Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "twitter"

Social Media Best Practices for Charities draws crowd

2011-11-15T15:26:09Z

The Urban Hive was filled with nearly 100 representatives from local charities and non-profits at the Sacramento Social Media Club’s “Social Media Best Practices for Charities” last Tuesday.

The event, hosted by Clay Nutting, director of Concepts 4 Charity and account executive for 3Fold Communications, inspired attendees to use social media outlets, such as Twitter, Facebook and Youtube to spread their message, raise funds and increase public awareness of their cause in order to promote social change.

Panelist Julie Bornhoeft, director of development and community relations for WEAVE, Inc., advised the audience that beginning to use social media is quite simple – you must have a presence, be genuine and have a goal. Panelist Misty Avila, eAdvocacy coordinator for Aspiration Tech agreed.

“When you’re a person online, you get why you’re online. When you’re an organization online, you have to have a goal,” Avila said. “If you don’t have a goal, it’s not a problem, but how do you know if what you’re doing is working?”

When organizations develop social media goals, often their focus is on their number of followers. Panelist Chris Brune, director of creative services at Macer Media (Sacramento Press), for the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, said focusing on that is a mistake.

“The quantifiable measure is often how many followers you have. I hate that. Dislike,” Brune said. “We’re saying it’s quality not quantity that matters.”

For panelist Kate Towson, Americorps VISTA with Sacramento Steps Forward, said her main priority in social media use is sharing.
After recently learning the beauty of retweeting and sharing the material of others, Towson said she now shares what other people are talking about and they share what she’s discussing.

“When you congratulate your partners on the work they do, it really reflects well on your agency,” Towson said. “It would come back to me, because folks would share what I’m talking about. It’s definitely karma right there.”

Although it may seem intimidating to begin social media, Brune said you just have to jump in.

“You can’t break Twitter – just start your conversation with whoever it is that will listen,” Brune said. “If you have an inkling of faith in social media, I think you should just go for it. It’s really that simple. You just have to start.”

In an effort to help charities begin or improve their social media presence, the Sacramento Social Media club is hosting a social media tune-up workshop tonight at the Urban Hive from 6-to-8 p.m. At the tune up, 20 local charities will be matched with marketing practitioners and agencies for one-on-one reviews.

For more information about tonight’s tune up, email smcsacto@gmail.com. To see more from the Social Media Best Practices for Charities panel, check out the Sacramento Social Media Club’s Ustream page to view the video.

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About the Social Media Club: The Sacramento Social Media Club was founded in March 2009 by local social media activists. Its monthly events bring together journalists, publishers, students, communicators and other interested collaborators to facilitate discussions about the key issues facing our society as technologies transform the way we connect, communicate, collaborate and relate. The Social Media Club’s primary mission is to promote media literacy and standard technologies, encourage ethical behavior and share best practices. To find out more, join their groups on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

About the author: Brittany Wesely is the Associate Community Benefit Health Specialist for Kaiser Permanente, and a member of the all-volunteer leadership team for the Sacramento Social Media Club. Follow her on Twitter @brittanywesely.

Sacramento Social Media Club to host 'Best Practices for Charities'

2011-11-04T15:29:28Z

Through their use of Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and other social media tools, many local charities have spread their message, raised funds and increased public awareness of their cause in order to promote social change. In the hopes of spreading their stories and inspiring other philanthropic organizations to do the same, four local charities will be conducting a panel discussion at the Sacramento Social Media Club’s “Social Media Best Practices for Charities” on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Urban Hive.

Moderated by Clay Nutting, director of Concepts 4 Charity and account executive for 3Fold Communications, the event will include panelists: Kate Towson, Americorps VISTA with Sacramento Steps Foward; Julie Bornhoeft, director of development and community relations for WEAVE, Inc.; Misty Avila, eAdvocacy coordinator for Aspiration Tech; and Chris Brune, director of creative services at Macer Media (Sacramento Press), for the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services.

The event will stream live on Ustream starting at 7 p.m., and can be followed on Twitter by using the hashtag #SMCSAC. The event is free, but donations will be accepted on behalf of the Sacramento Food Bank and the River City Food Bank. Donations up to $500 will be matched by CGI as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility Program.

In addition to panel, the Sacramento Social Media Club will be hosting a social media tune-up workshop on Tuesday, Nov. 15 from 6-to-8 p.m. at the Urban Hive. At the tune up, charities will be matched up with marketing practitioners and agencies for one-on-one reviews of their social media platforms, with specific recommendations on improvements after the consultation. In order to participate, charities must RSVP in advance.

The Urban Hive is located at 1931 H St., Sacramento, 95811. Space is limited for both events. Click here to RSVP for the Social Media Best Practices for Charities panel. To RSVP for the social media tune up, email smcsacto@gmail.com.

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Ask The County Law Librarian - Digital Afterlife

2011-09-02T02:18:04Z

Q. My 32 year old brother died recently in a motorcycle accident. He doesn't have much in the way of assets but he does have a Facebook account with lots of photos and a Twitter account that reflects all of his musings. Is there a way for me to get access?

A. The companies that have created the most popular places and tools for online expression have specific policies usually buried in "Terms of Service Agreements" and often involve some effort, like providing a death certificate. Facebook offers to "memorialize" the profile when an individual dies. It deactivates certain features and resets various privacy controls, converting the account to a place where friends can leave remembrances. The process doesn't give much direct control to any heir or executor of the content.

Twitter offers a full archive of a deceased user's tweets to their survivors.

Gone are the days you inherit a physical scrapbook or a diary and this has inspired a variety of entrepreneurs to create startups that manage the details of your digital afterlife. These services store passwords and document your wishes for who gets access to what accounts into a kind of adjunct to a traditional will. The digital beyond lists such services.

There is even a book on this topic: Your Digital Afterlife: When Facebook, Flickr and Twitter Are Your Estate, What's Your Legacy by Evan Caroll and John Romano.

I am sorry for your loss and hope accessing these accounts preserves your brother's legacy.

Do you have a question for the County Law Librarian? Just email sacpress@saclaw.org. If your question is selected your answer will appear in next Thursday's column. Even if your question isn't selected, though, I will still respond within two weeks.

Coral Henning, Director
@coralh & @saclawlibrarian

www.saclaw.org

Restaurants Are Hungry for Your Business; Social Media is Their Platter

2011-08-14T23:19:56Z

Let’s face it; those of us that use social networking sites are pretty much addicted. Whether you are connected through Facebook or Twitter—or both—you have a pretty good idea of what’s going on around town. Businesses that have been paying attention for the past two plus years are aware of this phenomenon and have leveraged social media to broaden their reach to potential customers. Restaurateurs are no different.

On Tuesday, the Social Media Club, Sacramento (@SMCSac) hosted the “Dining Social: Restaurants & Social Media” at The Urban Hive in midtown to discuss how local restaurants are using social media and the impact it has had on their business. Ashlee Gadd (@AshleeGadd), PR Manager for The Citizen Hotel and Grange, moderated the panel which included local restaurateurs, social media managers, and a representative from Yelp,

The discussion got off to a speedy start exploring which platforms each panelist mostly used, and the consensus was without surprise, Twitter and Facebook. The major differences panelists found in using these two social networks is that with Facebook, most fans have actually been to the restaurant and show more of a true consumer following, while many Twitter followers have never been to the restaurant but may be interested in upcoming events or specials. Karyn Wong, owner of Chick-fil-A in Arden Fair (@cfaArdenFair) mentioned that they have had a positive reaction by using deals on Foursquare. Although not every restaurant uses the deals, many of the panelists agreed that Foursquare has had a positive impact on their business.

When the topic of half off/daily deals arose, Andrea Lepore, co-owner of Hot Italian (@HotItalianPizza) was quick to point out that they have never used a daily deal, and don’t plan to. Some feel it devalues the image of the restaurant while others feel it gets the word out about the business. When addressing how social media played a role in each company’s overall marketing strategy, Gina Funk Nelson, Social Media Manager for Selland Group, which includes Selland’s Market-Cafe, Ella Dining & Bar and The Kitchen Restaurant (@SellandFamily), said they have pulled back on radio advertisements and other traditional marketing strategies due to the long term outreach and engagement strategy of social media. Other panelists have done the same. While balance is still needed between multiple channels, social media may seem to have the upper hand.

While not everyone may use Yelp to rate and review their dining experience, there are many Sacramentans that use it on a regular basis. Mike Costello, owner of the recently closed Brew It Up (@brewitup_sacto) noted that reviews appeared to only be written by those who had an extreme positive or negative experience, but not those in between. Alex Lane, Sacramento Community Manager for Yelp (@yelpsacramento), said that 83% of reviews are positive and the negative reviews are a reflection of overselling and bad experiences. A way to combat those negative reviews is for the restaurants to respond and examine the situation to see if it can be resolved and maybe even turn out a new positive review. While it’s difficult to imagine a restaurant could only have one type of review, most of the panelists agreed that every review should be used as potentially constructive criticism, and not be taken personally. Whether that’s actually done, is up to the restaurant.

Mona Romero, Social Media Director of The Sacramento Press (@SacramentoPress) said that Facebook ads have proved beneficial for the restaurants she works with. She recommends paying the minimum ad fee in the beginning and see where it gets you adjusting, if needed. She suggested using Google Alerts and the Twitter search bar to see what consumers are saying about your restaurant.

There is no doubt that operating a restaurant in a down economy can be difficult—and quite frustrating. What these local Sacramento restaurateurs have taught us is that connecting with the community through social media can not only increase sales, but it can build relationships as well. Social media is not an exact science and it does take time and finesse to really leverage it, but it can be extremely beneficial nonetheless.

In the traditional Social Media Club Sacramento fashion, panelists and attendees continued the conversation after the moderated discussion ended, enjoying food and wine from local businesses. David Cole from James David Cellars (@jamesdavidwine) poured wine and Chick-Fil-A and Hot Italian supplied the appetizers.

The next Social Media Club event will be on September 13th discussing LinkedIn for Business held at Drexel University.

If you would like to learn more about social media and its impact on various topics and industries, visit the Sacramento Social Media Club on Facebook or Twitter.

Disclosure: Kelsey Jacoby is on the Leadership Team for Social Media Club Sacramento

Twitter co-founder to help introduce Perspectives’ new format

2011-07-22T00:03:19Z

A speaker lineup to include Twitter co-founder Biz Stone kicks off the new format for Perspectives 2011, offering more businesspeople the opportunity to attend the region’s premier annual speakers forum.

“As with so many things these days, it’s not business as usual,” said Sacramento Metro Chamber Vice Chair of Events and Sponsorships Kathy McKim of AT&T. “We wiped the slate clean and started over—re-designing a program from the ground up that will meet the needs of more businesspeople and provide a greater networking and educational experience. We are especially thrilled to have Biz Stone in our lineup this year for this reason.”

Over the last decade, Stone has been instrumental in crafting the new world of social media. Best known as co-founder of Twitter, Stone started off as an Internet entrepreneur, went on to work for Google and is now an advisor on AOL’s philanthropic strategy.

Named one of the “Most Influential People in the World” by TIME and “Entrepreneur of the Decade” by Inc., Stone has now co-founded The Obvious Corporation with long-time collaborators Evan Williams and Jason Goldman to focus on building systems to help people work together to improve the world. The next Perspectives speaker will be announced July 28.

Produced by the Metro Chamber, Perspectives is set for Friday, Sept 23 at the Sacramento Convention Center. The event will run 8 a.m. to noon, immediately following the VIP sponsor breakfast. Power Lunch opportunities at participating member restaurants will be available to all attendees following the program.

“Responding to members’ requests, we’ve compressed the event to a half-day, with three speakers in the lineup,” McKim explained. “This way, individuals don’t have to lose an entire day out of the office. In addition, a new pricing structure brings the cost of attending down.” Individual Perspectives tickets start at just $99.

Perspectives continues to offer exclusive opportunities for hosting prospects, clients and employees in a VIP setting. Sponsor packages start at $2,500 and can include a pre-event networking reception attended by Perspective speakers and a day-of VIP breakfast. “Businesses who need networking and hosting opportunities will find a Perspectives sponsorship level to fit their needs,” McKim said.

Since its founding in 1995, Perspectives has hosted more than 90 of the world’s most influential individuals who share their personal views on world affairs and current events. Past speakers include Condoleezza Rice, Mikhail Gorbachev, Guy Kawasaki, John Glenn, Margaret Thatcher, Sugar Ray Leonard and Elizabeth Dole.

For more details and purchase tickets, visit metrochamber.org/perspectives or call 916-444-1919.

