It’s so phenomenal that it only happens once a year! On May 3, Social Media Club Chicago will host SOBCon’s opening event. As an SMC Chicago board member, I’m thrilled to invite you to join us!!! Pick up your tickets at the SMC Chicago SOBCon event site. Want more details? Here’s what you’ll find on the invitation site.

Social Media Club Chicago and SOBCon Event on May 3 at Loyola Chicago’s Kasbeer Hall

Thought leaders from around the country and the world will be gathering in Chicago on May 4-6 to attend SOBCon, the Successful and Outstanding Business Conference.

On May 3, SOBCon and Social Media Club Chicago will connect for an epic night of networking, socializing and learning.

Panel Moderator: Dean Donald Heider [@donheider], Loyola Univeristy Chicago’s School of Communication

Donald Heider is the first appointed dean of Loyola University Chicago’s School of Communication. Dr. Heider is an award-winning broadcast journalist and joined Loyola from Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. In 2011 Dr. Heider was elected vice president of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC) and will serve in that postion until 2012, when he will become president-elect and then president through 2014 of the non-profit, educational association composed of some 190 JMC programs at the college level.

Join us at Loyola University’s Kasbeer Hall [25 East Pearson] to hear this power panel of leading thinkers/SOBCon speakers.

Liz Strauss

Liz Strauss is a brand strategist and social web community builder and is perhaps the most influential “real-ebrity” on the Internet. Liz has over 20 years in print, software, and online publishing, and has strategized with publishers in Europe, Australia, the UK, and Ireland. She was recently a featured speaker at the Cass Business School of City University in London and teaches a Master’s Level class at the CityU School of Publishing. She has been named to the Top 100 Social Media & Internet Marketing Bloggers, The Invesp Top 100 Most Influential Marketers of 2008 and again in 2009, the 50 of the Most Powerful and Influential Women of Social Media, and NxE’s Fifty Most Influential ‘Female’ Bloggers. The WordPress Plugin Liz Comment Counter by Ozh was named in her honor to celebrate her dedication to responding to the readers of her blog.

Terry Starbucker

Terry is a native Midwesterner now living on the East Coast, spreading ìrealistic optimismî through a philosophy he calls “Half-Fullism.” He’s been in the business world for over 25 years in various leadership positions, most recently as a senior operations executive for a service business based in the Rocky Mountain west. Terry is a constantly learning student of leadership and personal development, and shares his ideas, experiences and knowledge through his blog, Ramblings from A Glass Half Full.

Carol Roth

Carol Roth is a business strategist, recovering investment banker and author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Entrepreneur Equation. She has helped her clients, ranging from solopreneurs to multinational corporations, raise more than $1 billion in capital, complete more than $750 million worth of M&A transactions, secure high-profile licensing and partnership deals and create million dollar brand loyalty programs.Carol is a frequent radio, television and print media contributor on the topics of business and entrepreneurship, appearing regularly on Fox Business, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and more. Additionally, Carol’s blog at CarolRoth.com was recently named as one of the Top 10 small business blogs online and she was named a 2011 Top 100 Small Business Influencer. Carol is a contributing blogger to outlets like The Huffington Post and Crain’s Chicago Business/Enterprise City and is the only business strategist with a fashion doll made in her likeness.

Tickets include program, beer or wine, and light appetizers.

Preview the party: take a look at the SOBCon SMC Chicago 2011 video!

About SOBCon

SOBCon is the Cirque du Soleil of business strategy events. It’s an interactive think tank that moves ideas to action — packed with business strategies and social media immersion. You will walk away with new ideas and the energy and network to implement them.

The theme this year for Chicago 2012 is Creating and Leveraging Opportunity: Strategy and Execution. We’ll be discussing and applying qualitative and quantitative critical thinking. We’ll focus on the seven keys to strategy and execution: Mission & Vision, Position, Conditions, Decisions, Networks, and Systems. Each presentation, model, and mastermind session will change the way you see yourself and your business. The interviews lined up are stellar (no kidding). The interactive sessions will keep you in the room.

