The State of Michigan Really Likes Social Media

Did you know there is a Facebook Fan Page for Mackinac Historic Parks or that the Michigan Grape and Wine Council regularly tweets about great local wines?  In fact, the Michigan government Web site lists 26 Facebook pages, 21 Twitter accounts and 14 YouTube channels maintained by the state on its “Social Networking (Web 2.0)” page.

While many of us have already heard about the Pure Michigan social media success story, it seems the entire Michigan government social media program is attracting a few eyeballs.  The multiple Twitter accounts have more than 28,000 combined followers and the 14 YouTube channels have generated more than 41,000 views.

When digging a little deeper, it looks like each outpost employs a different engagement strategy.  Many of the sites are merely acting as extensions of their Web counterparts and rebroadcasting information.  There are only a few channels that are actively interacting with fans and followers. While creating a dialogue isn’t always an essential part of a social media strategy, I think two-way conversations are playing an increasingly important role in the government 2.0 movement.

Overall, I’m glad to see that the Michigan government is experimenting and giving average citizens newfound access to lawmakers and important state programs.  Mark this down as another “local” social media experiment that you should keep your eye on.

Your turn.

What do you think of Michigan’s social media strategy?  Are you fan?  What are they doing well?  Where could they improve?

Filed under: Michigan, blogs, community, marketing, social media, social networking, twitter , Facebook, Government 2.0, Michigan, social media, State of Michigan, twitter, Web 2.0, YouTube

Detroit Tweetups – GM Summer Tweetup Edition

General Motors has been pretty busy lately.  The brand has been virtually everywhere, launching new cars and making some pretty big announcements. So, with all this activity going on, you can image how awesome it was to hear that the GM social media team wanted to host a tweetup for Metro Detroiters at Bar Louie in Novi on August 10th.

Great food. Interesting conversation. A couple of cool cars on display.  How could the Detroit Twitter community say no?

The GM Summer Tweetup drew a great crowd of 50+ attendees

Connecting with the people in your backyard
For me, this was more than just another opportunity to see old friends and make new ones.  GM will always have a strong connection to Metro Detroit and many of us here are personally and professionally invested in the company’s success. This tweetup presented a chance for Detroiters to connect with the people behind one of our brands and hear more about where the company is headed.

For more thoughts on this topic, check out the video below featuring me and Chris Barger, GM’s Director of Global Social Media Communications.  Note the handsome expression in the video still.

Also, I’d like to thank the lovely Lish for helping organize this great event.  She did all the legwork and deserves all the credit.

As always, to stay informed about the latest news and events related to Detroit Tweetups, please join our Facebook group. To see who attended the GM Tweetup, check out the list of handles below.  If for some reason you attended the tweetup and your Twitter handle is absent, please post it in the comments.

@wendyclark
@lish
@davesacre
@becksdavis
@becksdavishubby
@kewlrats
@alexfishernet
@verdelifestyles
@1485peet
@genebrady
@ktkruzn
@dukedna
@lisakup
@anig05
@mollysly
@shedski
@hmayers
@hajjflemings
@skinjunkie
@cbaccus
@rockdrool
@margosha8
@turbobrown
@shaunan
@cxiro
@potsie
@tinawebanalytic
@hondagrrl
@freshmenz
@detroitvoice
@drintelmann
@rmercader
@lesleyhettinger
@mrb8507
@jfavreau
@danieleizans
@cbarger
@julieglissman
@qoswhit
@davemurr
@jwphillips
@tvdeegan
@rposluszny
@mabdelno
@metajp
@christas
@tomehenderson
@bchesnutt
@positivecities
@essohhbee
@joem32
@jangosteve
@davebenjamin
@tomshea

@ejohnsonroxx (not valid – anyone know this handle?)

Filed under: Michigan, community, detroit, detroit tweetups, events, social media, tweetup, twitter , detroit, detroit tweetups, General Motors, General Motors Tweetup, GM Tweetup, social media, tweetup, twitter

Detroit Tweetups – Live To Give Charity Tweetup Edition

I think most of the readers of this blog are now well aware of my affinity for recapping tweetups and other local events.  However, since the Detroit social media community accomplished something very special this past Wednesday, I’d like to hand the recap duties over to someone else.

Detroit Twitterers & Live to Givers!

The most recent Detroit Tweetup was a monstrous success. We attracted over 100 people (new #detroittu record) and raised over $1,500 for our Bloomfield Hills non-profit organization, Live to Give Foundation (L2G). If you are unaware, L2G helps families in their time of need in a PERSONAL way with mini movies that reveal our donators, fundraisers and families in need. We were launched in November of 2007 by two college seniors and now are run by 5 post graduates all under 23 years old. Social media (obviously including Twitter) is our main outreach and have raised almost $20,000 because of it.

With the support we gained at the Tweetup in Novi, we are able to provide the Shuck family with 2 more months of rent and utilities while they try to escape homelessness, joblessness, and medical issues.

Thank you to everyone who attended, Fox 2 and Channel 7 for the stories they presented, our generous sponsors (Identity Marketing & Public Relations, iDetroit, CRT Medical Systems, Twitart.com, LA Productions and C! Tech Solutions), Bar Louie for their hospitality and Brandon (@bchesnutt) for taking so much initiative to make this wonderful night happen.

We have created our “personal touch” video of the night’s festivities and encourage you to take 3 minutes to see the Tweetup fun!

done

From the bottom of our passionate hearts, thank you!

The entire Live to Give team
Ryan, Kevin, Matt, Ashley & Kelly

Thank you to everyone for helping make this first Charity Tweetup a success.  It’s always a great time when we all get together.  Doing some good in the process was an added bonus.

For those who are wondering, we will be exploring this idea again in the future.  To stay informed as to when this will happen, follow Ken Burbary and I on Twitter or join the Detroit Tweetups Facebook Group.

Filed under: Michigan, community, detroit, detroit tweetups, events, social media, social networking, tweetup, twitter , Bar Louie, C Tech Solutions, Charity, CRT Medical Systems, detroit tweetups, Identitypr, iDetroit, LA Productions, Live To Give Foundation, tweetup, tweetups, Twitart.com, twitter

Detroit Tweetups – Biznet BBQ edition

Contrary to popular belief, when you put a bunch of social media-types together in one room at a Detroit Tweetup, we rarely sit around and actually talk about social media.  

Instead, we like to indulge in some great conversation and have a little fun.  We might even randomly decide to “Office Space” a malfunctioning copier.  Check out @charliecurve’s hilarious aggression-filled video below. Note: the lyrics in this video are NSFW, so put your earmuffs on.

Special thanks to @kevinbiznet for another great Biznet Tweetup.

Filed under: community, detroit, detroit tweetups, events, social networking, tweetup, twitter

Hanging out at Ignite Lansing

I was lucky enough to get ahold of a ticket for last Friday’s Ignite Lansing, which was the first Ignite event ever held in Michigan.  For those who are not familiar with Ignite, here is a quick summary:

If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world geeks have been putting together Ignite nights to show their answers.

Ignite was started in Seattle in 2006 by Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis. Since then 100s of 5 minute talks have been given across the world. There are thriving Ignite communities in Seattle, Portland, Paris, and NYC.

While I always try to attend as many Metro Detroit-based events as possible, it was refreshing to step outside of my usual geographic boundaries and visit another growing digital community.  I was able to meet plenty of new people and finally shake hands with @nicklucido and @mattfrendewey, two smart guys I have been following on Twitter for awhile.  I also want to give a special shout out to @kaseyincharge for quickly organizing a post-event tweetup.  To view the attendee list, search the hashtag #ignitelansing or check out my Twitter stream.

However, the best part of the evening had to be my buddy David Murray’s hilarious, informative and Oscar-worthy presentation – “Who Wants To Be Adopted.”  I followed Dave around with my Flip camera for most of the night (primarily because I couldn’t present my proposed topic about the elements of a perfect Arnold Schwarzenegger movie) and captured his evening of triumph for all to see.  Enjoy.

Side note:  A few weeks ago at Startup Weekend Detroit, many of us were discussing how the Detroit community could benefit from an Ignite event.  Based on the phenomenal reception I witnessed at Ignite Lansing, I think this is something we need to explore ASAP.

Interested in helping me organize an Ignite event in Detroit?  Leave a comment, drop me a tweet or shoot me an email.

Filed under: Michigan, community, conferences, detroit, social media, tweetup, twitter , community, David Murray, Ignite, Ignite Detriot, Ignite Lansing, Lansing, Presentations, social media, twitter

Detroit Tweetups – Hanging with Chris Brogan Edition – #robtu

A lot of people out there (well, at least like 60,000) think Chris Brogan is pretty cool dude.  So, when it was announced that there would be a Tweetup in his honor at the Royal Oak Brewery, Detroit’s Twitter community came out in force… and with only 24 hours notice.