Disclosure: Hal Silliman is communications director for the Sacramento Metro Chamber.

Brands are listening to Mommy Bloggers, are you?

2011-07-07T23:26:47Z

What or whom are you influenced by when you are looking for a new product? It might be commercials, television shows, or maybe if you are like millions of other people around the world, you are influenced by bloggers. Gone are the days when you only read ads in the Sunday newspaper, or watch commercials on the television. Today many of us are being swayed commercially by social media, the internet, and other digital mediums.

In fact, according to Marketing Charts.com, nearly 50% of blog readers say they purchase products mentioned in the blogs they read on a daily basis. That is quite powerful when you put it in perspective. So what about here locally? What kind of power and influence do bloggers, in particular mommy bloggers--tech savvy, create your own opportunity, kind of moms--have over the Capital City?

Nichole, a mommy blogger with inthesesmallmoments.com says she’s had readers share with her that they bought items she mentioned on her blog and goes on to say, "When I write about a product on my blog, it is a product that I believe in and use myself.” It is safe to say, that in general, readers of blogs trust the author’s insight and opinion and therefore those authors can and DO influence the purchasing habits of like-minded consumers.

Dr. Melissa Arca, author of Confessions of a Dr. Mom, uses her blog to provide helpful parenting tips and children’s health advice to her readers. Nikki Medoro, reporter for KFBK and mom extraordinaire, uses her blog, Mama On The Mic, to talk about the trials and triumphs of mommyhood, as well as the balancing act she faces as a working mom. Marketing professionals consider these moms to be key influencers of consumer purchases. Companies that typically turn to mom bloggers for advertising include toy makers, makers of children’s apparel and accessories, packaged food companies, and even car makers. This circle of women can help shape what kinds of products other mothers are buying and because of that influence, corporations are seeking the power of the mommy blogger to promote their products.

Business owners and marketers, don’t count these ladies out, as they are an integral segment of social media and when approached properly, can offer better results than many other marketing techniques out there.

If you are interested in learning more about this phenomenon, Social Media Club Sacramento (SMCSac) is hosting a mommy blogger panel discussion on July 12 from 6:30-9:00 pm at The Urban Hive in Sacramento. The panel, moderated by Meghan Phillips, principle and marketing director for The Honey Agency, features the bloggers from these popular blogs: Confessions of a Dr. Mom, From Dates to Diapers, Momma On The Mic, Raising CEO Kids, and Read Between the Limes. “While this discussion will certainly appeal to moms and parents,” explained Laura Good, executive director of SMCSac, “it will also be an informative session for businesses who have not yet tapped into the marketing potential of mommy blogger influence.” For more information on this free event, visit the event registration page, Social Media and Motherhood in Sacramento

Disclosure: Erin Haight is a freelance journalist and a volunteer for Social Media Club Sacramento

Twitter, trunk of the tree for #HereWeBuild

2011-06-10T07:12:58Z

What began with an adult beverage and a frustrated Twitter post quickly led to a series of grassroots efforts to keep the Kings in Sacramento.

Radio personality Carmichael Dave, founder of #HereWeBuild, was relaxing in his backyard when he discovered that the Anaheim City Council had voted to pursue efforts to bring the Sacramento Kings to Anaheim.

“I thought this is frustrating and I’m ticked off and I want to let people know,” Carmichael Dave said. “So I tweeted out, ‘Carmichael Dave votes one-to-nothing to issue $200 into a fund to build a new arena. Whose with me?’”

Then the explosion happened which soon resulted in the HereWeBuild, HereWeStay and SacDeflated.com campaigns, and their spinoff campaigns HereWeSit and HereWePurple.

Founders of the movements spoke Thursday evening at the Sacramento Social Media Club #HereWeMeme event at The Citizen Hotel in Sacramento.

“Meme is basically a trend associated with something happening on the internet,” Laura Good, executive director of the club, said. “We wanted this event to focus on just that.”

Approximately 150 social media enthusiasts and Kings fans attended the event where they heard the stories of the major contributors to the campaigns, and learned how to apply similar strategies.

“We were just a bunch of regular people who saw what was happening and wanted to do something,” Carmichael Dave said.

Event panelist and blogger James Ham said the success of their campaigns couldn’t have been accomplished without the efforts of everyone involved.

“No matter what we did, we did it together,” Ham said. “We didn’t model our plan after anything, we just knew something bad was going to happen if we didn’t do something.”

With the help of their efforts leveraging on blogs, digital billboards and Twitter, enough public pressure was built in the community to result in the Kings staying in Sacramento for another year.

Matt Graham, marketing and fleet director for Jiffy Lube, followed the progression of Carmichael Dave’s tweets and the many pledges by the community in the first few hours. Graham quickly knew he had to act, pledging to be a major financial contributor to the HereWeBuild campaign.

“I felt that (pledging) was the only way to continue the voice and the passion of the efforts,” Graham said. “While we acted nimble and quickly, we were not prepared. But sometimes you just need to react, so that’s what we did.”

To watch the video of the event, visit http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/15279047.

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About the author: Brittany Wesely is a member of the all-volunteer leadership team for the Sacramento Social Media Club. To find out more about her, visit her website or follow her on Twitter @brittanywesely.

What is Social Networking Really Worth?

2011-05-28T00:47:29Z

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 the bigger brands and enterprises, and everybody who’s anybody uses Google Analytics. Regardless of whether your business is big or small, the fact of the matter is that different people will want to track different metrics based on what their overall goals are.

For example, let’s say you wanted to see if your social media presence was getting you more sales. You would have to track the amount of money and/or time you’re investing in your online networking, and simultaneously track the amount of sales your accruing, then compare the numbers to see if there is an increase in sales or not. If the increase in sales is unsubstantial or nonexistent, then maybe social media isn’t the right marketing tool for you!

If you find yourself in a lost-cause situation, the whole panel agreed that you should own up to your mistakes. Be open, transparent, and completely honest with the people who actually did invest time and effort in your endeavors. If you do that, you have the potential to mend what damage you’ve done, and maybe even come out on top.

But how do you measure whether or not you’ve come out on top? It’s true that not all of the benefits social media offers can be directly linked to financial gain. A lot of the benefits lie in the idea that you’re building a brand while simultaneously building a strong relationship with your customers. The goal in many cases is not necessarily higher sales, but greater interaction between you and your fans. Hilliker explained the 90:9:1 rule: 90% of your followers are just lurking about, 9% will pop in and contribute every now and again, and 1% are super-evangelist-advocates for your cause. Success can be found by moving some lurkers into that top 10%, and getting real conversations going.

Conversations are fantastic for helping out your brand, but at the end of the day marketing is about whether or not a dollar changed hands, says Fowler. Let’s face it; social media is not the end-all-be-all of marketing techniques. It certainly can play an integral role in connecting with your fans and broadening your base, but it should be part of a larger strategy. Just because social media offers a lot of promise doesn’t mean you should completely abandon the pursuit of more traditional techniques; there are probably some pretty good reasons why such successful brands still use them. But as Bean points out, "Twitter is like the new dial tone" - you're expected to be there.

Click here to watch the whole Sacramento Social Media Club panel discussion.

Local artist features Kings faithful in 'Be Heard' mural

2011-05-17T03:30:59Z

Hundreds of Sacramento locals gathered at the corner of J and 20th streets in Midtown Sacramento late Saturday afternoon as world-renowned performance painter David Garibaldi showed appreciation for Kings fans by featuring them in his “Be Heard” mural.

Garibaldi requested photos of fans via Facebook and Twitter last week, and he chose 10 of the photos to display on his massive mural.

“I’ve never done anything quite like this,” said the Sacramento artist. “I was honored to give something back to the Kings fans, who are the ones responsible for the team staying in Sacramento.”

DJ Joseph One’s music echoed off the buildings and through the streets as crowds of people watched in awe and gossiped amongst each other over Garibaldi’s newest piece.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about him and have seen a couple videos, but this is the first time I have had a chance to see him in person,” said Kings fan Greg Maurantonio. “It was truly amazing to watch his idea unfold from start to finish.”

One of the lucky fans chosen to be displayed was Jarrad Hicks, who posted photos of himself, his mother and his uncle on Facebook on Friday.

“It really looks like me,” Hicks raved. “David called me a few hours ago and left a voicemail asking if it would be okay with me if he used my photo. By the time I called him back it was already 4:00, so I was happy he put me up there.”

Duane Hicks, Jarrad’s uncle, was also chosen and appears just below his nephew on the mural.

As Garibaldi finished his tenth and final portrait, he got on the microphone and asked fans to gather close as he put the finishing touches on the mural. “Be Heard,” the phrase that has gained praise through Twitter over the last few months, was spray-painted over the center of the group of portraits. Fans cheered as Garibaldi signed his finished piece and greeted a group of media to talk about his latest work.

Maloof Sports and Entertainment employees and Sacramento Kings ticket representatives were also onsite giving away “Be Heard” paraphernalia. Fans had the chance to ask questions first-hand and were encouraged to put down $100 deposit for 2011-2012 season tickets.

Garibaldi has performed at numerous venues and events over the last five years. He was invited to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in July, 2006 where he painted a portrait of Mick Jagger. In September of 2008, he opened for the Blue Man Group’s tour in Canada and the United States. He also opened for Snoop Dogg during halftime at a Golden State Warriors game in November of 2007.

The Sacramento native and life-long Kings fan was honored to give something back to the community.

“I was contacted by the Kings and was asked if I would want to paint something, and of course I said yes.” Garibaldi said. “I wanted to paint something to show the diversity of the city, and I wanted each portrait to be distinctive.”

The last couple of weeks have given Kings supporters hope after fearing the loss of their beloved team since the closing weeks of the season. Starting on May 3 with Mayor Kevin Johnson’s announcement that the Kings would be staying in Sacramento, followed by the “Here We Rally” gathering last Tuesday in Cesar Chavez Park, Garibaldi’s performance capped off one of the happiest stretches in recent memory for Kings fans. No doubt the fans have been heard and will be reminded each time they pass the corner of J and 20th.

Is Social Media Making the World a Better Place?

2011-05-16T16:37:02Z

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 even related to the uprisings or is it just hype; (2) the two possible futures of the internet; and (3) the responsibilities of internet-based companies moving as they expand.

A writer at Mother Jones once said, “Twitter bears about as much responsibility for the Egyptian uprising as George Soros, Mrs. O’leary’s cow, and the flying spaghetti monster.” However, Martin Luther was able to fully vet his concerns on a singular piece of parchment, subsequently creating an entire religion with the use of the printing press (an early communications technology). And when there have been rumors of rebellion, dictators have commonly flipped the internet “kill switch” in the hopes of quelling their peoples. Now there are a multitude of options undermining the efficacy of “kill switches,” and social media platforms can still reach the rest of the world despite these efforts. Just the idea that the internet is one of the first things targeted at the beginning of a rebellion should be indication enough that it plays a key role in removing a dictator from power.

As Professor Chander sees it, there are two potential ways this internet expansion can go: the perfection of a “surveillance state” or the perfection of a “global sphere of rational discourse.” The first option, while possible, is looking more and more unlikely. Social media is pushing the world toward option two, where everyone everywhere has access to real-time on-the-ground information from around the world. This has been the case in several instances in the recent past, and hopefully will continue and expand as we move forward.

As the companies who run these websites move forward, what should be the guiding principle of their business strategies? In the past, it has been the maximization of shareholder wealth. Companies are increasingly worried about their public image in an age of increased transparency, and so the at-all-costs method of increasing wealth may not work for much longer. Now companies are more likely to be moralistic in their decision-making, and make efforts to be seen as improving the communities in which they operate. Not to worry, shareholders – you’re still number one, but society will now come in at a much closer second place.

Professor Chander closed with some Q&A, and then, as is the tradition of the Sacramento Social Media Club, a door prize raffle was held. Door prizes are donated by local businesses and organizations and the prizes included free California Museum annual memberships and Jiffylube gift certificates.

The Social Media Club will be hosting their next event this Tuesday, May 17th at The Urban Hive beginning at 6:30 pm. "Social Media ROI: Is it Measurable?" will feature a panel of social media experts who will weigh in on best practices and new methods of measurement. For more information or to register for this event, click here.

About Sacramento Social Media Club
The Sacramento chapter of the Social Media Club is part of an international organization of more than 100 active chapters around the globe hosting conversations that explore key issues facing our society as technologies transform the way we connect, communicate, collaborate and relate to each other. Founded in April of 2009, Sacramento Social Media Club (SMCSac) has become the centerpiece for regional gatherings surrounding the subject of social media. SMCSac is devoted to expanding media literacy, sharing lessons among social media practitioners, encouraging adoption of industry standards and promoting ethical practices though discussion and actions. Additional information about the Sacramento Chapter and upcoming events is available at http://www.facebook.com/SMCSAC.

Beta no more

2011-04-21T18:39:43Z

It’s been nearly two and half years since we launched The Sacramento Press, and today we released a few changes (more than just the temporary purple color), one of which is removing the beta stamp from our navigation.

What is a beta stamp, you ask? Well, since you can no longer see it on our site, I grabbed this screenshot of what it used to look like.

Beta generally indicates that a company is still working out the kinks in their core product. But we finally are happy to say we feel pretty happy with what we have, so no more beta!

Does this mean we stop working on new features? Absolutely not. We will in fact bring new and increasingly cool features to The Sacramento Press over the course of this year and beyond.

To that point our co-founder and VP of technology Joel Rosenberg has assembled this quick overview of what else will see changed on our site as of today.

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Highlighting the Comments of an Article's Author

An article author's comments will now stand out in the conversation. This allows readers to quickly know when the writer may be providing greater detail, correcting a mistake, or just jumping into the action.

No more "107 Weeks Ago"

We're changing how we show the age of comments and articles in search results and lists. Currently, we show how old an article is in terms of minutes, hours, days, and weeks. Now we'll be removing weeks, adding months and showing the year and month an article or comment was published if it's more than a year old.

Facebook and Twitter links

We now promote our official Facebook and Twitter account at the top of every page.

Curated front page RSS feeds

We're adding RSS feeds for all laid-out front pages (and tag pages). This allows us to have a feed that represents curated content that is changed daily. We can give these feeds to third parties knowing that spammy or offensive articles won't show up and surprise us.

Trimming down RSS entries when things change

When we have to fix a typo in an article or when a user updates his comment, some RSS readers will often add a new entry instead of updating the old one. This change will help RSS software see changes as updates to old entries, not new entries.

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So there you go, lots of new stuff to play with. In the coming weeks, look for even more changes such as video and audio on our homepage and even more exciting features.

Best of the West

2011-04-14T18:05:23Z

The Sacramento Kings Dance Team won NBA Best of the West due to social media. Check out my interview with Jennifer & Katie!

Check out my video -

One man, one tweet leads to avalanche of support, #Here We Build

2011-04-01T05:30:37Z

In between cheering, yelling and annoying the apathetic, so-called fan in Row F, Section 107, Seat 17 during the Kings game on Tuesday evening, I was caught up on my tweets when I saw that KHTK 1140 personality Carmichael Dave posed a question via Twitter (@CarmichaelDave) asking folks how much they would pitch in, not necessarily to save the Kings, but to show the Kings and the city how much the community really does want this NBA franchise to stay in town by building a new sports and entertainment complex.

Shortly after scolding the lady next to me for reading a book during free throws, she abruptly nudged me and wondered aloud why was it okay then, for me, to be reading my Twitter feed.

I immediately sat upright in my plastic chair and embarrassingly told her she was right but that I couldn’t stop. I had stumbled onto something with the potential for greatness. This is what “Social Media” was invented for I told her.

Carmichael Dave cried out with a passionate plea upon hearing about the 5-0 vote by the Anaheim City Council to approve $75 million worth of bonds to improve the aging Honda Center in an effort to lure our hometown Kings to southern California.

"How much would you give to keep the Kings?"

“I said that Carmichael Dave,” said Dave, when recapping his initial "tweets" on the subject, “has voted 1-0 to donate $200 towards building a new arena in Sacramento."

"Wouldn’t it be great if we could just bypass all the bureaucratic, red-tape-filled politicians in this city and have the Kings fans and city fans, because it’s not just about the Kings, what if we could “pass the hat” like in a church and build this thing on our own and come up with the money and tell all the politicians to get bent?”

Dave had no idea what was about to happen.

“The next thing you know," Dave continued, "someone donated $50, then somebody donated $100, then somebody donated $5.35 because they are a college student and they’re poor and then it just took off. We got the hash tag going called #HereWeBuild and off it went”

Back to the game. So I start filling in the bookworm lady next to me about this crazy movement. It even brought a moment of hope to her previously heart-broken eyes knowing that people like her still cared that much.

As I rolled a little more through Twitter on my iPhone, I saw where some guy that has something to do with the local Jiffy Lubes had pledged $25,000! Really? $25,000!!!

Okay, now we’re breaking out the big lumber.

Matt Graham, the marketing director for 25 Jiffy Lubes in the greater Sacramento area, was watching his Twitter feed and felt compelled to be a part of something grassroots.

Being a corporate sponsor of the Kings this season and understanding that many of his customers and employees are big fans of the Kings as well as professional sports, he just wanted to help get this movement rolling.

“We felt a substantial amount would have an impact,” said Graham, “as well as maybe getting other local businesses or high network people to join in and see what we can make out of it.”

“You could see all the passion in the Twitter feeds and as it started to gain momentum, in my mind I thought, well, I’ll donate a $1000 for every store we have in the area, so that’s how I came up with $25,000. After talking to Carmichael Dave, we decided if we could do something to either: A) save the Kings or B) make a statement for any other professional sports team’s owners out there to go ‘Wow!, there is definitely passion and a fan base out there and we’ll look at Sacramento in the future.'”

After seeing the $25K drop, Carmichael Dave said it was starting to play out in his mind like a dream Hollywood movie ending with the community coming together and saving this team. Was there still time for the guy in the white hat to come riding in and do something? What if with his 140 words or less he was able to start something that made a difference? Something that people could really get behind?

In just over the time it took to play an average basketball game, a guy with a Twitter account and the people who “retweeted” his original plea, raised over 100 thousand dollars in pledges to build a new arena in hopes that the Kings would stay in town.

Talk about the power of the tweet! Eat your heart out Charlie Sheen!

With the help of Jiffy Lubes of Sacramento and Matt Graham, by Wednesday morning, less than eight hours after the first tweet, there were five HERE WE BUILD electronic billboards up in the area.

Dave knows as this movement grows, he will need guidance and support from people with much more knowledge and more connections than himself to keep the movement rolling.

“I’ll be spearheading this at the beginning, but I can’t wait to step out of the way and let the smart people get involved," he said. "This thing is going to be twice as big tomorrow and ten times bigger the next day. I’ve had several calls, some unbelievable calls from a lot of heavyweights who are much smarter than I, who are much more connected and powerful than I saying that they want to be a part of this. We have been looking for a catalyst. Maybe we have the brains, maybe we have the brawn but we don’t have the public wherewithal to PR this thing through. That’s really what I want to do.”

Dave’s not sure how much money it would really take to get someone’s attention, but he does know what he is going to do next.

“I want to get in front of the smart people and say, ‘I have a nation of fans standing behind me right now with their wallets and their blood, sweat and tears held out in front of them.’”

Now how could you say no to that.

At least the lady seated next to me during the game has something more uplifting to read today other than that cheesy romance novel.

CHECK THIS OUT

In less than 48 hours after Carmichael Dave's first tweet, the Here We Build movement had over $250,000 pledged. For more information regarding making a pledge, upcoming meetings and all things concerning building an arena and keeping our Sacramento Kings in our community, check out HERE WE BUILD on their F acebook site, their Meetup.com site or the HereWeBuild.com website. Carmichael Dave is the producer/punching bag for The Don Geronimo Show, weekdays from noon to 4pm on KHTK 1140.

The Bee, Sac Press present 'Table Talk Sacramento' April 13

2011-03-23T19:01:04Z

Do you love talking about food? Do you flip to the food section of the newspaper before even reading the front page? Is a trip to the grocery store an excursion? For all you foodies, bloggers and lovers of Sacramento’s restaurants and food: The Sacramento Bee and The Sacramento Press have teamed up to bring you “Table Talk Sacramento: The region’s food community comes together for an evening of lively discussion.”

There will be two panels addressing different topics, including “What Sacramentans Eat” and the quality of local food writing.

Chris Macias will moderate the food writing panel. Macias has served as the Bee’s food and wine writer since 2008. The panelists include:

Niesha Lofing, who writes food and family stories for the Bee as well as a parenting column, Mom.me.
Catherine Enfield, a state worker by day and a local food blogger by night – or whenever she can sneak away to a computer. She is also a food truck advocate and co-organizer of the SactoMoFo mobile food festival scheduled for April 30.
Micah Rousey, who eats out at least five times per week and shares his experience on Yelp. He has contributed dozens of restaurant reviews and been named a member of the “Yelp Elite Squad.”

Allen Pierleoni will moderate the second panel, “What Sacramentans Eat,” which will cover local food trends. This panel consists of:

Rick Mindermann, an internationally known grocer and wine merchant and store director of Corti Bros. Market. He has 34 years in the food and wine business and acts as a personal assistant to Darrell Corti, who has been called “the man who knows the most about food and wine in the world.”
John Paul Khoury, the corporate chef for Preferred Meats, Inc., a premium meat company in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a focus on sustainable husbandry and smaller farm operations. He is also certified as a chef de cuisine with the American Culinary Federation.
Kelly McCown, the executive chef at Ella restaurant and a 1990 graduate of the California Culinary Academy. He was worked in the kitchens of Martini House, Flying Fish, Fleur de Lys, Hayes Street Grill and others, and he has been named “a rising star” and “top young chef” by several magazines, including Bon Appetit and Japanese GQ.

“Table Talk” will be at The Sacramento Bee, 2100 Q St., at 6 p.m. April 13. Source Global Tapas will provide light snacks.

The event will be live-tweeted by @sacramentopress using the hashtag #SacTableTalk.

The event is free, but registration is required. If you do not register, you will not be allowed to enter. Registration is limited to 160. To sign up for “Table Talk,” click here.

Come join the conversation as we discuss Sacramento’s rich food and restaurant culture.

FOX40 Reporter Plays Cruel Prank On Kings Fans Through Twitter

2011-03-10T08:25:07Z

Since it was first reported on radio station KFBK in January, the city has been waiting on pins and needles for an announcement from the National Basketball Association or the Maloof Family surrounding the fate of the much beloved Sacramento Kings.

Two months have passed since KFBK's Rob McAllister reported the Maloofs were debating whether or not to move the Kings to Anaheim -- news that upset Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson and put plans on building a new arena within the city in limbo.

The game of "Will they, won't they?" has been unbearable between city officials, sports fans and the talking heads of Sacramento television and radio, but it seemed as if an answer had finally arrived ~~Thursday~~ Wednesday evening from a news organization that touts itself as the leader in sports news.

Veteran sports director Jim Crandell with FOX affiliate KTXL sent out a tweet around 9pm ~~Thursday~~ Wednesday that had many Kings fans fearing the worse.

"Coming up in my show at 10PM, David Stern makes the announcement no Kings (fan) wants to hear," Crandell tweeted.

~~Thursday's~~ Wednesday's late night newscast on KTXL opened with Crandell saying he "felt everybody's pain," then playing an archival clip from 1985 in which NBA commissioner David Stern announced the arrival of the Kings from Kansas City ~~Louisville~~ to Sacramento.

The clip was followed by Crandell introducing a clip of "another announcement" in which Stern's original words were dubbed over by a FOX40 photographer, this time making it appear as if Stern was sending the Kings to Anaheim.

"If you don't laugh, you'll cry," Crandell said after the doctored video played.

Not the announcement most were expecting to hear.

"You know what the Kings mean to us," Juan Primo wrote on Twitter following the prank. "This isn't the time to be 'cute and lighthearted.'"

"You seriously owe the city an apology for that BS you pulled tonight," a Twitter user by the name of "LocalStreetHero" wrote.

Crandell seemed to shrug off the criticism following the late night newscast.

"You are one mad dude," Crandell wrote to an angry Twitter follower. "Sorry you got so upset. Thankfully, most people took it in the spirit it was intended."

Crandell has served as KTXL's sports director since 1984 and is one of Sacramento's most-veteran news personalities.

---

Matthew Keys is a freelance journalist and former online news producer for KTXL FOX40 Sacramento. He can be reached at mail@matthewkeys.net.

Social Networking "In-Real-Life"

2011-02-21T02:19:12Z

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, they are thinking not about you, but about their revenue stream." Paul suggests checking your facebook privacy settings regularly to make sure they're still to your liking. He also recommends creating friends lists to take advantage of facebook privacy granules, especially if you have a boss who likes to critique your facebook activity.

Lanette Capellas, Staffing Director for The Agate Group, then discussed social media from an HR perspective. Layoffs are increasingly due to social networking negligence, and an overzealous willingness to share. One of her main points: think before you post. Is venting about a bad day at work worth losing your job over? Lanette thinks not, and most are likely to agree. If your fingertips get the better of you and you end up saying something you regret, thank goodness you took Paul's advice and already divvied up the permissions on your friends list.

Feel like your friends list isn't long enough to divvy up? Not to worry, "strangers are friendships waiting to happen," says Laura Good, executive director of Social Media Club Sacramento. Sacramento twitter use is ranked fourth in the nation. Utilize that to your advantage and engage people on social networks in order to realize the real-world potential of a virtual friendship. You can also use hashtags (e.g. #smcsac or #sacbeerweek) to find events going on around town. Laura also recommended MeetUp and Couchsurfing for connecting with like-minded people in town

If you just spent Valentines Day hopping from venue to venue and you still couldn't find your sweetheart, maybe an online dating site should be your next stop. MetroSpark.net is a locally based internet dating site that provides personally tailored classes to help your outward presentation match your inner self. Amar Dhariwal, founder and current CEO of the site, also discussed an array of other online dating sites and even the new generation of mobile dating apps that include geolocators for singles out on the town.

The night concluded with a raffle; the prizes included tickets to B Street Theater, Esquire IMAX, the Sacramento Zoo, California Lecture Series, de Vere's St. Patrick's Day in the Park, and the Sacramento Kings vs Clippers game. Food and beverages provided by Chick-Fil-A Arden Fair and The Sacramento Press made the after party all the better. You may watch the video of the presentation on the Sacramento Social Media Club's uSteam channel. “Like” their Facebook page to stay tuned in for information on future events. The club is also active on Twitter.

Sacramento Facebookers racing to win $100,000 grant to fight hunger

2010-12-30T03:50:47Z

As part of its 2010 Holiday campaign focused on fighting hunger, Walmart launched a Facebook campaign that invites fans to select the communities that will receive $1.5 million in grants. By visiting the campaign website and "liking" a community via their Facebook account, people influence which communities will receive the funds. The community with the most "likes" will receive $1 million to fight hunger; the next 5 highest scoring communities will receive $100,000 each.

Why is this news? Because Sacramento is in now in 6th place which earns a $100,000 grant! With less than 48 hours remaining in the race, Sacramento's social media influencers are campaigning to keep Sacramento in 6th place or better.

Using social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, the word is spreading rapidly throughout the region. An event on Facebook has even been created to help people tell all of their Facebook friends about the campaign.

Unlike other social media campaigns that only focus on raising awareness about issues, this campaign awards grant money to the top 7 regions. Fresno, which has a significant lead over all the other regions, is likely to win the $1 million grant and Bakersfield and Sacramento are currently in 5th & 6th place which earns grant awards of $100,000 each. However, Sacramento, Grand Rapids and Charleston are running a very tight race, currently in 6th, 7th & 8th places respectively. Sacramento will need to increase its social media efforts to hold 6th place.

Sacramento Press readers can help the campaign by visiting the website and "liking" our region. Anyone who has a Facebook account can participate. There is no charge to "Like" or vote; just click on the community of your choice. You do not need to "Like" Walmart in order to participate The campaign ends on 12/31/2010 at midnight EST.

Nirvana bassist talks politics, social networking

2010-09-25T00:42:53Z

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 he was fighting censorship in music,” said David Martin, a criminal justice major at Sacramento State. “I’m also a Libertarian and thought we might have some common ground. I'm open to anything and interested to see what his views are."

Account manager Stephanie Stern was simply curious: “I’m 29, and Nirvana was huge to me growing up. To be able to see Krist is pretty cool.”

Over the course of two hours, Novoselic touched on several topics, one of which was his past experience with music censorship.

“It was up to the band and artists to challenge that,” he said. “You would have to go to court and say ‘No, (the Nirvana song) “Rape Me” wasn’t about being raped, it was about being violated. It’s open to interpretation.’ ”

A large part of his lecture was devoted to talking about the possibilities of social networks to shape the political future and how social networking fuels political association.

He cited some fundraising examples, like Howard Dean’s pioneer 2004 presidential campaign fundraising of around $50 million dollars from largely small donations over the Internet, and the most recent fundraising of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, which refined and built upon Dean’s campaign’s model and raised more than $650 million dollars, bypassing public campaign funds and raising all of its money privately from individual donors through channels like social networking.

When asked about his personal views on social networking, Novoselic said he likes that he’s able to connect with people who he thinks are compelling, but is frustrated by the lack of humanity – the anonymity, the hot-headed spammer. He does not have a Facebook page (“It’s too much work.”)

He also shared his idea of creating a new political party with social networking components, which he calls the Rock Party, because he likes rock music. The new party would have its feet firmly planted in the 21st century, he said, and members would participate in things like creating policy and platform by blogging and “liking” a resolution, as in the “like” button on Facebook. The Rock Party would also feature free music downloads, Novoselic said, but he did not elaborate.

After the lecture Novoselic took questions from the audience, and some Nirvana fans were ready with questions like “What was it like working with Kurt Cobain?”

The admiration of Cobain by Novoselic was apparent. “Kurt Cobain was a true artist, he was compelled to be an artist. His apartment was a mess," said Novoselic, explaining the type of unique person Cobain was by describing his living space. "He was not compelled to clean up, or to wash the dishes; he was compelled to write songs. He was a genuine artist, a true-blue artist.”

After the Q-and-A, Novoselic came off stage and stayed to sign autographs and pose for photos with the many people who crowded around to meet him, several of whom had brought bass guitars for him to sign. He was very friendly and accommodated everyone.

“(The lecture) was excellent,” said Max, a teaching student at Sacramento State who had brought his bass for Novoselic to sign. “The guy is a living legend, and it’s great that he is reaching out to the current generation.”

At the end of the night, those in attendance were treated to interesting discourse on the role that social networking plays in political association and political reform, as well as connect on a lighter note with a member of one of the most popular bands of all time.

Novoselic’s favorite Nirvana song? “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” he said, naming the band’s first and biggest hit, widely regarded as one of the greatest rock songs of all time. “It bought my first house.”

Photos: Steven Chea

The Job Search According to Facebook and Twitter

2010-05-25T20:08:57Z

It was testimony to the tenuous state of the Sacramento job market that a full house attended the Sacramento Social Media Club’s May event, “Putting Social Media to Work: leveraging social networking tools to find and fill jobs.” The panel discussion, held at the Urban Hive last week, featured four local professionals speaking of their experiences and expertise using social media to implement and accelerate job searches.

The overall message of the four speakers was that social media--Twitter, Facebook and the like--have the potential to vastly broaden the parameters of a job and/or employee search.

Speaking from one side of the hiring table was Curt Cetraro, CEO of ConnectPoint Search Group, a local recruiting firm that enables companies to establish an employment brand in social media, track applicants, and increase internal recruiting efficiencies. Curt uses his expertise in that regard by offering a free seminar series to help job seekers increase their job effectiveness, and he brought a number of elements of that series to the discussion Tuesday night. He spoke of the need to target one’s goal in the search as well as the ways social media can be used while you’re still employed to research what you want to do next.

On the other side of the hiring table was Natalie Paulsen, Director of Business Development for 3Fold Communications. Although she loved the job she had, Natalie saw a greater future in social media and wanted to work for a company that was effectively using it. So she quit her job and applied her well-honed face-to-face networking skills to social media in finding a new one. “I targeted the companies that I was interested in and then applied networking principles to Facebook and Twitter.” She friended the decisionmakers at those companies and over time established a connection with them. By the time Natalie interviewed with the prospective companies, she had established her identity and her persona with them. “They knew who I was and they were happy to see me,” she says.

Christina Rogers is a career counselor and owner of Angeles Career Consulting, LLC. One of the aspects of using social media to find work that she discussed came from the workbooks, guides, and curriculum that she has developed for schools throughout California. Specifically, Christina spoke to the issues inherent in presenting oneself online as a job seeker. “Your followers and friends are your network. Ask them for their opinion of your social media presence. What does your brand look like?”

The fourth member of the panel was Helen Scully, president of Scully Career Associates, a Nationally Certified Career Counselor and corporate trainer as well as the author of Elevations®, an online career assessment tool. Helen advised job seekers to not target the latest trend in employment, but to go for one’s passion. “To find your future, you are the most reliable element in your job search...and that requires analyzing your social media presence so that it is in sync with your job search.”

The panelists spoke of how best to come across while using social media. Helen Scully, who tweets from @careertests where she sharies tips regarding jobs, career changes and the workplace, talked of the importance of creating a consistent voice on all your social media forays. Natalie Paulsen echoed that, “You can create a personality in 140 characters. My personality on-line is pretty much who I am.”

As far as what not to do when using social media tools in the job search arena, Curt Cetraro had this to say: “Keep your social media presence current. When you don’t update your Facebook page, for example, that raises questions about you in the employers mind that you don’t want them to have.” And Helen Scully added, “Don’t sit on the side of the swimming pool. People don’t think they know enough to qualify for a particular job and that’s often a big mistake. Jump in.”

The monthly events that the Sacramento Social Media Club presents are part informational and part networking. To that end, in addition to socializing over light refreshments before and after the panel, there was a SMCSac Tweetup Afterparty at the Lounge ON20. Next month's topic will be Social Media and Music.

photo credits: April Irene Fredrikson

My First Visit to Sacramento Press!

2010-05-25T03:59:35Z

As a social activist in support of humane rights I first heard about Sacramento Press online via Twitter. Twitter itself has become more and more of a relevant form of social media and is now utilized by many. Social media online will play more and more of a major source of news, information and knowledge as time goes by and has greatly influenced the global culture.

I believe it is important for there to be a real alternative to the relatively liberal Sacramento Bee and remember the old racist Sacramento Union, Now local news in Sacramento is dominated by the Sacramento Bee, though the Sacramento News & Review helps to coverage local news and other issues. So I hope that Sacramento Press grows, develops and expands as time goes by in order to offer a real alternative to corporate dominated mainstream media. It is what it is. A free unchained free press and access to the news is essential for any real democracy in order to create a better informed citizentry.

The other week I got an Email about a Sacramento Press Workshop for May 26. My former Sac City instructor, Doug Herndon, was scheduled to teach a workshop titled Interviewing Techniques. Herndon is an English and journalism professor at Sacramento City College and adviser to the college's newspaper, The Express. I once took a class called Writing for Publication by him that helped me in my creative writing. He is a great open-minded teacher. However, due to the weather and personal circumstances that day i could not make it to the workshop.

So it was that I was inspired to this morning to go visit the Sacramento Press Office located at 431 I St., Suite 107 in the Amtrak station in the same building complex as Starbucks. I should of brough a copy of my Email with me. I walked around the Amtrak station looking for the office, took a few pictures and finally found the Sacra Press Office. However, no one was there from staff, except a few laborers. One told me that the crew did not usually get in until around 11 AM but the office was wide open for anyone to walk in. I took a few pixs and am including a collage for folks to check out. I hope to return soon to visit and talk to staff. I want to help make Sacramento Press a better user-friendly experience for all of us.

Chris Little’s Social Skills Will Beat Cohn

2010-05-20T15:12:05Z

I was truly fascinated by Stephen Gillis’ article “City Council Candidates Use Facebook to Connect With Community” today. In my view, as someone working with Social Media daily, I would say Steve Cohn is not using Social Media as an effective part of his campaign.

On the other hand, Chris Little has 716 fans on his Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elect-Chris-Little/216446910449?ref=ts) to Cohn’s 214. Because Little has been so diligent in using his Facebook and Twitter accounts as a communications vehicle to voters, he has made up ground on a 16 year career politician in just 5 months. The result is nearly 1000 lawn signs being displayed on individual yards throughout District 3.

Ms. Ramirez of Cohn's campaign is quoted, “When you look at the City Council race, community is very important. Facebook helps strengthen those ties.” Cohn uses Facebook and just sparingly at that. It is the sign of someone out of touch with the new media.

Little uses Facebook as an effective strategy of connecting with voters. He has done an excellent job of connecting with and keeping them through his use of Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. Little grasps the concept of Social Media in addition to traditional campaigning. He initiates conversations with and among voters whose link is the connection he provides. Now, that is "social" media.

City Council Candidates Use Facebook to Connect With Community

2010-05-19T01:22:24Z

On June 8, Sacramento residents will have the opportunity to cast their votes on a number of issues and elective offices, including party primaries for governor and attorney general as well as Sacramento City Council seats in districts 1, 3, 5 and 7.

Many candidates are using online social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to try to get their messages out and gain an edge over the other candidates. For example, in the race for the Republican primary for governor, candidates Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner have Facebook and Twitter pages with followers in the thousands, and the primary fight is widely seen to be between the two.

However, even in the more local and community-driven campaigns of Sacramento City Council candidates, these social networking sites are being widely utilized to help raise support and knowledge for local candidates.

Angelique Ashby is running for the City Council’s District 1 seat against incumbent Ray Tretheway, and she has tried to use the Internet to her advantage.

Ashby said that when she and her campaign team started to plan her campaign, they thought that a strong online presence would be important.

“We knew that accessing people through the Internet would be critical,” Ashby said. “Social networking and the Internet is central to our campaign.”

Ashby said the online strategy of her campaign consists of a good webpage, Facebook and YouTube. As of Sunday, she has 1,050 friends on Facebook. Ashby said she uses Facebook as a way to connect with voters and as a good way to get out event information. Many people who come to her campaign events tell Ashby that they found out because of Facebook, she said.

She added that she has ads on Facebook as well as local blogs to help draw attention to her campaign.

Ashby said one challenge of being involved in social networking is the level of consistency required, both in effort and in message.

“It’s important to know what you’re like as a candidate because people can find information everywhere on the Internet,” she added. “You have to be clear and consistent.”

Although Ashby enjoys a strong online presence, she said she doesn’t use Twitter because she doesn’t think Twitter adds much to her campaign.

“One of the keys to success in an online campaign is to allow people to be a part of it,” she said. “Twitter is for observers, while Facebook is for participants.”

Tretheway, who has been on the City Council since 2001, uses both Twitter and Facebook in his campaign, although the sites are only updated about once a week.

“For us, it’s not the most crucial component,” said Tretheway’s campaign manager, Rebecca Apostol. “It’s more important to talk to folks one-on-one and to have those face-to-face conversations. That type of interaction is what we tend to gravitate more toward.”

Apostol said Tretheway’s Facebook and Twitter, which have a little over 30 followers as of Sunday, are used mostly to give campaign updates and to publicize community events.

“It’s a helpful component, undoubtedly,” she said. “It has its place, and it definitely adds to the campaign.”

Apostol added that in a smaller race like this, social networking does not make or break a campaign.

District 3 is also home to a competitive race. Councilman Steve Cohn, who has held the seat since 1994, is running for re-election against Realtor Chris Little and contractor Shawn Eldredge. Faviola Ramirez, the ground campaign manager for Cohn, said using Facebook is part of the campaign’s strategy.

“Facebook is really important to keep supporters informed,” she said.

“When you look at the City Council race, community is very important,” Ramirez added. “Facebook helps strengthen those ties.”

Ramirez said Cohn’s campaign Facebook page, which has 215 followers as of Sunday but is only updated once a week or so, is mostly used to give campaign updates and provide information about campaign events, as well as answer the occasional question from a voter.

Although Little and Eldredge have a stronger online presence, Ramirez said that it is not crucial to win a City Council election, and the main component of Cohn’s campaign relies in personal interaction.

“Facebook is just as important as call lists and any other way of getting ahold of people,” she said. “It just doesn’t replace face-to-face voter interaction, which is at the heart of any local campaign.”

Eldredge, however, said that for a candidate who does not have a lot of funds, having a strong online presence is vital.

“Social networking allows those who are interested to know a candidate better,” Eldredge said. “I don’t have money, so the only way I can reach people is through the social networking sites. It is the core of my campaign.”

Eldredge said he uses his Facebook for not only campaign updates but also to state his positions and point out the faults in opponent’s positions.

“I put it all out there,” he said. “I let the shit fly.”

Eldredge, who has raised thousands less than Little and Cohn according to a recent Sacramento Press article, said that while social networking gives him a platform, it does not always translate into votes.

“I’m much more interactive than the other candidates, but I’m probably not going to win,” he said, adding that this election will be a low-turnout election that will probably be decided by voters who are not hooked on social networking. He also said upcoming elections will have to make an online presence a priority.

“This November, this is going to be big,” Eldredge said. “The population and voter base is going to be very engaged through social media.”

Eldredge added that he believes we are one election cycle away from voters being able to donate $5 through their phones like people were able to for the Haiti earthquake relief, and that social networking will become a critical part of any campaign.

“The classic campaign is going to have to change their model,” Eldredge said. “Traditionally, it was all mail and door-to-door, but now social networking will have an equal part.”

For now, Eldredge was honest about his use of social networking in his campaign.

“It’s a lot of work,” he said. “Social media takes a lot of effort to pull it off well, and I haven’t done it as well as I’d like.”

When June 8 comes, Ashby, Tretheway, Cohn, Little and Eldredge will be able to see if their efforts with social networking results in being elected to the City Council.

Photo Captions:

1. Angelique Ashby. Photo by Kathleen Haley

2. Ray Tretheway. Photo by Anthony Bento

3. Chris Little. Photo by Kathleen Haley

4. Steve Cohn. Photo by Anthony Bento

Tough economy makes for some creative home living in Sacramento

2009-12-24T07:09:40Z

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 totally new concept, nor will it send traditional landlords out of business, yet it is a trend that realtor analysts say is growing during these crunching economic times. For some people they are trying to find some creative ways to save money and rather than simply moving back home with parents, as many adults are doing in the boomerang generation, they are taking the route of renting space from other professionals and family-oriented homeowners with a room to rent. They are doing it in areas from downtown Sacramento to Natomas, from Roseville to Folsom, from Davis to Elk Grove and areas beyond.

Sacramento like most of the nation had been hit hard by slow home sales and increasing foreclosures in the sagging housing market over the past few years. Recognizing one side of that ineffectuality President Obama opened up the government’s checkbook in his first year in office by using the people’s money with his home buying stimulus package as our country was headed toward its worst annual number of homes sold in decades. According to the California Association of Realtors November home sales report, in Sacramento the area had the largest statewide decrease of prior year sales at -16.5 percent. Overall for the state the number of homes sold has been solid with a 4.5 percent increase for the month of November, still this has not offset the number of vacant rental properties in the region. Until then the carryover meant people had to make to some hard choices with limited options in their standard of living, and some took to renting rooms out of existing homes in order to raise some instant cash.

Despite some enticements to get people interested in buying homes or condo’s, the loss of homes due to foreclosures, financial windfalls, and an unstable job market has forced many into renting rooms from others as an economic savings alternative. This has led to a decrease in new apartment leasing where rental prices for the county have spiked over the last 5 years. Within Sacramento the average 1 bedroom goes for $741.00 while the average 2 bedroom goes for $881.00. In some areas, realtors and property managers are taking notice to where their potential new and existing residents are going and now joining the fray by offering occupancy packages of lease to own, gifts for first-time buyers, more flexible sub-lease options, split month and automated deduction payments, and other discounts and incentives to help fill spaces of vacant apartments and houses sitting in beautiful suburban cul-del-sac neighborhoods. “With the number of people losing jobs, and the foreclosure market, we try to balance our services to help both the renter and landlord meet their needs”, says Ted White of Sacramento Delta, a property management company which specializes in listing available apartments and homes for rent.

One frequent search point for many would be room dwellers is Craigslist, as the popular community friendly site has an entrée of apartment, home, shared room, condo, and other listings, and it’s a list that keeps growing. Roommates.com another popular site boasts being the largest roommate matching service in the nation. White thinks businesses like his that serve as the go between of the landlord and renter do add value,” In order to better service our clients we have to utilize these tools (Craigslist) and yet we can pre- screen applicants for landlords thus making the process that much easier”.

In settings where these types of new living situations are working they offer a host of new relationships. Relationships that get formed with the social media circuit becoming as an ever popular way of communicating, and its not just students that are taking up these offers. Twenty or thirty years ago in the pre-Internet age people would use local newspapers or supermarket bulletin boards to post or find a room or apartment for rent. Today, people can not only search for rooms online but search with many specifications that makes it easier to find someone with similar tastes and compatible interests. Social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and others have helped turn the cultural tide from the impersonal to personal. All of this buzz about room renting often makes it much easier for people to connect. It is common to find a bunch of college students of three, four, or five all living in a rented out house or condo. It makes for inexpensive luxury living on the cheap. A lot of what it takes to make such arrangements work is more than finding your next housemate simply because there is space available but connecting with people who you share other activities and interests with. This is why a lot of effort should go into any decision before making the plunge to rent from someone just because the price is a bargaining or you need someone to move in your apartment before you get evicted for lack of payment. While there is often less haggle over the normative of credit checks, criminal history, income verifications, move in deposits, or past rental history inquiries it seems the two most important things required are being respectful to each others space and pay your rental bill on time.

Unlike the rich and famous who often will rent out cottages in Martha’s Vineyard, the average Joe and Jane American are finding that renting room space can be a win-win for both parties. From college students to single professionals to church going families as long as there is a room available in a house or apartment going unused and some willingness to make some extra cash than expect this sub-leasing trend to continue. People are no longer embarrassed as they once were by the fact that they can rent room space from someone else. The layers of the taboo or stigma of being an inhabitant, house sitter, or transient is no more. Everyone is feeling the brunt of the economy and what better way to get some relief than rent that room out which was unused or was kept for storage or office space. Empty nesters, a term often referred to describe parents of grown children that have left home, will use what was once little Johnny’s or Sarah’s room as a new rental opportunity. Sometimes it even surprises the grown children that their parents are now renting out the room that they grew up in. For those that do move back home, they will sometimes find a rent bill attached to their room door as well, and makes for smart responsibility on the part of the elder parents. Most family advice counselors recommend that set boundaries when the children return and charging rent is a good way of ensuring the returning children that they won’t be able to freeload their way through these tough times. The idea is that it will make the children more accountable and understand that if they were staying somewhere else they would have to pay rent.

However the problems aren’t just older adult children returning home for free room and board, but many working adults have been out priced for housing and can’t afford to stay in a standard of living they were once accustomed to 5-10 years ago. All and all this seems like one creative housing trend that maybe here to stay until the economy gets back on its feet.

Intermediate Google workshop Dec. 15

2009-12-10T19:10:49Z

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 beginner workshop, please email journalism@sacramentopress.com and if there are enough people, we can put together a separate beginner workshop.

Our office is located at 431 I St., Suite 107 in the Amtrak station. We are in the same building complex as Starbucks. If you are facing Starbucks, go around the building to the left and you'll see our Sac Press sign out front.

We recommend you find parking on the street, bike or take light rail, as the Amtrak parking lot charges $1.50 per half hour and we cannot cover the cost of parking. If you take light rail, we will give you two passes when you get here - one to cover your trip here and one to cover your trip back.

Please RSVP by emailing journalism@sacramentopress.com.

If you have any trouble finding our office, you can give us a call at (916) 443-5403.

Thanks, and we hope to see you there.

Creating the social in social media - Social Media Weekend

2009-11-29T02:22:23Z

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 librarians flocked to attend.

Reyes was inspired by the South by Southwest and BlogWorld expos but wanted to create a local and more affordable version.

"I just figured, why don't we create something like this in our backyard and give people an opportunity to save money and meet other locals, as well as learn from people on a local level that are using social media at a high level?" he said.

Some of the speakers included Jessica Smith, vice president of Fleishman-Hillard and creator of jessicaknows.com, Rachel and Sarah Campbell of TwinSoup, CJ Alvarado of Bayside Church, and Josh Unfried of momfaves.com.

Suzanne Phan from News10 was an attendee on Friday, and blogger Christine Young and Reyes did a live chat on News10's website.

Questions from the audience dominated the conversations for each panel and speaker. Many of the attendees had little experience with the social media tools discussed.

Real estate agent Stephanie Brinkworth, was eager to see what she could do to help her firm.

"It's all new to me," she said. "I really liked Josh (Unfried). I was motivated to start my own blog (after hearing him talk)," I went home yesterday and did research. I looked up Wordpress and the different designs and templates of blogs."

Representatives from the Ronald McDonald House, inmycommunity.com and the Sacramento Law Library came hoping to increase their online presence and get more involved with social media.

One of the speakers who got a great response was Gordon Fowler, president and CEO of 3Fold Communications. He spoke on generational use of social media.

More than just connecting online, Fowler emphasized the value of making connections period.

"I see people jumping on the social media bandwagon because they feel like they have to, and forgetting that, at its core, social media is about relationships built on effective communication," he said. "If new learners are ineffective in understanding how to communicate inter-generationally, they will not be effective communicating and building relationships through social media.

"People need to chill out and thoughtfully discover their 'social media personality.' Be authentic, be transparent and have some fun."

Reyes is already planning the next Social Media Weekend in March 2010.

Gary Pilapil, a creative director who has attended other social media events, said he liked this particular one because it was local, with no one from out of state.

"It's refreshing to meet like-minded people that want to help Sacramento grow," Pilapil said.

Interested in seeing the Twittersphere in action? A TweetUp in conjunction with Sacramento's branch of Social Media Club is scheduled for Dec. 17.

Here are some of the tweets that were sent out during Social Media Weekend (click links to visit an individual's Twitter page):

@thisaac If you realize you've screwed up, own up to it as quickly as possible… –@JessicaKnows #socialmediaweekend

@pdteam Don't use social media as a weapon. –@JessicaKnows #socialmediaweekend

@kennypratt #socialmediaweekend PR Panel: both PR professionls and Journalists still learning to use Twitter to find and place stories

@susancarraretto RT @successfool: "Social Media elevates word of mouth to a viral level" @JoshUnfried

@jeffmarmins want to extend reach online? give before you expect to receive. promote others via @sierrafriend #socialmediaweekend

@jeffmarmins we only advertise businesses we authentically use or would recommend #socialmediaweekend @YoungMommy @TwinSoup

@JackieDotson Really high quality stuff at #socialmediaweekend I'm impressed that everyone is emphasizing the importance of relationships in social media.

@meghanwood Per @TwinSoup: 'you will always have negative comments! So.. Just delete them.' LOVE IT!!! I so agree #socialmediaweekend

To see the complete schedule and list of speakers for Social Media Weekend, visit socialmediaweekend.com.

Niche TweetUps—There’s One For Every Interest

2009-11-24T06:58:41Z

Have you been to a TweetUp? They come in every size and shape and there is nearly one for every interest! A TweetUp is a social event that is promoted and organized on Twitter.

“It's basically a place to meet and network with people in the Sacramento area who use Twitter,” said Alejandro Reyes, co-organizer of #SacTweetUp, a monthly networking mixer that regularly attracts over 100 attendees. “We wanted to create an atmosphere where people using Twitter could connect on a much deeper level, build new relationships, and have a lot of fun.”

#SacTweetUps usually occur in the evening at a downtown or midtown hot spot; but what if big crowds or night life venues aren’t your thing? For those who prefer smaller groups or a different venue or focus, the Sacramento region has much to offer.

“Niche TweetUps, like the #ZooTweetUp we had in October and our upcoming #HikeTweetUp, are a great way to bring folks with similar interests together in a fun setting,” commented Jim Hoglund, co-organizer of the upcoming #HikeTweetUp. “I've always found that meeting an online friend in person has made for a richer connection online and often times a friendship beyond that of the digital realm.”

Outdoor TweetUps: Next Saturday, November 28, the first #HikeTweetUp is happening at Hidden Falls Regional Park in Auburn. This TweetUp features a leisurely 3 mile round trip hike to Hidden Falls followed by a late lunch at Awful Annies. The group is meeting in the parking lot at Hidden Falls at 11:00 a.m. For more details or to register to attend, check out the event on Facebook.

Holiday TweetUps: On Thursday, December 17, Sacramento “tweeps” will gather for the first annual #HoliTweetUp at The Park Ultra Lounge in downtown from 6 pm to 9 pm. This festive TweetUp is co-hosted by SacTweetUp and the Social Media Club Sacramento. Attendees will eat drink and be merry and all will be entered into a raffle for prizes supplied by the hosting organizations and their sponsors. Register to attend this free event at holitweetup.eventbrite.com.

Family Friendly TweetUps: In October, The Sacramento Zoo hosted its second #ZooTweetUp (the first was in June). Attracting about 25 participants, this event featured half-price admission to the Zoo. The event kicked off with complementary refreshments and Zoo Crafts for the kids at a private party in the Discovery Room. Attendees enjoyed a free ride on the Conservation Carousel, an Animal Encounter in the Amphitheater, and animal enrichment talks with the Ring-tailed Lemurs, Ground Hornbills and the Spotted Hyena. As a special treat, attendees were invited to check out the new Giraffe Observation Deck, which is scheduled to open on President's Day weekend next year as part of the newly renovated exhibit.

"#ZooTweetUps are a fun and casual way to meet animal lovers and Zoo supporters, explained Jamie Wilson, Web Development Coordinator and official Tweeter for the Sacramento Zoo. “We talked about social media & Twitter app--I always learn something new! The Zoo Tweetup brought out lots of families, but even more adults without kids. Even though we are a family-friendly venue, the TweetUp reminded people the Zoo really is fun for all ages."

Generation Specific TweetUps: On November 12, the first ever #GeezerTweetUp happened at Scarlet’s Saloon in Folsom. The term “Geezer” was used tongue in cheek—this event was for anyone born before 1970. The group considers itself “tech geezers” because most of them graduated from High School before personal computers were invented. About 30 people who remember the 70s because they lived through them—not because they saw “That 70s Show” --gathered to enjoy a drink and to meet interesting people with shared life experiences.

“The #GeezerTweetUp is a great example for the social part of social media--groups of people who connect on-line are able to meet in person and develop stronger relationships,” commented Jim Pelley, Creative Director at Laughter Works Seminars and co-organizer. “It's also good for local business; Scarlet's offered to host the event, and in the process found some new customers.”

all Photos of #VinoTweetUp by John Onate

Wine Tweet Ups: In July, three wineries came together at the L Wine Lounge in midtown to host a #VinoTweetUp. For a nominal charge, attendees enjoyed appetizers and were able to sample wines from James David Cellars, MAS Wine Company, and Radee Wine.

“Not only have I developed relationships and exposure from participating in TweetUps, but have really had a great time at each and everyone,” said David Cole, Proprietor at James David Cellars. “At the #VinoTweetUp I meet Sarah Campbell of Twinsoup.com and have now worked with her and her sister Rachel on their Stiletto Crawl events around Sacramento and Roseville, each of which sold out and were a ton of fun to do!”

Arts & Entertainment Patron TweetUps: In May, The Sacramento Press, in conjunction with Social Media Club Sacramento and Capsity Offices, hosted a TweetUp that featured belly dancing from Red Tent Belly Dance, performance art from Phoenix Gallery, wine tasting from MAS Wine and James David Cellars, break dancing from Capitol Roots Dance Studio, chalk drawing from Chalk it Up! artists, a presentation from the Sacramento Opera, and music from DJ Reason.

“We wanted to host a TweetUp to meet our Twitter followers. It became an ‘Arts TweetUp’ when we noticed how many people in our Twittersphere are artistically amazing! A definite highlight was when the Capitol Roots dancers managed to get our Managing Editor, David Watts Barton, to join them and show off his dance moves,” reports Mona Romero, Social Media Lead at the Sacramento Press

Other TweetUps: In addition to the monthly #SacTweetUp, other organizations have also hosted more generally focused networking mixer TweetUps. In February, the first ever Sacramento TweetUp was organized by Ricardo Robles of Capsity Offices and Andy Arnott of AdCause and hosted by Pangaea Café. About 30 people, including me, attended this inaugural event which set the stage for future Sacramento TweetUps. “It is an event that businesses can participate in as well as regular people to network and meet in person,” said Robles. In August, The Urban Hive in partnership with Sacramento365, hosted an #Only2DegreesTweetUp which featured wine tasting by James David Cellars and a presentation on social media by @Only2Degrees. While most of these TweetUps have happened in Sacramento, in March #SacTweetUp hosted an event at The Boxing Donkey in Roseville.

Have you organized or participated in a TweetUp in the Sacramento region that is not listed above? Let us know about it in the article conversation section below. Not finding a TweetUp that fits your niche? Organize one! All you need is a Twitter account to spread the word. It’s a great way to make new friends with shared interest.

Twitter tip: The # designation--called a hashtag-- is a Twiitter practice that helps people to categorize tweets about certain topics. For example #sactweeup, #holitweetup and #hiketweetup are tags the organizers and attendees use in their tweets about the event.

Social Media for the Social Good—Non-profits Explore New Methods of Outreach

2009-11-20T04:17:59Z

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 educate, engage, and build lasting relationships with their communities.

Facebook was the unanimous point of entry into social media for all three organizations. Cortez said the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber selected Facebook because it was the most popular platform among their member organizations; Blair choose Facebook for River City Food Bank because it is the platform upon which he spends the most time. “Facebook provides an easy way for people to connect with causes and non-profits thanks to its one-click ‘become a fan’ feature, “commented Morgan. River City Food Bank, where many of their long-term contributors are past retirement age, is finding that Facebook helps them to engage with the next generation of donors. However some of their loyal supporters are stepping out into social media as well; an 85 year old volunteer joined Facebook just so he could “friend” the River city Food Bank. Benorden said that their “old school” supporters are beginning to mesh with the new people they’ve engaged through their group & page on Facebook but that CARES still has a long way to go.

Both the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and CARES are also using Twitter to promote their organizations and causes. Miller said 3Fold encourages their clients to cross post on multiple social media platforms to increase the traffic among all the sites. For example, use Twitter to remind people the organization is on Facebook or create an event on Yelp and ask people to write a review. I frequently use Twitter to drive traffic to SARTA.org’s website or LinkedIn group where more detailed membership and event information is available.

CARES created both a group page and a fan page for its campaign “Are You the Difference” which strives to eliminate new cases of HIV in the Sacramento region by 2015. Benorden plans to expand the campaign to include other platforms like Flickr and YouTube. On YouTube, CARES wants to personalize and promote their campaign by featuring user generated videos about how individuals can be or are the difference in eliminating new cases of HIV.

The biggest challenge for all of the organizations is finding the time to manage and maintain their social media accounts. Cortez shared that she uses cross posting tools to lessen the amount of time she spends managing each platform the Hispanic Chamber employs. Tweetdeck, Hootsuite and Seesmic were mentioned as free services for managing multiple accounts and platforms and Radian6 was recommended as a new professional service for this purpose. Benorden prefers to uniquely post to Facebook and Twitter to keep variety in the CARES messages, but he sticks to a common theme. Blair, who in addition to his responsibilities as a board member of the River City Food Bank works a full time job, schedules time on his weekly calendar to tend to his social media chores. When asked if a volunteer could handle the job, the general consensus among the panelists was that most volunteers and interns do not have enough depth or experience with the organization or its causes to determine social media platform content or to respond to questions and remarks received by followers and friends on the sites. For CARES, sensitivity to and experience with HIV/AIDS is a must for anyone representing the organization on its social media platforms.

The panel wrapped up with a discussion on event promotion using Facebook ads and other tools. All of the organizations are considering using Facebook ads and River City Food Bank has budgeted money for this purpose next year. Benorden pointed out that even if no one clicks through an “Are You the Difference” ad, if enough information is included about the campaign, there is value in people seeing the ad multiple times. Miller said 3Fold advises their clients to put nearly as much energy into post event promotion as they do pre event. Blair followed this advice after a recent River City Food Bank fundraiser, uploading event photos long into the night. The post event promotion is a valuable investment in the success of future events and helps those who attend feel more part of the organization—especially if they are featured in a photo!

After the panel ended, participants informally exchanged ideas on how they are using social media and also had a chance to meet the panelists and ask more questions. The event was live tweeted by volunteer Ira Cohen on behalf of @SMCSac using the hashtag #smcsac. The venue provided by Sacramento State College of Continuing Education is well equipped for meetings and seminars and the Senior Program Coordinator, Toni Ramirez shared that the college is considering offering courses on social media in the future.

Social Media Club, an international non-profit organization, brings together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaborators. The Sacramento chapter was founded in March of 2009 by local users of social media. Free events are normally held on the third Tuesday of each month, but in December, the group is planning a Holiday Party or “holitweetup” in partnership with SacTweetUp on December 10 at Hot Italian in midtown. In January, the normal schedule of monthly panels will resume. For information about the Sacramento Social Media Club and its events, join their groups on Facebook and LinkedIn and follow them on Twitter.

Photgraphs by Marie Young Photography. For more photos of this event visit her Facebook Page

Sacramento Social Media Club Leadership Team:

Julie Berge, Angela D'Arcy, Laura Good, Suzanne Hopkins, Ronnie Ledesma, Jeff Marmins, Josh Morgan

Finding God on Facebook

2009-11-16T19:42:28Z

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 in Granite Bay.

I was posting live tweets during the event, and was joined by several other tweeting guests in reaching over 50,000 followers on Twitter (Sacramento Social Media club uses the hashtag #smcsac to live tweet all of our events).

In what could have been subtitled “Finding God on Facebook,” panelists agreed that the most active use of social media in their churches is individual members connecting with each other on Facebook which allows them to share more about lives than they could from the pew. Members, they said, are using Facebook to build a stronger internal community.