Look forward to more wisdom and thought-provoking questions from these successful and outstanding business people–Tim Sanders, Rick Turoczy, Les McKeown, Katherine Burdick, Carol Roth, Laura Fitton, Rick Calvert, Lisa Horner, Gary W. Goldstein, Steve Farber, Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie, Liz Strauss, and a few others that will be equally outstanding!

For more information, or to register, for SOBCon, visit http://sobevent.com.

SMC Chicago Sponsorships

Social Media Club Chicago relies on sponsors to provide quality events. Our sponsors receive exposure to thousands of connectors via email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Plancast and more! If you are interested in sponsoring a future SMC Chicago event, please contact Jeannie Walters at jeannie@360Connext.com.

Social Media Club Chicago Chapter

Social Media Club [SMC] is a worldwide organization, with local chapters, that serves as connecting organization for anyone interested in social media. Membership is free and open to all levels, including beginners. Chicago’s SMC chapter, launched in October 2008, presents events that mix socializing, networking and learning. Event attendees include entrepreneurs, corporate communicators, journalists, business professionals, publishers, marketers, media creators, citizen journalists, students and technology types. For more information, visit http://smcchicago.org, email smcchicagonews@gmail.com, follow @smcchicago on twitter, or call 630.207.7530 or 312-970-0846.

Social Media Club Chicago Board Members

Barbara Rozgonyi [@wiredprworks], Founder

Jeff Willinger [@jwillie], President

Amy Korin [@interactiveamy], Volunteers

Jeannie Walters [@jeanniecw], Sponsors

Carolyn Martin [@cm_socialmedia], Communications

Planning to go? Let us know so we can look for you there!

If you only have time to read one of the 37 tweets, read #22:  Empower writers. Because the writer runs the show. Quality content gets you where you want to go.

Where did this tweet collection come from? Ragan’s Corporate Writers and Editors Conference here in Chicago last week. Missed it? The conference makes two more stops: October 28 at Kindred Healthcare in Louisville, KY and November 9 at ConEdison in New York City, NY.

It’s definitely worth attending. But, if you can’t make it, these 37 sweet tweets will get you started. What’s your best writing tip?  [Disclosure: Thanks to Ragan Communications for the conference ticket. My experience with Ragan includes presenting at live events and webinars. On November 15, I'm presenting a Ragan webinar about LinkedIn and recruiting.]

37 Sweet Writing Tip Tweets from 7 Spectacular Speakers

Tweets via @wiredprworks with apologies for any inaccuracies.

Need more writing tips? Check out Ragan’s Corporate Writers and Editors Facebook page and the latest tweets via #ragancwe on twitter.

Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl, the alter ego behind Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, talked about grammar rules and word-choice guidelines.

1. It’s ok to end a sentence with a preposition, but leave it off if you can

2. to capitalize or not – 7 easy rules via prdaily.com http://ow.ly/6Vzrj

3. Yo Comments Are Whack – video recommended by @grammargirl http://ow.ly/6Vzma

4. What is a word? That’s a philosophical question. For example, “Impactful” may be a sketchy choice.  #notusingitagain

5. Affect is usually a verb/action. Effect is usually a noun. The arrows affected Aardvark. The effect was eye popping.

6. Be careful about asking opinions in headlines as in “Is Bad Grammar Acceptable in Music?” @grammargirl http://ow.ly/6VysT

7. @grammargirl up next with quick & dirty tips for better writing her podcast gets 1M downloads a month

Michael Sebastian, editor of PR Daily and the blog PR Junkie, covered an editor’s guide to writing: how to blast through the clutter and make your content irresistible to readers.

8. #writing tip: use art to illustrate // best copyright free photo libraries http://ow.ly/6VwrE

9. 5 places for surveys: surveymonkey.com, twitter, facebook, linkedin, pollstream.com

10. communitainment = communications + entertainment via @markraganceo #ragancwe #PR source for this = prdaily.com

Becky Graebe and Karen Lee of SAS, a company with 11,000 employees and 400 offices around the world took us to the SAS intranet to show us how to design content and communities to engage your most powerful internal communicators: employees. Why is there only one tweet from this segment? I was too busy typing notes.

11. Intranet employee photo contest, generated 3000 entries, 700 employees blogs how do you encourage contributions?

Daphne Gray-Grant, principal of the Publication Coach, an online company helping other communicators write better, faster taught us how to write twice as fast and have three times as much fun.

