I love Facebook. I didn’t think I would, but I do. Ironically, the person who dragged me kicking and screaming onto the site with promises of more frequent communication as the incentive is one of the people who appears there the least. But, no matter. Within a week of creating my page I found a friend from high school (I wasn’t interested in even looking for very many of them, actually) who had been living in Australia since graduation, and I was hooked! Facebook is my Cheers and I want to go where everyone knows my name. Facebook has become the place I can drop in throughout the week where someone is glad to see me, pretends to be amused by my every witty status update, and offers ch

Mark Bean, the managing director of C7, and Josh Hilliker, the director of social media at Intel-GE Care Innovations, sat on a panel moderated by 3Fold’s Gordon Fowler to discuss whether or not social media’s return on investment (ROI) is measurable. Turns out, it is. As was revealed over the course of their discussion, there’s a plethora of tools out there for everyone to track just how effective their social media presence is. There are a lot of dated measurements (i.e. number of clicks or time on site), but they don’t quite carry over into social networking very well. Some of the newer tools include Hootsuite and Tweetdeck for the smaller businesses, or Radian 6 and Crimson Hexagon for

At La Raza Galería Posada, they’re always thinking about what issues or art that’s important to Latino Americans and interests that the community would like to see, according to curator Ella Diáz. Their exhibit “Miráme,” which opened Friday, did just that. “Miráme”is about self-portraits of cultural representation. When Diáz set out to put together this exhibit, she was initially going to explore aesthetic mixtures as an allegory for racial and cultural mixture. But she said that seemed too serious of a topic — too serious for the lighthearted Diáz who brought in a DJ and a karaoke machine for the opening. Diáz’s inspiration instead shifted toward the great Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, wh

UC Davis law professor Anupam Chander spoke to a large crowd at the California Museum on Tuesday, April 19th about the role social media has played in the recent uprisings around the globe, and how it could be a key player in making the world better. Just prior to the professor taking the stage, a wonderful meet-and-greet was held in the lobby of the museum. Politicos, business leaders, media experts, teachers and others chatted over mouth-watering hors’doeuvres provided by Blue Prynt and wine provided by Grace Patriot Wines. Professor Chander was there to discuss a new paper that he had recently published called Googling Freedom. His presentation came in three parts: (1) is social media

Social media enthusiasts from around the city gathered Tuesday night at The Urban Hive for the Sacramento Social Media Club Relationships and Social Media presentation. With Valentine's Day just behind us and the ever-increasing role of social networking in our day-to-day lives, relationships via the online frontier was a timely topic for discussion. Four speakers headlined the evening, and the audience was filled with some of Sacramento's most active facebookers and tweeps. Up first at the podium was independent marketing consultant Paul Ardoin, who discussed facebook privacy settings and how to manage them. "facebook is a for-profit entity; every decision facebook makes on your privacy

Midtown resident Sheila Wages treasured her brand-new bicycle – a seven-speed cruiser her boyfriend had put a lot of effort into picking out for her. She kept it in her back yard, from where it was stolen in August. Wages started a Facebook page for stolen Midtown bicycles within the next couple of days. “It started out as a joke,” she said, adding that the Facebook page has since taken on a life of its own, where users will post details of their stolen bikes and possible places to look out for them. “When my bike was first stolen, I didn’t realize what an epidemic (bike theft) was,” Wages said. “You’ve got to lock them up and take them inside if you can.” According to Wages, one of th

Before he was a political activist and lecturer, Krist Novoselic was a founding member and bassist of Seattle-based Nirvana, one of the most influential bands in history. After Nirvana ended when lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994, Novoselic became proactive in politics, using his celebrity to draw attention to his causes, which include promoting election reform and increasing voter turnout. Thursday night he spoke to a group of roughly 150 in the University Union ballroom at Sacramento State. Free and open to the public, the chiefly student audience was a mix of the politically minded and curiosity-seeking. “The last I heard about Krist Novoselic was that h

Andy Ekstrom's Facebook profile includes his favorite quote: "If everyone likes you, you aren't doing your job. However, if no one likes you, you can't do your job." Sounds good, even wise. But in fact, nearly everyone seemed to like Andy. So as the news of his death at the age of 35 circulated Tuesday afternoon and evening, the outpouring of emotion through Facebook, texts and Twitters soon became a flood. Ekstrom, who worked as a project manager for Heller Pacific, was instrumental in launching and filling developer Mike Heller, Jr.'s game-changing MARRS building on 20th Street between J and K, and his two-building Retro Lodge complex downtown at 11th and H. Ekstrom was a constant pre

It’s the title of the Sacramento Social Media Club’s April presentation. Half the title, actually: Web of Justice: Social Media & Law. Almost everyday brings a fresh news item or two about the nexus between the law and social media. Privacy issues, social sharing at the speed of fiber optics and server farms in the “clouds” are changing the legal landscape. How does that affect you, the concerned citizen? How does that affect us, the informed public? These and other questions will be the focus of a panel discussion featuring three active users of social media in their legal work. Jonathan G. Stein is the owner of a law practice that handles all manner of litigation, from personal injur

If you have been reading about communication and marketing tools over the past couple of years you are aware of the proliferation of new devices and platforms for marketing to and establishing community with existing and prospective customers.  Studies continue to show that growing numbers of people are adopting the use of social networking and micro-blogging platforms for personal use and to “follow” or “fan” their favorite businesses.  Social media will continue to grow and offer businesses perhaps the greatest value in time and investment to reach customers and successfully track the results of their efforts.  Read this: your business needs a presence in social media. As growing number

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 g