I wanted to give you a little run down on our meeting and the general direction of SMCHI this year.

State of the Club

• Through growth in membership, a special event and collaborative partnerships, I’m proud to announce that our 2012 BOD voted to full reimburse those members who paid for things like live streaming, web hosting and more last year, this is the first time we have been able to fully fund our operations and its a big deal.
• Our membership 2011 growth last year was tremendous, the largest majority coming from neighbor islands.

JOIN US FOR A HALF-DAY WORKSHOP & LUNCH BUFFET
Friday, February 10, 2012 – 11:30am to 5:00pm
Lunch & Learn at Amuse Wine Bar Cupola Theater in the Honolulu Design Center

Learn how new trends at the intersection of human resources & social media are changing everything related to employment, recruiting and staffing. In this hands-on, highly participative workshop, you’ll learn the basics of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for business networking, employee referrals, workforce development & promoting job postings.

Come & network with forward-thinking Human Resources, recruiting & staffing industry professionals, enjoy a delicious hot lunch, and learn from local social media experts.

Designed specifically for beginners, this friendly “what and why” workshop will take the fear out of social media and show you how easy it is to:
* Build your business network using social media
* Promote your employment brand & job openings to a targeted audience
* Effectively use social media both personally and professionally

HOW TO PLAY THE SOCIAL NETWORKING GAME:
In a lively, interactive game led by Tara Coomans, Social Media Hawaii Chapter president and Head Brainstormer at Akamai Marketing, you’ll learn how to develop a social media strategy to meet goals & initiatives, determine which social media platforms are useful for specific tasks, and how to tie them together for a targeted campaign.

TALK STORY – OPEN FORUM:
Learn simple steps on how to get started using social media tools. In an informal panel discussion facilitated by the Social Media Club leaders, local business people will share stories, resources and ideas. You’ll get diverse perspectives on what works from Beth Busch, Connye Harper, Mary Despe, Quincy Solano, Derek Gabriel and YOU. Got a story to share? Or just bring your questions!

PLUS: LinkedIn Essentials
Learn how to get started on LinkedIn, write your profile and join online networking groups to attract clients and make new business connections. Have the confidence to become a super user of LinkedIn in a LIVE WEBCAST presented virtually by Margo Rose aka @HRMargo of the Social Media Club Nashville Chapter.

Cost $25 + $1.62 registration fee
Includes buffet lunch and free parking
RSVP by February 6

Follow this event on Twitter #SoMeHi.

CAN’T MAKE IT? Human resources, recruiting and staffing practitioners on neighbor islands and the mainland who cannot come to the half-day workshop in Honolulu are invited to attend the 60-minute LinkedIn Essentials webinar. Contact info@aps2k.com for details and webinar-only registration.

This program is co-sponsored by SmartSearch applicant tracking software and Harper Strategies human resources consulting. We also invite you to check out Social Media Club Hawaii Chapter program on Social Media Policies Feb 21.

How DO forward thinking employers create policies that empower employees in the social media space while at the same time protecting the company’s many legal and branding considerations?

For our next event on February 21, 2012 we’re going to discuss exactly that challenge.  We have a power-punch panel (say that 3 times fast) who each bring a unique perspective to the challenges companies face when creating a policy. After leaving our event, we want you to feel empowered to create a social media policy for YOUR company and its employees.

Our panel of social media and technology experts:

Ryan K. Hew, Attorney at Law
Ryan focuses his practice on assisting small businesses in Hawai with a passion for technology and intellectual property issues. He sits on the Technology Committee Member at Hawaii State Bar Association is a graduate of Gonzaga University School of Law. Ryan also holds an MBA. Ryan also blogs about current issues and trends in the technology and legal sphere.

 David Bower, Director of Business Development, Altres 
In 2010, Altres issued a white paper on the topic of creating a social media policy. David will speak to what’s changed since that paper was issued and how he is seeing employers create policies that work for them.

Sylvia Dahlby, Rainmaker, Smart Search
Sylvia is a technology early adopter, having worked in the technology and recruiting industries since 1978, she’s seen it all. Since the advent of social media, she’s seen lots of businesses use social media for recruiting and communication. She’s the organizer of Social Media in HR Bootcamp, a member of SHRM-Hawaii and a PRO member of SMCHI.

Connye Harper, Consultant, Mediator, Investigator at Harper Strategies, LLC
With over 35 years experience in labor and employment law Connye has helped many different businesses implement policies, practices and programs which comply with federal and state laws and regulations. She is on the Board of Directors of Society of Human Resource Management-Hawaii and a PRO member of SMCHI. Since 1976, she has been a member of good standing with the State Bar of Michigan.

Tuesday, Feb 21st, 2012
6 – 7:30 pm
Amuse Wine Bar, Honolulu Design Center
Lots of free, covered parking, enter off Piikoi, just mauka of Kapiolani Blvd.

Yep. We got that. PubCon, one of the nation’s premier digital optimization conferences is coming to Honolulu February 13-15. Along with them they’ve got an exciting group of speakers , and as importantly, the topics are timely and relevant, from SEO to Google+ and of course, the 800 lb gorilla: Facebook.  We’re really excited to have this level of professional development here in Honolulu. Frankly, its very expensive to do events like this in Honolulu, so its unusual for us to get this opportunity. We get to network, get insight, and we get to do it all without having to leave our beautiful state of Hawaii. Lucky us. Again. Plus, we know where to drop in for a good nosh…even without checking out Yelp or Foursquare.  See? Its nice to be home.

I hope to see many of you there! Don’t forget to take advantage of the promo code for 15% off the registration price we sent out in the last SMCHI email and support this important event. Professional members have an even better discount of 25%! Let’s show PubCon Aloha for doing all the hard work and bringing a high quality professional development event right to our doorsteps.

Follow the #PubCon hashtag and connect with people before they get here!

A hui hou!

Tuesday, Feb 21st, 2012
6 – 7:30 pm
Amuse Wine Bar, Honolulu Design Center
Lots of free, covered parking, enter off Piikoi, just mauka of Kapiolani Blvd.

Aloha and Happy New Year!

UPDATE: Full event details are now posted here.

P.S. