media. Alejandro Reyes created and organized Sacramento's first two-day Social Media Weekend at the University of Phoenix in Natomas, Nov. 6 and 7. Bloggers, financial strategists, real estate agents, non-profits, online business owners and

Three local non-profit organizations were featured in a Sacramento Social Media Club panel on Tuesday evening hosted by the Sacramento State College of Continuing Education. The panel included Celia Cortez, Projects and Event Manager for the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Jordan Blair, Board Member for River City Food Bank; and Jon Benorden, Program Coordinator for the Center for AIDS Research, Education and Service (CARES). Lesley Miller, Media Director for 3Fold Communication, also sat on the panel. Moderator Josh Morgan, principal at Morgan/Dorado and program director for the Sacramento Social Media Club, focused the discussion on how non-profits are using social media to educ

When: Wednesday, Nov. 18 2009 6:30 - 8 p.m. Where: The Sacramento Press office, 431 I Street, Suite 107 Sacramento, CA 95814 What: Facebook workshop, taught by Jeff Marmins, creator of Social Media Path. He will go over privacy settings and how to keep your personal and work lives separate on Facebook. He will also be answering any questions you may have. How: To RSVP for tonight, email journalism@sacramentopress.com. Space is limited, we only have a few spots left. If you have any questions, you can call us at 916-443-5403.

Some say God is everywhere but last month, we discovered that social media is everywhere too—even in our churches! On October 20, 2009, the Sacramento Social Media Club held a panel discussion on the use of social media by local churches. The event, “Pray for Social Media”, was hosted by The Sacramento Press, and was moderated by Jeff Marmins of Social Media Path and partnership director for the Sacramento Social Media Club. Panelists included Josh Trevino from the Parish Council of St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church in Roseville; Robert Mees, Director of Evangelism at Sierra Baptist Church in Pioneer in Amador County and CJ Alvarado, Director of Communications and Technology at Bayside Church

Police converged on a ballroom in a downtown hotel Tuesday night, but there wasn’t a crime in progress. “Social Crime” was the topic of Tuesday evening’s Sacramento Social Media Club event hosted by The Citizen Hotel in Downtown Sacramento. Representatives from local law enforcement shared how their organizations are using social media tools to prevent crime, improve community outreach, and even take down predators. Josh Morgan of Morgan/Dorado Public Relations and programming director for the Sacramento Social Media Club presented a “101” on Facebook Privacy. He explained how Friends Lists on Facebook can be used to limit information connections can see on your profile. Josh, for exampl

One local arts organization not in need of financial aid is The Sacramento Opera. In the 2008-2009 season it not only ended the year in the black, but the organization eliminated all its debt, exceeded its budget goal and grew its ticket sales by nearly 38 percent. After disappointing ticket sales in 2008, the opera was fortunate to have extra income contributed from private donors such as the Mildred Reis Estate and other corporate sponsors such as Raley's and Marriott. The organization also paid back a city loan incurred in 1992. Attendance for the season's four feature shows totaled 17,414, while the community programs saw an all-time high in participation with 6,152 audience members

Clad in green clothing and ribbons, hundreds gathered at the west steps of the Capitol Friday, to bring awareness to the current unrest in Iran. Their signs called for freedom, nonviolent resistance and a plea, “Obama Please Help Us.” Speakers detailed the series of events over the past week in Iran, highlighting violence and the concern of Iranian voters. An enthusiastic speaker read a numbered manifesto in Farsi, listing desires for the future of Iran. Included in this list was the wish for a leader elected by the people. Many people voiced their concerns over the alleged unfair election. Others began a series of chants that called for “Freedom from Dictatorship,” that soon evolved int

The Sacramento Press is giving away two ipod shuffles. Here are the rules of the game. 1. Read the article on the Crocker Art Museum's new wing by Suzanne Hurt posted here on sacramentopress.com 06/05/09. 2. Join the conversation by posting a comment on the article. 3. Invite your friends who are not yet community contributers to sign up for sacramentopress.com [free]. You can use email, phone calls, twitter, facebook or any other social network to ask people to sign up and to vote for you. The votes can be from any community contributer new or old but recruiting helps. One vote per community contributer. 4. Now ask them post a comment in the same article and use your sacramentopress.