12. you need to figure out the direction you want the story to go to narrow it down before the mindmap

13. writing tool “prod” your productivity with WriteOrDie.com to meet a deadline via

14. Writing tips: Can’t get started? Go for a walk. Turn off monitor while you write. Use a noisy timer.

15. Ideal writing time mix: 40% preparation 20% writing 40% editing how does yours compare?

16. Biggest mistake is asking questions about facts – ask about feelings, use the word when to go back to a moment

17. managing tweets @markraganceo posts and searches with dynamictweets.com

18. Outlining? You’re using the left side of your brain. Writing? You’re using the right side so Mind Map instead

Sonia Simone, CMO of Copyblogger Media, presented the seven harsh realities of online content marketing.

19. twitter tip – write your headline and think “would I retweet that or not”

20. It’s not “our” brand anymore. It’s THEIR brand now. Make sure someone is monitoring, engaging, solving onscreen issues.

21. Headline ideas: go to magazines.com look at cosmo, mens fitness @soniasimone #ragancwe “50 things your customer wish you knew”

22. Empower writers. Because the writer runs the show. Quality content gets you where you want to go.

23. all marketing is is persuading another human being to take action

24. content marketing is when you create something that is inherently useful; social media makes it shareable

Mark Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communications in Chicago, an award-winning political and investigative reporter, talked about the role of the editor and writer in the age of instant information, shrinking attention spans and exploding social media.

25. Most popular post on ragan.com? Number of spaces after a period

26. writer/editor now a multi-channel publisher; interactive sites are your best friend, you can’t get away with boring

27. example of great press release http://woot.com/blog/viewentry

28. We do not have an information overload problem, we have a filter problem.

29. good brand journalism sites to look at exportwise.ca @openforum @bestbuy intel reviews intel free press #ragancwe

30. Get into your customer or your employee’s workflow so they are bookmarking your site

31. brand journalism positions companies as media outlets

32. “refrigerator journalism” is personal, within reach, compartmentalized, helpful, scannable, easy to read, brief, knows what you want

33. social media, if done correctly, is what will engage your readers; content is at the center of brand strategy

35. social media & the trends in communication today = exactly what writers do never before has good content mattered more

36. “No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else’s draft.” H G Wells

37. “Write drunk; edit sober” Hemingway

Many, many Social Media Club Chicago members raved about Mark Ragan’s participation in our January social media and communications panel.

Here’s a replay.

Where the carrot image comes from, inspired by tip number 8: United States Agriculture Research Service. ARS researchers have selectively bred carrots with pigments that reflect almost all colors of the rainbow. More importantly, though, they’re very good for your health.  Photo by Stephen Ausmus.

When do you do your best writing?

What would you rather do: hang out with the character with a smoking coffee pot or attempt to take notes for hours and hours in a conference room? Exactly.

That’s why I’m so glad BlogWorld is offering a virtual ticket option this year. BlogWorld and New Media Expo is November 3-5 in Los Angeles.

[Disclosure: Thanks for stopping by. You should know that the affiliate links in this post track visits and sales from this site. So, if you click on a link and register after that, I will receive a commission. If you have questions about BlogWorld, leave a comment. I only recommend events, products or services I believe in.]

I wish every conference was so smart.  Click here to get BlogWorldExpo Virtual Ticket Details.

5 Reasons to Grab Your BlogWorld Virtual Ticket Today

1. Real. Time. Savings. $247 today. $347 on October 22 – extended deadline

Can you imagine saving $2453 [rough estimate of travel, registration, shiny shoes and sweet tech toys to take with] by investing $247 in a virtual ticket? Or investing an additional $247, or about 10%, to the original amount to GUARANTEE that you’ll get all EVERYTHING on video.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know that you got it all?

2. Completely Revamped Program

Offering exclusive interviews (interviews live attendees don’t even get), behind-the-scenes action and access, live streaming sessions during the conference, social media interaction, and more. Ticket include a video of the presentation with audio, background information on all the speakers with all the relevant links, and bonus materials from speakers just for Virtual Ticket holders. BlogWorldExpo Virtual Ticket Details

3. Cool Show Host

Prominent blogger Johnny B. Truant will host and affair.