A surprise bonus was that social media firecracker Amber Naslund (pictured below with everyone’s favorite redhead – @damnredhead) was also present.  After introducing myself, I just had to thank her.  Why?  Because Radian6 is pretty awesome.

Be sure to check out everyone’s tweets from the event – #robtu

Here were some of my favorite moments:

• Getting the chance to finally meet @cbarger.  Heck of a nice guy.  Make sure you follow him.
• Loudly promoting Friday’s Module 09 conference.  It is going to be awesome.  Seriously. Buy a ticket.
• Being referred to as “Trouble” by @ambercadabra.  Obviously, my reputation proceeds me.
• Discussing a possible Tweetup collaboration with my new friend, the delightful @lish.
• Seeing many new faces.  This Tweetup drew people from all over Michigan, including @natalie_joy, @kaseyincharge, @andrea_ness and @ssiewert (a fellow Erma’s Frozen Custard fan).
• Reconnecting with @drintelmann. Our paths had not crossed in some time…. and it started getting annoying.
• Talking about the happenings here in Detroit with @chrisbrogan.
• Sharing my love of Band of Brothers with @kenburbary and @essohhbee.  CURRAHEE!
• Bumping into @bw313. I actually introduced her to Twitter back in February at another event.  This was her first Tweetup and she brought a not-yet-on-Twitter friend… who is now on Twitter as @ElaineMBrady.

Thanks to everyone for making it a great night and for playing a part in Detroit’s growing social media community.  You all rock.

Check out the list of attendees after the jump.

Filed under: Michigan, detroit, detroit tweetups, social media, social networking, tweetup, twitter , #robtu, Amber Naslund, Chris Brogan, community, detroit, detroit tweetups, social media, tweetups, twitter

Working the Social Media Campaign Trail with Pete Hoekstra

Ever since elementary school, part of me wanted to be involved in politics.  Last week, I got my first taste of what it was like to be on an official campaign trail.

Michigan Congressman Pete Hoekstra retained Identity Marketing & Public Relations in early March to help launch his campaign to be the next Governor of Michigan.  While our work was primarily focused on connecting Pete with members of the press and raising awareness of his announcement, I was given the chance to help fine-tune his social media strategy.

Lucky for me, I wasn’t starting from scratch.  Prior to my involvement, the Hoekstra team understood the importance of possessing a strong digital presence and was incredibly active on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and on many other niche communities. Additionally, Pete had already succeeded in building an impressive community of 6,000 followers on Twitter and nearly 4,000 friends on Facebook.

If you think about it, social media has made quite the impact on the political arena.  It has presented politicians with a number of new channels for informing and interacting with constituents.  Members of congress now share their reactions to speeches and debates in real time.  For us citizens, this means the men and women who represent us in Washington are now more accessible than ever.

When I finally got the chance to get my hands dirty, I found a lot of similarities in the tactics used for building corporate social media strategies, with measurable short-term and long-term goals guiding our efforts.  However, since we were talking about social and economic issues instead of products and services, we needed to tread lightly.

Our initial strategy sessions involved discussing how to set our social media “tone” early, ensure transparency, quickly influence reactionary conversations, thank die-hard supporters and engage skeptics.  You know… the good stuff.

However, the big X-factor in our strategy planning was that our team would be mobile for nearly the entire day.  Yep. We had ourselves a caravan.

After my day-long, 450-mile road trip, with stops all over Michigan including Detroit, Fraser, Southfield, Royal Oak, Lansing and Holland, I took away a few pointers when it comes to working social media on the road.  Don’t think of these squarely as suggestions for those in politics. These might help with major corporate announcements and activities where traveling and updating on the fly is necessary.

1. Ensure that your communities are accessible from mobile devices and can quickly be viewed and updated.  Facebook Mobile, Twitter Mobile, etc. were incredibly helpful when looking at community reactions to recently posted videos, pictures and status updates.
2. Have multiple phones available if traditional media relations is playing a big role in your announcement and designate one device for interviews.  The others should have access to email and keyword/conversation alerts (Google/Twitter).
3. Plan out stops at locations that offer WiFi so content can be quickly uploaded.  It also helps to check with your event locations and ask if you can use their network for a short period of time while on site.
4. Purchase an AirCard or mobile device tethering plan for the duration of the event.  I used a Verizon USB card and having full Internet access on my laptop at all times was totally worth it.
5. If you are in charge of distributing content and managing updates, don’t get stuck driving. Lull moments in the car are the perfect time for uploading photos and short videos, as well as ensuring every item is keyword/SEO friendly.  You lose those precious minutes if you are behind the wheel.

