There’s something about going back home. And although it’s not quite on same block, it’s in the same part of the country. On Thursday, I’m honored to be speaking with so many talented social media folks @midwest at Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois.

If you’d like to go, let me know and I’ll see if we can get you the $99 Social Media Club Chicago member discount. I like the practical vibe and the central Illinois spirit surrounding the people and this conference.

For example, the site offers everyone a treasure of social media tips and techniques. Check out @midWest on Facebook and atMidwest on twitter. And, follow the chat around #atmw on twitter.

From the site . . . @midWest is a social media conference located centrally in the Midwest. The Bloomington-Normal area is a vibrant community, home to 165,298 people who exemplify the values of the Midwest and a remarkable quality of life. Located in the heart of Illinois at the junction of Interstates 55, 39, and 74 makes getting here easy.

If you’re wondering about what I’m speaking about, here’s my keynote:

Social Media Keynote: 3D Social Media: WIRED to Advance to the Next Level

How do super heroes get to the next level in social media? In this presentation, you’ll learn how to apply an integrated communications system that fuses search, social, content, marketing and PR into an approach you can use to chart plans, measure impact, map progress and demonstrate the value of social media to your organization, communities and your region.

Thanks to everyone on the @midwest team for making me feel so welcome. Whether you go or watch via your computer screen, I thought you might enjoy these interviews with the speakers.

@Midwest Social Media Speaker Interviews

Thanks to Karen Hanrahan for organizing the blog entries and for being so easy to work with! Here’s a list of the social media expert interview from the @midwest blog.

UnGeeked – what is it and who is it?

Before you say “Wait – don’t tell me,” check out the UnGeeked Elite Video Channel at the bottom of this post. Thirteen people talk about what UnGeeked means to them. We got sort of a prelude in Chicago at “Using Social Media to Align the Personal and the Corporate Brand” conference in March in Chicago. That’s me with Olivier Blanchard.

Thanks to Cd Vann, the conference organizer and founder of SohoBizTube and both events, I’m a social media content marketing speaker at UnGeeked Elite on May 14 at 2:00 p.m.

From the press release . . . Soho Biztube Announces ‘UnGeeked Elite: A Social Media & Marketing Forum’ May 13-15 in Milwaukee

SohoBiztube.com is proud to present UnGeeked Elite: A Social Media & Marketing Forum, a three-day national professional event that will bring together entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, marketers, and social media practitioners from a broad spectrum of industries. This series of interactive forums will be held May 13-15, 2010 at the University Club in downtown Milwaukee. Throughout the three-day event, participants will learn about positioning your internal and external brand; managing inbound and outbound marketing efforts; facilitating online customer relationships; building strategic public relations campaigns; and monitoring social trends among clients and customers. The loose format will be “Take the Mic,” in which attendees are encouraged to ask questions and openly engage in dialogue with expert presenters. UnGeeked Elite keynote speakers are nationally and internationally known social media, communications and marketing authors, product developers and content management practitioners and experts.

UnGeeked Elite Speakers include Olivier Blanchard, Jason Falls, Dan Schawbel, Sally Hogshead, Chris Brogan, Hubspot and Scott Stratten.

I’m looking forward to reconnecting with Olivier, Jason, Dan and Chris and meeting other social media enthusiasts in Milwaukee. This is a new conference and will be one to watch. Will you be there?