4. Just like DVR, but better.

Follow along on November 3-5 or space out the sessions. I like this approach. Listen, take notes and take action -immediately.

5. Skip drinks, planes, hotels and limos.

Rock out in your own house or wherever you hangout screenside.

Still need an “I’m there” ticket? Save 20% on your BlogWorldExpo LA 2011 pass with the code “WIREDPR20″!

How do you make the most of the conferences you attend?

Image: copyright 2010 Barbara Rozgonyi Beatle Loves Bloggers from the BlogWorld 2010 collection

Tomorrow I’ll be doing my “BarbWired” report for Chicagonistalive, a live internet show. We’ll be broadcasting online at 2:00pm cst from Willis Tower Skydeck, at 103 stories up [updated location]. TechWeek Chicago is my feature story.

As a #TeckWk VIP, I got complimentary admission thanks to a Klout perk. Disclosure: http://cmp.ly/2/va. Although TechWeek events and sessions spanned several days, due to speaking engagements and other commitments, I only attended the opening party and most of day one.

So, if you’re looking for complete coverage, this isn’t it.

My goal, here, is to give you a sense of the depth and diversity of topics – all with a light touch.

Did you go to TechWeek? Please share your comments or links to your coverage so we can exchange ideas.

If you were one of the 2,000 or so folks there and you saw me there, but we didn’t talk – let’s chat soon. The Social Media Club Chicago members in the crowd stood out. We were the ones hugging each other.

It was great to see Social Media Club co-founder Chris Heuer at TechCocktail’s Fifth Anniversary Party on Thursday night. Chris flew in just for TechWeek.

To leave more room here for content, check out this post from ChicagoNow.com on TechWeek and the Merchandise Mart atmosphere. For more details on Chicago’s biggest tech event ever, check out this preview post from TheNextWeb.com

Congrats to MidVentures on achieving their mission of connecting as many people, places and things with the span of TechWeek.

Here’s a quick rundown of the TechWeek speakers and sessions I enjoyed.

J. B. Pritzker Keynote

From jb-pritzker.com . . .

Throughout his business, philanthropic and political involvement, Jay Robert (J.B.) Pritzker, has built a reputation as a strong leader, an innovative entrepreneur and a champion of charitable causes. His businesses include New World Ventures – a venture capital firm – and The Pritzker Group – a private investment firm. He is also a principal owner of Hyatt Hotels Corporation and TransUnion Corporation.

J.B. Priztker of New World Ventures talked about three things that have changed for the better on the Chicago tech scene:

1. Quality and experience of start-up founders who are now magnets for talent and capital

2. Capital – venture investments have leaped in Chicago

3. Talent pool – It takes a village to raise a start up and there’s no other city with as rich of a talent pool as Chicago. More Nobel prize winners come from Chicago than anywhere else. We have the second largest business district in the United States.

Need hi-tech connections? Join Built in Chicago, a social network of over 4200 members, is dedicated to “promoting digital innovation in the world’s greatest city.”

Chicagoans have a long tradition of giving back.

“We’re nice, but we’re tough.” J.B. Pritzker

Want to exchange ideas? Check out Chicago’s Idea Week coming October 10-16

Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer

From the TechWeek progam . . .

Aneesh Chopra is the United States Chief Technology Officer and in this role serves as an Assistant to the President and Associate Director for Technology within the Office of Science & Technology Policy. He works to advance the President’s technology agenda by fostering new ideas and encouraging government-wide coordination to help the country meet its goals from job creation, to reducing health care costs, to protecting the homeland. 

Aneesh, who is on twitter @aneeshchopra, referenced Startup America and Startup Illinois, as two places entrepreneurs can go to build their businesses.

Working together, technology teams can design, develop and deliver incredible projects. Watch how fast the first crowd-sourced military vehicle, designed by Victor Garcia [an IIT grad] and built by Local Motors, goes together in this video.

Democratizing Data Liberation

Data liberation, which may be a new term for some, is a way for users to access,  interpret, share and keep data. The Indian and U.S. governments are working together on an open government project that enables global data liberation.