Those are some of my suggestions.  What are your tips?  If you had to run a social media program from the road, or have already done so, what other recommendations would you add to the list?

Bonus: Pete’s team put together this great video from the announcement day.  You can see me with my Flip at 3:29.

(Disclaimer: I’m still learning about Pete Hoekstra and his campaign platform.  Just because I’m working for him doesn’t mean he has my vote.  When it comes to our next Governor, I’m still very much undecided.)

Filed under: Michigan, blogs, detroit, marketing, public relations, social media, social networking, twitter , Facebook, Flickr, Identity Marketing & Public Relations, Michigan Governor, Michigan Governor Race, Pete Hoekstra, Politics, social media, Social Media on the Road, Social Networks, Strategy, twitter, YouTube

Detroit Tweetups – Royal Oak Tweetup 2009 Edition

After the immense success of January’s Novi Tweetup, it felt like the entire Detroit Twitterverse was left wondering: “so….when is the next one?”

While there was some initial debate on whether or not we should hold off and allow for a period of “Twitter detoxification,” Ken Burbary and I decided to pull the trigger and call upon our community once again to come out, meet new people and reconnect with old friends.

The response was overwhelming.

With nearly 120 RSVPs on the Facebook event page, 75% of which came in the first few days, you could physically feel the level of excitement leading up to February’s Royal Oak Tweetup.

As the event’s “promotion engine,” which was the perfect role for me because I am loud… even online, I had extremely high expectations.  Little did I know that by the end of the night, they would be completely blown out of the water.

On Feburary 27th at 6 p.m., the Detroit Twitter community descended upon Mr. B’s in Royal Oak (a special thank you to Mr. B’s for hosting us).  More than 90 great people got together, shared a few cocktails and took their conversations from Twitter into the “real world.”

Things are just getting started…

Within 20 minutes of arriving, I knew the event would be a success.

(You hear that Yelp!?  @balanon loves you guys…)

As more people showed up, we slowly took over the entire back section of Mr. B’s.

(@rumblestrip with the classy keg stand comments – ha!)

Then came the icing on the cake.

Around 8 p.m., local twitterer and catalyst for optimism Stephen Clark decided to swing by to join us for a few.  Oh… I forgot to mention…. he is also a news anchor with WXYZ Channel 7 here in Detroit….  and he brought along a cameraman.

For those wondering, he uses TweetDeck

Holy. Crap.

(Yes, I know I said sclark@wxyz… not @sclarkwxyz…. but you get the picture)

Stephen mentioned that he wanted to interview two attendees about Twitter and Tweetups.  The chosen two: yours truly and @damonhenry.

Everyone was ecstatic.  Then… panic set in.  We all froze when we realized a we had to explain Twitter in one sentence to “non-geeks.”  That meant no use of the common buzzwords such as microblog, social media, social networking, etc.  Go ahead…. try it.  It is not that easy.

Luckily, @charliecurve swooped in like a majestic eagle and proclaimed Twitter to be (paraphrasing here) like “the world’s largest, online cocktail party where people are sharing news and information, as well as having conversations about virtually anything, in real time.”  His quote made it into the end of the piece.

(Hat tip to Eric Vogel for grabbing the clip)

You can view a high quality version here in the Channel 7 Web site.

While I was interviewed on camera about the event, my footage was lost due to “technical error” (probably because I am too handsome—instant rimshot).  However, I did get to spend ten minutes or so talking with Stephen about Detroit’s growing social media community and how our members are doing some amazing things.  We also talked about how traditional media is looking at social media as an avenue for connecting with viewers.  Great stuff.

As the night went on, we ran out of name tags.  Attendees started using whatever they could find to show who they were in the Twitter world.

(That was @michaelsavoni with “Blue Steel”)

As the event came to a close, I spent a minute talking with Damon about being interviewed.

(My grandma really is on Facebook.  She is 72.  The world has imploded.)

Here were a few of  my other favorite moments from the night in no particular order:

• Meeting @turbobrown in person – we are in the middle of the 100 pushup challenge (now on week four)
• Running out of name tags – FAIL
• Being interviewed by Channel 7 – WIN
• Being told the interview was lost due to technical error – EPIC FAIL
• Saying the word awesome about 156 times
• After @rmercader put “I’m awesome” on his name tag, I put “#awesome” on mine…
• Discussing the movie Commando with @themoviefight
• Hanging around till the very end with @terrybean and @missive

I also love @rmercader’s follow-up video with his favorite moments.  Great stuff!  Be sure to swing by his blog and comment!

