Think Global. Act Local. How you can Support the Growing Digital Detroit Community

**Originally posted by Ken Burbary on http://www.i-detroit.com**

Detroit has an thriving community of Digital marketing, advertising, creative and technology professionals. The community does exceptional work supporting the online communication efforts of brands like Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Jeep, GeekSquad, United States Postal Service, Unite States Navy, and Michelin to name a few. However, we’ve long lived in the shadow of our industrial reputation the region earned decades ago. We’re trying to change that and show a different side of Detroit, the Digital side. Some ambitious members of this community have submitted their ideas for panels at the 2010 SXSW interactive festival. For those unfamiliar with it, SXSWi is one of, if not, the biggest annual industry event. People travel from all over the globe to attend, learn and share their professional experience in digital communications.

“SXSW Interactive features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line up of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer.”

I’m highlighting 6 sessions submitted by Detroit based Digital professionals. I’m asking for your help to get their ideas selected for the conference. It takes only a few moments of your time to vote. Simply go to the SXSW panel picker by clicking on the session titles below, and click the icon to vote (note: you will need to register if you don’t already have an account). Every vote counts. Let’s get these panelists into the “big show” and highlight the emerging talent that is right in your own backyard.

Building Social Strategies at Fortune 100 Companies - panel session with Scott Monty, Ford Motor Company

Description: Companies of all sizes are adopting social media and community, but large organizations have some unique challenges and opportunities. This panel will uncover best practices through stories told by social media leaders from Ford, Nationwide, IBM, Microsoft, SAP and Dell.

Using Social Media to Find a New Gig – panel session by Shelli Gutholm, Aquent

Description: Don’t expect to get your next job by stuffing a bunch of resumes into envelopes and sending to “HR”. The best way to find the job of your dreams is by networking through Social Media. Social networking helps bypass the anonymity of the proverbial resume “black hole”. How you can use Social Media to secure your next job? We will be reviewing the tools and best practices that job seekers should utilize in a search. Also, we will outline some of the common mistakes job seekers make when using Social Media, which could lead to your efforts being sabotaged before they even begin.

Real World ROI and Social Media Strategies – panel session by Cosmin Ghiurau, BOSSdev Inc.

Description: Why Social Matters to Business Calculating the ROI of Social Case Study: CPR Week Digital Campaign for the American Heart Association Available with a client representative to participate These three topics can be presented as independent sessions or combined into one session. All three topics are focused upon how business can effectively understand, implement and measure web 2.0 marketing programs. Knowledge on the latest research and methods for digital marketing and social media Resources to leverage to stay informed on digital marketing and social media Real world examples of how businesses implement and measure web 2.0 programs ROI calculator to estimate and measure your own web 2.0 programs

Beyond the Click: Converting Website Visitors into Customers – solo session by Ayat Shukairy, Invesp Consulting

Description: For an online business, persuading visitors to purchase your product or service is crucial to increasing sales. Using the science and art of analytics analysis, marketing, usability and software, discover how the Conversion Framework approach can convert online visitors into customers such as RHDJapan and Metro Uniforms.

Industrial To Interactive: From Old Town To Tech Town – panel session by iDetroit members

Description: The idea of your city being home to the next thriving digital community is enticing. However, traditionally non-tech regions face a challenge. How do you introduce, develop and grow a digital movement within a location that has never seen one? Detroit is one such city currently grappling with this issue.

Using Facebook to Leverage Social Marketing and Gain ROI - dual session by K. Alan Robbins, BOSSdev Inc.

Description: Panel will cover the evolution of the social networking universe; provide valuable information with respect to the capabilities and unique aspects of the Facebook platform; valuable tips to help you craft an effective Facebook guerilla marketing campaign; and provide key criteria to help you to pick an effective development partner.

Filed under: Michigan, community, conferences, detroit, events, iDetroit, social media, tech , alan robbins, aquent, ayat shukairy, bossdev, cosmin ghiurau, detroit, Ford, iDetroit, invesp, Scott Monty, shelli gutholm, SXSWi

TechKaraoke Detroit – July Hottness Edition

The Detroit Chapter of TechKaraoke held its first official event on Friday, July 24th, at the Royal Kubo in Clawson.  The picture above only captures a fraction of the awesomeness that went on that night.  So, enjoy the video!

Important things to mention:

1. The lighting was crazy, which had an impact on the video quality.
2. @Farms loves to dance on stage.
3. MC @HubertGAM knows how to pump up the crowd!
4. Be sure to check out Icrontic’s great event recap and visit their Flickr page to view some fantastic photos.
5. We decided to introduce a new element to TechKaraoke.  We are presenting a trophy to the “Best in Show” performer of the night at each event.  Mr. @digitalvision was our first winner and will be tasked with adding something to our awesome trophy.  He will also serve as judge at the next TechKaraoke Detroit event.

To be honest, TechKaraoke is quickly becoming one of my favorite events.  The feedback has been stellar and there have already been numerous inquiries about the next event.

Currently, we plan to hold TechKaraoke Detroit every other month at Royal Kubo.  Our next event will be on a Friday sometime in mid to late September.  To stay informed, be sure to join the TechKaraoke Detroit Facebook Group.

AWESOME UPDATE – 5:23PM 7/31/2009

Our friends at Royal Kubo loved the photos and videos.  In fact, they liked them so much, they plan on throwing in a $30 bar tab for the “Best in Show” winner at the next event!  SWEET!

Filed under: TechKaraoke Detroit, community, detroit, events, iDetroit, tech, techkaraoke , events, icrontic, iDetroit, karaoke, Royal Kubo, social media, tech, techkaraoke, TechKaraoke Detroit

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 , twitter, detroit tweetups, tweetups, tweetup, Charity, Live To Give Foundation, Identitypr, C Tech Solutions, iDetroit, LA Productions, CRT Medical Systems, Bar Louie, Twitart.com