Do you do project research?

Then, you’ll love what data liberation does. Check out data sets for the city of Chicago. Or, research individual landmarks in Chicago.

The “Blue Button” program liberates individual health care information for veterans.

“There’s never been a better time to be an innovator in health care,” Aneesh Chopra

Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and Craigconnects

Disclosure: Last summer, Craig Newark and I were on Barry Molts’s Business Insanity radio show on the same day! I also wrote a press release about Craig keynoting a conference and I posted a few ads on craigslist. That’s the extent of my Craig Newmark connections.

Craig talked mostly about Craigconnects – here’s the mission from the site:
craigconnects helps connect people of good will for the common good by highlighting nonprofits that are making an impact in Community Building, Journalism Integrity, Middle East, Open & Accountable Government, Service & Volunteering, Technology for Social Good and Veterans issues.

According to Craig, most non-profits don’t know how to tell a good story.

[We’re happy to help them with that.] The more polished their story is, the more bogus Craig thinks their guidelines are. Do you agree?

[The same could be said in business. Sometimes, the company with the best advertising is not the best in the industry. But, BestAd may be making more money than its more accomplished competitors. Do you agree?]

Craig suggests checking out charities on charitynavigator.org and greatnonprofits.org.

He says his number one power is cutting through bullsh*t.

It’s not coding. But, he loves to code. Whenever he tries to code, his staff pulls him back.

[This is a great lesson for entrepreneurs who distract themselves with doing work others could do much better, faster and cheaper. For example, when I finally admitted that someone else would do a much better job than I ever could on redesigning my blog, I invested in freeing up more time, activating a new brand and relieving all the frustration I would feel from this type of project.]

“If you want to make the world a better place, get engaged with social media. Social media and its effectiveness is not new. Guttenberg didn’t know what to do with it, but Martin Luther did. When good stuff happens, get the word out on social media.” Craig Newmark

[That’s why we work to match up businesses with non-profits that can leverage each other’s social media presence and connections. ]

Fireside Chat with Jory Des Jardin, co-founder of BlogHer

From the TechWeek program . . .

Jory Des Jardins co-founded BlogHer, Inc. in 2005 with Elisa Camahort Page and Lisa Stone, and serves as the company’s President of Strategic Alliances and lead evangelist to top revenue partners. With Jory’s leadership, BlogHer has developed its own distinctive brand of strategic partnership, helping to facilitate constructive dialogue between some of the world’s major brands and women who are social media leaders and their readers.

“If you want to come into the blogosphere to make money, don’t do it. “ Jory Des Jardins

Jory says the top reasons women like to blog are to express themselves and to meet people like them.

With 25 million unique views every month and 2,500 bloggers in the BlogHer network, Jory knows what she’s talking about.

If you’re a woman who blogs, you may submit your blog to be considered for the BlogHer ad network. They’re not selective based on a blogger’s traffic, they’re selective based on an advertising match. “We look up to traditional media, we’re not trying to replace it. We’re symbiotic.” Jory said.

BlogHer also creates events that springboard to life from the network to connect brands with bloggers.

Asked about her favorite blogs, Jory mentioned RedneckMommy, SimplyRecipes and Pioneer Woman by Ree Drummond, one of the largest female bloggers. Jory also said there is no “top 5.” The top blogs differ based on brands, readers and organizations.

Jory Des Jardin’s Suggestions for Bloggers

Read as much as you write. Link out for good blog karma.

Make your posts digestible –easily and quickly – and something people can connect with.

Jory said she used to spend hours writing a 2500 word post that would get a few readers. But, people want bite sizes, not five course meals. [I can relate to that. Can you?]

When I asked Jory about social media and blogging, specifically Google+ she said women will really like it because it’s easy to segment. “We like Google+ and we think it’s going to be someone some day.”

After her fireside chat, I met up with Jory to thank her for coming back to Chicago – where I attended BlogHer 2007 and 2009. In 2012, BlogHer moves back to NYC.

Exhibits for Startups and Entrepreneurs

Browsing the exhibit area, I stopped by the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Illinois. My marketing degree is from the College of Business at the University of Illinois. How exciting to hear about the work they’re doing with companies like Intelliwheels.

