Social Networking in Western Mass: 5 Things Learned at My First Podcamp
1. It’s all about the power of the network
If you’re old enough, you might remember Faberge television ads that featured actresses telling two friends about Faberge organic shampoo and conditioner, who told two friends, and so on, and so on…
Why share that story here? Because if it weren’t for friends telling friends about the first Podcamp in Western Mass, I wouldn’t have found myself attending the second Podcamp — and having such a great time! — this past Saturday.
See, about this time last year, I was still new to social networking online — new to Facebook, new to LinkedIn, new to Twitter — just taking my first, halting baby steps forward.
On Twitter, I had begun to look for local signs of intelligent life. Okay, that’s too harsh, but you know what I mean, right?
I had discovered individuals were using “#WesternMA” for tweets relating to local events. But the signal-to-noise ratio wasn’t good and I was ready to give up, until…I saw Val Nelson (twitter handle @valnelson) and others tweeting about an amazing Western Massachusetts “podcamp” that was all about “…blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, podcasting, videocasting/YouTube, and any other online community tools.”
Okay, they had my attention! Tell me more, please!
Thankfully, the initial tweets were soon followed by tweets pointing to blog posts about the event, which I pored over to see what all the excitement was about. Okay, now I was hooked! Just read some of the blogs posts from last year, and you’ll see why:
- Lesley Lambert’s (@LesleyLambert) post PodCamp Western MA: A PodCamp Virgin Tells All
- Jaclyn Stevenson’s (@WriterJax) post We Came. We Saw. We Blogged About It.
- Auction Wally’s (@AuctionWally) post How to Do a Podcamp — Why the Western MA Podcamp Rocked
Then, last week, I checked the Western Mass twitter stream, and saw many tweets about an upcoming Podcamp #2. Well, you know the rest. I registered online, and showed up at 8:30 a.m. to check in and get started!
2. Small sessions are ideal for learning about social media…
Sessions started at 9 a.m.; where to begin? I decided to attend one of the impromptu sessions that are created on the spot (hence the “unconference” aspect of Podcamp).
Ostensibly about the overlapping and symbiotic relationship between “Social” and “Mobile,” I was eager to learn how other organizations are handling the rapid adoption of mobile browsing.
But when I walked in the door, an intense discussion about QR codes was underway, led by Aldon Hynes (@ahynes1) and Mary Wiseman ((@PixieWiseman), center of picture above. A type of mobile barcode, it seems QR codes are all the rage in Asia, and to a lesser degree, in Europe. Just take a picture of a QR code with your mobile device to open a web page with related information, or to summon a cab to a taxi stand location badged with a QR code, or…
Woa, this is very cool…but who are you, and how did you come to know so much about QR codes? (See Mary’s use of QR codes in the picture on the right.) So we took a deep breath and went around the room, introducing ourselves and describing what we would like to get out of the session.
After that, the session was amazing, with everyone offering tips and suggestions for the issues and knowledge gaps identified by each of us during the initial 10 minutes. It was a nice mix of mobile basics — from how to redirect mobile browsers to a separate subdomain designed to accommodate them (example: http://m.perezhilton.com) — to more advanced topics like QR codes!
Among the cool things I learned:
- foursquare — phone apps for exploring your local city and region
- gowalla — share your location specific experiences on the iPhone
- 12seconds — stream live video updates to Twitter and Facebook
- blogtalkradio — post podcasts and share them with iTunes, Facebook, and others
- KAYWA QR Code Generator — create a QR code for a specific URL
- QuickMark — apps to read QR codes for mobile devices
3. …except when large sessions are ideal for learning about social media
The next session was almost 180 degrees different — instead of a small, self-directed group, this session was essentially a presentation by Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) on how to share images and video via social media.
Steve began by asking for questions from the audience (good move!), and then proceeded to answer the questions with examples from his slides and videos. Although this session was altogether different in style, the content was every bit as good as the session I had just attended!
Steve convinced me that I, too, could be an amazing video blogger! Seriously, he made it appear ridiculously easy with great tips and resources like:
- flickr — upload your images then create and share a slide show
- animoto — move beyond slide shows by adding music to your pictures and video clips
- qik — to share videos from your mobile phone in real time — as it happens!
- IODA promonet — free music for your blog or podcast
Among Steve’s favorite tools are the Kodak Zi8 video camera, XShot camera extender, the Sima LED light for Camcorders, and Audio Technica’s ATR35S Lavalier Microphone.
All in all, an amazing session. To learn more about Steve, check out his website at — what else? — stevegarfield.com. To learn more about creating and sharing videos, check out Steve’s slide deck (above).
4. Everyone is a Rockstar…
…so show me the money!!!
Sorry to go all Jerry Maguire…but sometimes it’s important to know how social media efforts impact your bottom line. Especially when your boss asks.
Thankfully, Google provides a free service, Google Analytics, that can provide “…rich insight into your website traffic and marketing effectiveness.”
So, after lunch, I headed off to learn more about Google Analytics in a session where Tom Galanis (@TiNGENiOUS) showed (Podcamp host) Westfield College tracks key website statistics using Google Analytics.
But as Tom walked us through the various reports, some Podcampers in the session admitted that they are struggling make sense of their own GA reports. They need more than data…they need actionable data!
And suddenly the tables were turned, and instead of just asking questions I was surprised to find myself — along with Tom and CMS consultant Seth Gottlieb — answering questions about how to get the most from Google Analytics.
Hmmm…tough to summarize the back-and-forth, but I think we provided some guidelines to help avoid paralysis from analysis:
- Identify what you’re trying to achieve with your website (hint: it’s usually sales, sales leads, or something similar!)
- Configure GA’s “goals” feature to track those sales leads, registrations, etc.
- Follow the money! Now you can use Google’s many reports to figure out where your most valuable site visitors are coming from, what keywords they are using to find you, which websites provide valuable links to your website, etc.
- With your valuable insights, build a better website by focusing on what’s important!
- Rinse. Wash. Repeat.
5. It’s all about the people (not the network)
The style of my last Podcamp session was different again. This session featured real world success stories shared by a panel of new-media rockstars from Western Mass.
Paradoxically, the success stories they related were not about the power of the any specific network (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).
Instead, each story had, at its center, real-world people — one or more individuals who had provided career-changing advice; solved a knotty problem; made a critical introduction. You get the idea.
Not surprisingly, these persons were also described as “new best-friends.”
Another common theme emerged as well. Most of these friendships had been strengthened immeasurably by face-to-face meetings at Western Mass new-media events like this Podcamp, or at Western Mass TweetUps, and Western Mass EatUps.
Time to wrap this up!
So there you have it…the top 5 things I learned at my first podcamp. If you have an interest in social media, I highly recommend that you get your fanny to the the next Western Mass Podcamp (watch the Podcamp Western Mass page) or to the next Podcamp coming to a city near you!
If you do, there’s only one requirement — that you come back and share what you learned with everyone! 
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LesleyLambert responds:
Posted: February 8th, 2010 at 9:45 pm →
I love the way you describe your series of a-ha! moments that brought you to the camp. I felt the same way after last year’s camp and my excitement and joy in learning was re-invigorated at this second camp. My very favorite part of using social media has been reaching out and meeting new people in my community. New friends, new clients: my new circle keeps growing and I am so glad I was able to meet YOU this weekend!
Tweets that mention Social Networking in Western Mass: 5 Things Learned at My First Podcamp -- Topsy.com responds:
Posted: February 8th, 2010 at 11:35 pm →
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by JasonTurcotte, Morriss Partee ?, Lesley Lambert, Dale Stokdyk, topsy_top20k and others. topsy_top20k said: 5 Things I Learned at My First Podcamp – new blog post: http://bit.ly/my-first-podcamp #pcwm #WesternMA [...]
Pat Brough responds:
Posted: February 9th, 2010 at 1:05 pm →
It was a pleasure to meet you on the way out the door and glad I you are jumping back into the twitter world. Great to read what other learned or thought of the day. I had a great time as well.
Tweet you later
Pat B
PS.
Just a little comment and you don’t have to add this to the comments – I was the one that took the picture of the group at the end. Just wish my @patbrough was still included but understand if may have been cut to fit.
uberVU - social comments responds:
Posted: February 9th, 2010 at 1:30 pm →
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by dalestokdyk: 5 Things I Learned at My First Podcamp – new blog post: http://bit.ly/my-first-podcamp #pcwm #WesternMA…
Dale Stokdyk responds:
Posted: February 9th, 2010 at 3:31 pm →
Pat, the pleasure was mine. I loved your blog post and all the terrific photos and videos you’ve shared!
Sorry about the oversight with the image — it’s already been corrected! You’re right, I cropped the image and took some background items out, and must have inadvertently cropped the credit as well. Thanks!
Pat Brough responds:
Posted: February 9th, 2010 at 4:05 pm →
Thank you