While none of the churches represented reported having an official social media strategy yet, Bayside Church developed and implemented a campaign to introduce their staff of about 75 people to Web 2.0. Alvarado, their communications and technology director, is charged with the church’s presence online, which primarily centers on their website and “listening” to online dialogue to “improve the church experience.” Mees, from Sierra Baptist Church, said that “internal relationships are growing organically on Facebook”, and Trevino said that at St. Anna, "the church blog is the most effective social media tool being used."

Where the speakers differed most was on the issue of how to use social media for outreach and evangelism. Both Alvarado and Trevino said that face-to-face dialogue is essential. “The single best way to evangelize is through the example of a life lived,” said Trevino. Alvarado commented that there is not a big difference in how he approaches evangelism in person versus online--“It’s always permission based.” Mees articulated a vision for using social media to be present in more lives. “In a world where church members either have no significant relationships outside the church, or segregate their Christian and non-Christian friends,” he said, “all of their friends, churched and unchurched, wind up as their friends on Facebook, followers on Twitter, and contacts on LinkedIn.” All three panelists agreed that spiritual dialogue was important, but Mees was a strong proponent of using of social media to initiate that discussion. Mees said "social media is an effective tool in building relationships that enable spiritual discussions to take place both online and off."

Following the moderated panel discussion, the audience was invited to ask questions. Several wondered if any of the congregations have people tweeting in church. Alvarado answered that Bayside has experimented with tweeting and texting during conferences but not during church service. A question about how the churches monitor their congregation’s online activity led to a discussion about how church youth have embraced Web 2.0. Mees shared that the teens in his church bring their computers and use Google to check facts during youth bible study. The teens are also using Facebook groups to communicate events and to “go deeper” using the discussion features.

After the official program ended, many of the attendees stayed to engage the panelists in additional questions and discussions. There was a tremendous amount of passion around the topic of using social media to share the message of the churches. At my small church, Grace Fellowship Church of San Andreas, we recently created a Facebook Page. We are hoping this outreach tool helps us to better connect with our community. How is your church using social media?

Social Media Club brings together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaborators. The Sacramento chapter was founded in March of 2009 by local users of social media. Free events are held on the third Tuesday of each month. "Social Media for the Social Good" is the topic of the November 17 event hosted by Sacramento State College of Continuing Education from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Local non profits River City Food Bank, CARES and the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will share how they are using social media to educate, engage, and build lasting relationships with their communities. For information about the Sacramento Social Media Club, join their groups on Facebook and LinkedIn and follow them on Twitter.

About the author: Laura Good is a member of the all volunteer leadership team for Sacramento Social Media Club. Follow her on Twitter at @goodlaura. She is also director of programs and operations for SARTA.

Sacramento Social Media Club Hosts Crime Fighters for Online Safety Forum

2009-08-20T07:00:23Z

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 example, uses a list called “Not People” for businesses he “friends” and excludes that list from seeing family photos and other personal information. More information about Facebook Privacy settings is available at Facebook’s Help Center and Josh's presentation is available on SlideShare.

Detective James Carden of the Fairfield Police Department introduced the “#1 Friend“ program which recommends that children, tweens and teens “friend” the Fairfield Police Department on MySpace and set them as their #1 Friend. Adding the Fairfield Police Department as #1 Friend lets visitors to the child's page know that parents are involved and monitoring their child's online activity and that this family has a direct link to the police department and will report any inappropriate or unwanted contact. Read more about the #1 Friend program on the Cops 2.0 blog site. Detective Carden also shared a “true crime” story about luring a predator to a fake MySpace account which resulted in an arrest.

Mike Belcher, Director of the University of the Pacific’s Public Safety Department, explained how his department uses social media tools, including Facebook and Twitter, to improve student safety and to enhance community outreach. Pacific is only one of two private universities in California with sworn police officers. Social networking and communication sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are used to monitor student events, share information on crime prevention, and stop inaccurate rumors on campus by providing timely accurate information. Recently, the department began using Nixle, a free service that allows subscribers to receive trusted, up-to-the-minute neighborhood information from local police departments, city and municipal governments, and their local agencies through SMS, web, and email distribution.

Social Media Club brings together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaborators. The Sacramento chapter was founded in March of 2009 by local users of social media. Events are held on the Third Tuesday of each month. Social Media in the Classroom is the topic for the September 15 event hosted by The Urban Hive in Midtown Sacramento from 6:30-8:30 p.m.. The keynote speaker is Steve Hargadon, Elluminate's Social Learning Consultant, the director of the K12 Open Technologies Initiative at the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), and the founder of the Classroom 2.0 social network. For information about the Sacramento Social Media Club, join their groups on Facebook or LinkedIn and follow them on Twitter.

About the author: Laura Good is a member of the all volunteer leadership team for Sacramento Social Media Club. Follow her on Twitter at @goodlaura.

Sacramento Opera going strong

2009-08-01T02:59:58Z

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. All shows were held at the Community Center Theater, which seats 2,398.

"We were just very fortunate," said Executive Director of the opera Rod Gideons. The success was based on two major things, he said: partly the popularity of the music performed, and also the strength of the social media marketing.

The two popular shows that sold the most tickets were The Marriage of Figaro and The Pirates of Penzance, Gideon said. He also noted that the Opera's Facebook and Twitter websites had more than 1,000 followers combined.

"After everything is said and done, you have to have control of your budget," Gideon added. "If there's anything we've accomplished, it's that we've tightly controlled our expenses."

Single tickets for the Sacramento Opera's 2009-2010 season are currently on sale. Prices range from $18 to $130.

The following is taken from a press release containing information about The Sacramento Opera's upcoming season:

The Elixir of Love is Gaetano Donizetti’s comic and wistful look at the foibles of young love and the misguided belief that true love can be bought in a bottle.

Show times are at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009.

The Sacramento Opera will update this gem of the bel canto repertoire to post-World War II in a small town in Northern California’s wine country. The Elixir of Love is a timeless view of passion and longing, pathos and youthful exuberance. Be sure to listen for the famous aria, "Una Furtiva Lagrima."

La Traviata is Giuseppe Verdi's gripping melodrama based on the novel and play La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, Jr. La Traviata is one of the 10 most popular operas in the repertoire.

Show times are at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, Sunday, 2 p.m. Feb. 28 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 2.

The story was immortalized in the classic movie Camille starring Greta Garbo and later given a popular update in Pretty Woman starring Julia Roberts. Listen for the famous “Drinking Song” and "Sempre Libera" aria. The story revolves around the relationship between a stunningly beautiful but frail courtesan and her well-born lover. Don’t miss this romantic tale of love, passion and betrayal.

A Russian Affair: Highlights from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades is opera at its grandest in a Russian double-bill featuring concert stagings of two of Tchaikovsky’s greatest works, both based on the writings of one of Russia’s most acclaimed writers, Alexander Pushkin.

Show times are at 8 p.m. Friday, May 7 and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 9

This production features Tchaikovsky’s stunning music for the lyric stage performed by a cast of acclaimed singers. Eugene Onegin gives us a glimpse of life among St. Petersburg’s wealthy in the 1820s, capturing the essence of a unique world in all its glory and despair. The operatic masterpiece of obsessive love and greed, The Queen of Spades follows an army officer who deviously learns the "secret of the three cards," which costs him his possessions, lover and ultimately his own life. Featured artists include Emily Pulley, Dana Beth Miller, Richard Crawley, Malcolm MacKenzie and Andrei Codrescu (narrator).

Season subscriptions are still available through the Sacramento Opera office, 737-1000. Season subscribers save up to 26 percent off single-ticket prices and receive priority seating, among other benefits.

*Photographs credit: Sacramento Opera/Eleakis Photography

An evening of wine flights meets Twitter: Vino Tweet Up

2009-07-27T17:21:40Z

Twitter has become a common and powerful tool, if not essential, to reach and communicate with customers for many businesses. I, as founder of Radee Wine, Inc., a start-up wine importer and marketer, also use Twitter to talk about our wines and to learn about customers and other players in the industry.

While Twitter gives tremendous access to information about business and people, there is nothing like meeting those behind the profile photos in person. This Tuesday, owners of three wine companies, James David Cellars, MAS Wine Company, and Radee Wine will gather and showcase the wines at Sacramento’s first Vino Tweet Up at L Wine Lounge in Midtown Sacramento. What makes this event interesting is that the three companies, all based in the Sacramento area, are unique and distinctive and the wines are top notch.

James David Cellars' passion is to produce wines that complement and drive conversation. Their wine is about relationships – relationship to family, friends and community.

What comes next is a cutting edge packaging technology: wine in a keg. MAS Wine Company offers its award-winning wine in a patented, German-engineered Mini Tank. A nitrogen gas chamber in the tank eliminates the air, preventing oxidization. This environmentally friendly reusable tank keeps wine fresh for 60 days and can be refilled.

Finally, in tasting Radee Wine, you would experience something completely different. Fine dessert wine made from exotic tropical fruit in Thailand. As Darrell Corti put it in Corti Brothers’ July newsletter, "these are real 'vins de glacière,' freezer wines, since the fresh fruit juices that make them are merely partially frozen, removing a percentage of fruit water."

The owners are also different in nationalities. David Cole, proprietor of James David, is Californian. Julian Slee, co‐founder and CFO of MAS Wine Company, is Australian. I am from Japan.

With different backgrounds and each unique product, we have something in common: passion to produce top-quality flavorful wines.

The Vino Tweetup will include appetizers from L Wine Lounge with a $15 ticket. L Wine Lounge offers rustic and creative food from local fresh produce. Its executive chef, Ame Harrington won first place at Raley’s Grape Escape Chef Challenge in June.

This event will offer an opportunity to learn more about three new wine companies, and their wines, in addition to enjoying the flights of six different varietals and food.

The event is not limited to Twitter users. Even if you have not heard of Twitter, or if you are a skeptic of Twitter, you are still invited to join our evening. As Ricardo Robles, co‐organizer of Vino Tweetup, says, "…the event will be professionally entertaining and full with business to business and business to consumer connections."

The event detail:
Date: Tuesday, July 28th
Time: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Ticket Price: $15
Tickets are purchased online at http://vinotweetup.eventbrite.com

In solidarity for Iran's distressed

2009-06-21T04:43:47Z

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 into reciting death wishes for political leaders in Iran.

In the midst of this, a man with long black hair, draped in an American flag, ran through the crowd and to the top of the capital steps. He opened his arms in the air, and pleaded to the crowd in Farsi to leave politics outside of the dialogue.

This majestic image was of Babak Parham, a local electrician. “This issue is about basic human rights,” he commented. “We need to look to the future and focus on civil society in Iran. This is a great event to bring our voices together.”

Ali Mackani, one of the organizers of the event, and local entrepreneur and businessperson, said, “You know over the last week and a half, as part of just looking at my friends’ Facebook, and what we heard through the internet, I just felt like we have to do something.” The event was organized to pay respect to the efforts of people “risking their lives, because they feel they’re doing something for freedom,” Mackani said.

It is evident that the internet has become a central medium of disseminating information from Iran to the outside world. Mackani, and many of the organizers interviewed, referenced Facebook and Twitter as sites of gathering knowledge about what is happening in Iran.

“Without it I don’t think the youth of our community would actually know what’s happening,” he said.

Amidst the crowd of supporters were Iranian American youth of all ages holding signs and chanting with their relatives. “Facebook,” said one teen, “is not just for chatting.”

Many others commented on the power of Twitter to allow them to stay connected to friends and bloggers in Iran out of concern for their families. “If it weren’t for Twitter right now, we would not have the video and information that we have,” remarked an anonymous organizer.

Most of the interviews, in fact, were conducted under anonymity. “People have a reasonable concern over safety, not necessarily for themselves in the U.S., but for potentially their families in Iran, said an anonymous activist. She continued, “There’s obvious concern over people being hurt and the Islamic Republic going after people. We want to ensure our own safety if we choose to travel there, and our families’ there.”

Fortunately, some have been able to reach relatives through phone and Skype, an online communication program, successfully.

The gravity of events in Iran has a great impact on the Iranian American community in Sacramento. For some of Mackani’s relatives, current events in Iran echo images of the Iranian revolution in the 1980s. “What I’m hearing from family and friends is that it has the same feeling: underground movement, rooftop chanting.”

Ali Mackani hoped to reach out to influential leaders through the rally. “We want the international community to look at this in a very serious light,” he said.

He anticipates the international community to negotiate and discuss Iran’s future based on vocal activism from communities like Sacramento. “It’s not just an Iranian movement; it’s an American Iranian movement, it’s an American movement. Everyone that cares about humanity is getting involved in this,” said an anonymous rally participant.