Recruiting for Start-ups

With so many sessions to choose from, I decided to cap off the day with two. Recruiting for start-ups shared insights on how to hire and fire, quickly and correctly.

Each panelist’s personality influenced their company’s hiring practices. A few of the top takeaways for me . . .

~ The head of HR is a hidden gem in every company and is more important than the CFO

~ Have a process and hire in teams – leader plus technicians

~Funding can slow the hiring process, a good thing

~ Hire slow and fire fast, especially if there’s no culture fit

~ You have to be crystal clear about your culture

~ When you’re interviewing, give people Legos and see what they create

Managing Digital Reputations

Barbara Mald0nado covered the TechWeek online reputation panel for TeckCocktail much better than I do here.

Because our clients come to us for expertise in reputation management, this was a particularly relevant session for me – and probably you, too.

A few thoughts that stuck with me . . .

Your digital reputation is everything about you on the web. What comes up when you Google your name on page one?

That’s where 90% of people will stop. Only another 4% will keep looking.

The more important to commerce you are, the more people will want to know about you. The reality is: as information transfer becomes more efficient, more of your life is on the line.

Here’s coverage by @interactiveamy on a session I wanted to go to, but couldn’t. Social Media Magic: A Woman’s Touch with Amy Korin and Hope Bertram.

Remember to watch Chicagonistalive online at 2:00pm cst on August 9, 2011 with MJ Tam, Nancy Loo, Beth Rosen, Duong Sheahan – and me!

Main Image Credit: Merchandise Mart Chicago TechWeek 2011 via instagram by Barbara Rozgonyi

Invitation: If you got this far, why not share a few thoughts? We’d love to hear what you’re thinking!

Brands and Blogger Panel #BBSummit11

In almost every presentation, I show a chart with survey results that prove blogger relations is the most effective social media marketing tactic.

Then I ask this question: Who here is using blogger relations as a social media marketing tactic?

Every time, almost no hands go up. That’s why when MJ Tam asked me to moderate the Midwest Moms Moms BBSummit11 blogger and brands panel, I was honored and intrigued.

As a blogger and a consultant for brands, I wanted to know why and how we could improve our relationships. Are you a blogger or a brand? Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section.

Six successful and talented bloggers shared their insights, including: Beth Rosen of 4Keys Media, Duong Sheahan of Digital Girlfriends, Dwana De LaCerna of Houseonahill.org / Chicagonista, Meagan Francis of MeaganFrancis.com, Stephanie Precourt of Adventures of Babywearing, Wendy Piersall of WooJr.com

Three social media savvy panelists represented the brand perspective: Connie Burke for GMC, Nicole Simonds for FlatOut Flatbread, and Sheila Bernus Dowd for Clever Girls Collective and Ubisoft

Thanks to all the panelists for sharing so openly over the course of two hours. Given the amount of interest in the room, I think we could have easily continued the conversation for several more hours. Today I’m sharing a few main points with you. What’s your biggest question about how to improve the brand and blogger relationship?

Making the first move – Who pitches who?

The short answer is: it goes both ways. When asked for a show of hands, almost every blogger in the room had pitched a brand.

Brands like being pitched with creative ideas. For example, a family vacation is okay. How can you package it into coverage that gets more traffic and attention? Pitching videos in addition to blog posts adds value.

Does network size and reader response matter?

Brands do look at stats, although they also evaluate each opportunity individually. So, bloggers think about posting a media kit online. Include your reach beyond the blog into social networks and even in real life. For example, if you’re going to speak at a conference, tell them who will be in the audience.

If you want to be successful, find your niche.

If brands aren’t finding you, you’re not standing out as a desirable connection. Decide who you are and who you want to be. If you don’t have brands pitching you, you’re in trouble.

But, stay true to who you are and make sure that there is a good brand/blog fit. Google the brand name + controversy to see what comes up. If you don’t like what you see, don’t take the offer.

“It’s really important to know your niche and own it.” Wendy Piersall

For detailed answers, grab a copy of Wendy Piersall’s new book, Mom Blogging for Dummies.

I will share the pitch that landed me a spot on Sears Blue Blogger Crew and a trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.