I see you all the time at Tupelo Coffee House, but you don’t know me. We both like it that way. Neither of us will exchange a word, but I have created your brief back-story for my own entertainment. It is fiction, but this is the nature of our relationship. I have 900 Facebook friends, and I frequent all the same spots, but I do not know anyone. We work here, meet here, and play here. When home is where the couch is, we spend most of our waking hours out and about; returning home only to crash for the night. Time is calculated in semesters, leases, and rental agreements instead of years or friendships. Neighbors have come to represent mysteries rather than faces or lives. Forgotten are t

A while back I saw a ‘man in the street’ interview on TV, and they were asking people what they thought of social networking. One twenty-something thought it was great, but that he didn’t think a fifty year old should have an active Facebook profile. Now, the bone through his nose was one indication that this young man’s judgment was not to be trusted, but still, it made an impact. Am I really too old for Facebook? Is fifty the age when you are officially ‘too old’? Now, I’m by no means a Facebook fanatic; I’m not constantly updating my status, or commenting on the status of others. But I do enjoy checking in with people now and then, and see what they are up to. But now that I know that

"Twitterpated" took on a new meaning as the Social Media Club Sacramento convened for their first meeting on Thursday night. Around 35 people gathered from all different backgrounds to discuss social media and meet the original founders, Kristie Wells and Chris Heuer. According to their Facebook group, Social Media Club strives to "bring together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaborators. Essentially the people who create and consume media who have an interest in seeing the ‘media industry’ evolve for everyone’s benefit." After beverages and snacks were

Image: My Facebook Notifications. As long as I'm on a pop culture ranting binge - maybe somebody can explain what some of this means.  I'd settle for a brief indication of whether or not it's all complimentary or if there's anything in the list I should be offended by! And how exactly do I work this into my daily routine? "Hi, how are you today?" "Fine thanks - the thrill from my Sea Garden Request more than makes up for the slight misgivings associated with an Elven Blood Invitation!" However, unlike the author of a recent editorial (in another publication) regarding Facebook, I have to express my appreciation of the FB environment.  In just the last couple of days, I've coordinat

OK, so I’m a bit of an online junkie. If I’m at home, I’m either at my computer or I’ve reluctantly given in to the need to sleep or take care of other bodily needs. I used to be like this with TV: Ten years ago I had 3 VCR’s wired in series and never quite understood the question “What did you watch last night?” just as whoever asked it didn’t really understand when I responded with “Errr…everything.” So now I’m online at almost all hours and that means that I typically have 12-15 browser windows open and probably have 7-8 incoming avenues for communication available at any time. Or 9-10 if you include my phone, which generally gets forgotten when I’m at home and fixated on the 22” cant

If you're not Facebook friends with Attorney General Jerry Brown - and actually, you can't be, the AG does't have friends, he has "supporters" - you probably haven't seen his foray into the pasttime many of us have been burning up hours with in the last few weeks: Posting "25 Random Things About Me."  So, as a public service, we'll save you the surfing and post the link, as well as the text of the list right here. Brown is, after all, local. 25 Random Things About Me Yesterday at 4:43pm I’ve seen lists of “25 Random Things About Me” that people are sending around Facebook. I thought I would share my own list with you. 1. I got my first dog 13 years ago, a black Lab named Dharma. 2. At

Jill Duman's column "My View: We need more than Facebook 'friendship'" in The Sacramento Bee today is scary. However, the online comments below the story are encouraging. Link here. I am having trouble actually putting together a proper response, but I will try. The thrust of the column is that Facebook cannot replace real friendships and community. That could have made for a fine column. Unfortunately, she uses most of her column to demean those who participate in social networks while dismissing the community these networks foster. Hint: facebook does not replace friendship, it supplements. Facebook is a tool. Here are a few choice cuts with some of my responses: "[Facebook] apparent