These globally conscious citizens were able to raise awareness, horns honking in concert with the chanting by the streets. The organizers wanted to “spread the news that this is happening," said a woman anonymously, “so the people see what we’re doing here and that we care.”

She has also received feedback from Iran in messages that state, “Thank you for keeping us in your hearts and minds and we hear you.”

Sacramento Iranian Americans are having an impact overseas. They are in contact with activists, translating their messages to their local communities, and furiously re-tweeting pictures and eye-witness accounts. Micro-blogging macro issues, Sacramento area Iranian Americans are actively seeking peace for their homeland.

The Sacramento Press gives away two ipod shuffles this week

2009-06-06T21:38:15Z

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.com screen name at the end of the comment.
Example: I have taken my kids to the Crocker Art Museum for years and I feel it is an important part of there cultural development. [Matt Kennedy]
Matt Kennedy just got a vote.

5. The person who gets the most votes wins two ipod shuffles. One for you and one for a very happy friend.

6. Contest begins 06/06/09 and ends 06/12/09 @ noon. The winner will be announced on sacramentopress.com

Sofa photos from The Sacramento Press and Entreprini Tweetup (part two)

2009-05-29T05:20:44Z

Photos taken at The Sacramento Press and Entreprini Tweetup.

Sofa photos from The Sacramento Press and Entreprini Tweetup (part one)

2009-05-29T05:07:08Z

Photos taken at The Sacramento Press and Entreprini Tweetup.

The Sacramento Press to hold its first Tweetup Thursday night

2009-05-28T02:12:11Z

Hoping to meet more people and bring them to our office as well as support social media, we at The Sacramento Press will be holding our first Tweetup this Thursday, May 28, from 6 - 8 p.m.

We were very lucky to team up with Ricardo Robles, from Capsity Offices, Ronnie Ledesma, from Sacramento Social Media Club and Darby Flynn, from Chalk it Up! to connect with all sorts of artists and local businesses.

Thursday evening will be filled with belly dancing from Red Tent Belly Dance, performance art from Phoenix Gallery, wine tasting from MAS Wine and James David Cellars, break dancing from Capitol Roots Dance Studio, chalk drawing from Chalk it Up! artists, a presentation from the Sacramento Opera, music from DJ Reason and photography on our very own red couch.

Everyone who is participating in this Tweetup is on Twitter, and we thought it would be great to get creative and have them do what they do best all in one place, for everyone to enjoy.

You don't need to be on Twitter to attend this event, however, we will have computers available to sign up for an account if you're interested.

Our office has wi-fi available, so the active tweeters can take twit pics or tweet about the events of the Tweetup as they are happening.

To RSVP for the Tweetup, please visit this link.

Here's to a fantastic event Thursday night!

Residents tweet about swine flu

2009-04-29T22:37:34Z

Twitterers are using the Sacramento County public health division's page to comment on the swine flu outbreak.

Mona Romero at The Sacramento Press explains how you can follow the public comments on Twitter:

Go to: http://search.twitter.com/

Enter the following name: sacpublichealth

You'll come up with this result: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=sacpublichealth

You can now read the swine flu comments.

The public can learn more about local swine flu developments at the following Twitter page: http://twitter.com/SacPublicHealth

City Council Meet-up Party: Democracy 101

2009-03-09T20:30:40Z

Come join your fellow neighbors, entrepreneurs, activist and (you fill in the blank) to see Democracy in action. The 100 Minds group, an Oak Park based Think Tank, is hosting "City Council Meet-up Party: Democracy 101" at tomorrow's Council meeting.

Participants are encouraged to wear your Bikeramento shirt, LJ Urban shirt, Sacramento Park(ing) Day shirt or whatever cause you're passionate and a laptop for live twittering, blogging or transcribing of the evenings discussion.

You'll have the opportunity to see how democracy works on a local level and the steps necessary to take action. We'd like to show the City Council that we mean business with a large turnout of local leaders. This is Crowdsourcing in action!

When: Tuesday, March 10th @ 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Where: New City Hall, 915 I St., Sacramento, CA
What to bring: Your favorite shirt and your laptop!
Agenda: click for agenda

Social Media Club Sacramento holds its first meeting

2009-03-06T07:43:30Z

"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 served, Heuer gave a presentation and fielded questions from the audience on barriers people had faced when trying to introduce social media like Twitter and Facebook into the workplace.

Participants also discussed branding oneself through their online presence and what was and was not appropriate conduct online.

Heuer and Wells are from San Francisco, but travel to cities around the country to help launch new Social Media Clubs.

Jeff Marmins, Ronnie Ledesma, Sallie Boorman and Josh Morgan are the proponents behind the Sacramento chapter of Social Media Club.

The group plans to hold monthly Social Media Club gatherings and have participants walk away with something new after each meetup, whether it be related to media or networking.

For more information on Social Media Club Sacramento and to learn when the next meeting will be, visit their Facebook page or see the original Social Media Club's page.

What in the world are Tweeples?

2009-02-18T22:28:18Z

Last night at Pangaea Cafe, a local hip coffee house owned by Rob Archie, hosted the first ever SacTweetUp, an amazing gathering of Sacramentan tweeples. If you don't know what tweeples are then you are probably not tweeting.

Tweeples are people using twitter. Twitter is a popular social networking and micro-blogging service used for staying connected in real time and used by more than 1 million people worldwide.

It seems that everybody is tweeting. Even Lance Armstrong twittered about his bike being stolen to his thousands of followers right after he learned about it.

Last night’s SacTweetUp was a complete success. There were about 25 to 30 people present. I was so happy to be there; I met a lot of the people that I already connect with via twitter.

I spoke to one of the organizers of this Tweetup. Ricardo Robles, of Capsity Offices known by the screen name Entreprini , he was excited that the turnout was so large. “I want to bring Sacramento twitters together. Collaboration is important and we can work together to build a local community through Twitter,” says Robles. The goal is to do this on a regular basis, maybe charge for future ones and give proceeds to local charities, he continues.

Andy Arnott, which uses adCause as his screen name, is also another organizer. He moved recently from the Bay Area. “I want to meet more people in Sacramento and get the business entrepreneurial vibe,” says Arnott. He is also the founder of AdCause.com, an ad network for twitter where you can donate your profits to the charity of your choice. You are in complete control of your space; you can donate nothing, or break it down in percentage, Arnott explains.

The SacTweetUp exceeded my expectations; very engaging and interesting group of people.

I am already anxiously looking forward to our next Tweetup.

Cheryl Dell, Melanie Sill, are you listening?

2009-02-12T06:46:02Z

I have a simple suggestion for the Sacramento Bee. It's an experiment. It might not work, but since the ad revenues for newspapers are drying up faster than the lakes and reservoirs of our drought-ridden state it's time the Bee took a few chances.

Why doesn't the Bee try to sell ads on its Twitter page?

Now before the Bee did that it would have to promote its Twitter page. Currently, it has only 468 followers, about half as many followers as the Sacramento Press's Twitter page has. This fact is indicative of the Bee being at sea where new media is concerned.

Twitter works really well for aggregating the content of the Bee's online paper. I unsubscribed to its RSS feed in my Google Reader, because I found it difficult to follow in that format. However, I check my Twitter page all day, and I almost always read the Bee headlines. In fact, the Bee is one of the reasons I check my Twitter page all day.

Now let's assume that I am not an outlier, but the norm for Twitter users. I like hiking. So let's say the Bee sells an ad to REI that gets posted in tandem with every article it posts about outdoors activities. Maybe the ad is doubled as a banner on the acticle's actual page. Maybe the Twitter posting is sold as a value-added with the banner ad. Whatever the details, the Bee would be taking a bold step in the direction of micro advertising.

Again, this idea may have already been mulled over and found wanting. I'm putting it out there because the idea of the Bee folding up or getting entirely eviscerated disturbs me. I want the Bee to everything it can to adapt to the changing media landscape. I want it to try new things until it hits upon a business model that will make it profitable again. I love new media outfits like The Sacramento Press, but they are not yet ready to take up the slack if local, dead-tree newspapers go the way of the horse and buggy.

Chime Overload

2009-02-07T10:49:41Z

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” cantilevered monitor on that swings out over my giant buttoned-back recliner (think Matrix meets an old school gents club, with the cleaning skills of a frat house membership).

At any given time (and that includes when I’m not here, much to the consternation of friends) I’ll be logged into AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, office email, Yahoo! email, Facebook and Facebook IM, myspace and myspace IM (which only one person I know uses, but he uses it a lot), and a couple of dating sites (let’s not go there this time – that’s a whole different story, for a different day and a different ratings standard). This of course results in assorted problems like arranging the real estate on the screen so that messages don’t interrupt the latest bathroom cover track playing on youtube, remembering bizarrely phrased and vowel-free screennames of somebody I chatted with once several weeks earlier while the Ambien was kicking in, and avoiding replying to the wrong person (damn you pop-up windows!) or while inadvertently still in caps lock (no, I was working on something else, I’m not mad – and it’s not always about you).

But it also means that I’m inundated by a ridiculous assortment of chimes and beeps. Everything has its own sound and there’s no apparent logic to any of it. And not just the direct sounds, like an incoming message on myspace IM, but also the secondary alerts like Yahoo! Messenger making sure that I know that I have an incoming email in my Yahoo! inbox pointing out that somebody (probably the vaguely remembered at best, Ambien fueled chat participant) just left a new and inscrutable comment on my myspace profile.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining – I wouldn’t want to miss these incoming nuggets of personal updatery, it’s just that I’m chime-illiterate or web-tone deaf or something. My monitor squeals at me (I’m not really the separate speakers type) and I have to visually scan the screen, in the absence of a (damn!) pop-up, for a tab or a minimized window on a toolbar somewhere might be flashing. Hoping that it isn’t just some tiny message in the corner that’s going to disappear again before I can even refocus my attention from the latest insights from the worlds of inhabitat.com or Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia or the urban dictionary (seriously, how did I survive before the interwebs?). Indeed, a friend just sent me three lines of text (via one of the undisclosed dating sites) and I was so deep in my sweet and sour pork Panda Feast revelry that for a moment I thought my tire pressure must be low or perhaps my microwave was irritated by more than a minute of inactivity. (Thank you flashing tab for saving me yet again.)

This tonal disorientation extends to other settings. I am not, for the most part, a competent user of specifically designated ringtones. Even before “my cell” was my phone and not just a night’s accommodation after an evening of too-drunken revelry (or when wireless was a classier way to refer to a radio), I was confused by ringtones. In grad school at Clemson, “The Harvard of the South!” (which always made me wonder if you could buy “The Clemson of the North!” shirts in Cambridge), I never figured out the difference between off-campus calls and on-campus calls. This was, apparently, an innate skill for everybody around me but persistently eluded me for three years.

I now miss text messages completely because I have the even more confusing array of sounds on my Storm (The World’s First Touchscreen Blackberry! – I think it’s in my contract that I have to type that) disabled. And don’t get me started about the significance of differently shaped envelope icons!

And none of this is made any better by how directionally challenged I am by some sounds. Not only will I turn the wrong way, against the rotation of the swiveling heads in a crowded room, but I expect a speeding ticket when a fire truck runs a light on a nearby cross street (which may of course have as much to do with the likelihood that I’m speeding as my aural deficiencies). And, yes, I’m the guy who attempts to answer my phone when yours rings, even though mine doesn’t play Single Ladies and you’re riding in the fire truck.

Note: Not only have I been barraged by assorted sounds while I type this, even at 2am, but I just encountered my first AIM avatar that actually laughs creepily when the user types “lol” – LOL.

All of which leads me to the next obvious questions: Why would I want Twitter, what does it sound like, and will it annoy me while I’m eating the rest of my Panda Feast?

Twitter milestone

2009-02-02T05:53:38Z

We have broken a milestone on twitter.com, 1000 people following our every tweet! If you are wondering how that compares to others go to twitter.com and search for "Sacramento". We are the number one tweet and in the second position are the Sacramento Kings with nearly half the followers.

This is not a quick article to boast our accomplishments, I write about how we market this company to the Sacramento community and twitter is a very important tool in our department. We use lots of social networking sites to reach out to our readers but as twitter grows its numbers its becoming a very unique tool. We use it to push content out, begin conversations, recruit readers and writers, hold contests, live blog on breaking news and many other uses.

Follow our tweets here

Online marketing tool or distraction? Twitter about it!

2008-12-27T02:10:19Z

Many people have opinions about twitter.com and I am trying to find out if anyone on sacpress.com also uses twitter?

We use it as part of an online marketing campaign and to highlight workshops and events. I was honestly a little hesitant to use this tool but after 239 followers and many many direct messages I am really interested in this medium.