So, I bet you might just be wondering…. “when is the next Detroit Tweetup?”

To stay informed, please join the Detroit Tweetups Facebook Group or follow me and @kenburbary.

To wrap up this post, please share your favorite moments from #rotu09.   Any new friendships?  Any new business leads?  Just had a great (or awful) time?  Let us know!

To view the event’s Tweet stream, search the hashtag – #rotu09.

A full list of attendees from #rotu09 is available after the jump.

Filed under: detroit, detroit tweetups, social media, social networking, tweetup, twitter , #rotu09, detroit, detroit tweetups, Royal Oak Tweetup, social media, Social Networks, twitter

New Detroit Tweetup Scheduled – February 27th in Royal Oak

Brace yourselves people. A Tweetup has been scheduled for Friday, February 27th from 6pm till 9pm (or should I say till ???? like on the birthday party invites teens send out when they turn 20) at Mr. B’s in Royal Oak.

The Facebook event page has already been updated and we had nearly 70 confirmed guests in just under 48 hours. At this time, we are only a few attendees away from 100.  I expect all of you (well…. all of you in the metro area) to be there. I know I will be… sign-in sheet in one hand, drink in the other.

Come one, come all.  Reconnect with old friends and meet new ones.

See you then.

photo courtesy of kevindooley

Filed under: detroit, social media, social networking, tweetup, twitter

Detroit Tweeps – Novi Tweetup Edition

I have often heard people say that you are only as powerful as your network. Well, if that is the case, my Detroit Tweeps network is so powerful that I can fight crime.

Last night marked the first official Detroit Tweetup of 2009. Held at Buffalo Wild Wings in Novi, there had actually been quite a bit of buzz surrounding the event since @kenburbary put the word out on January 2nd (super special thanks to Ken for coordinating the event and getting us our space.  You are the man… and you owe me an interview).  Those of us who RSVPed on the Detroit Tweetups Facebook page watched as the number of attendees quickly climbed, at one point topping over 90 people.  I honestly would have been happy if only half that number showed up.  Boy… were my expectations blown out of the water.

More than 80 tweeters showed up for cocktails, wings, casual conversation and the fun game of matching real people to their avatars and @ handles.

Here are some of my favorite highlights from the Novi Tweetup in no particular order:

• Hearing @virtualjason explain to me how the economy really has  impacted ticket prices at major sporting events… as he handed out a stack of Pistons tickets…
• Seeing @rmercader come up with “Twitter gang signs” for use throughout the night.
• Experiencing only two party fouls: one from our group and one from the group of guests who somehow were sat at a table in the middle of our massive tweetup.
• Learning that @charliecurve has an excellent taste in all things science fiction (yep… we are nerds).
• @shannonpaul’s AWESOME t-shirt (video below).
• Listening to how @toddwaller had a freakin’ fantastic year in the residential real estate business despite “the rumors we may have heard about the market.”
• Watching the room fill up to the point where you needed to be some type of trained gymnast to bob and weave your way through all the groups.  The area at the back of the bar was particularly brutal (thanks to @wa73 for the photo).
• Meetings a ton of cool new people to follow – professionals, students, entrepreneurs, communicators, creatives and social media fanatics.

Here are some videos from the event.

@shannonpaul’s awesome t-shirt!!

The always hilarious @charliecurve shot a quick video on site (using @balanon’s flip) about why people come to a tweetup.

You can also check out the event’s Twitter stream here – #nt09.

Honestly, I’m pretty excited about of the social media community that is beginning to develop in Detroit.  While many people in the area have been blogging, podcasting and tweeting for years, we are starting to formalize our presence in the region.  Our innovative culture is expanding rapidly, and people are starting to take notice.

Watch out world.  Detroit is becoming a real hub of social media activity.

So, to all my Detroit Tweeps out there, I just want to say that you guys crushed this event.  My personal thanks for showing up en masse and kicking off 2009 in style.

For those who attended, what were your favorite moments of the night?  Who were some of the great tweeters that you met?  More importantly, what did you get out of attending?  New friends, new business, new meetings? Please share.

A list of attendees after the jump.

Filed under: detroit, social media, social networking, tweetup, twitter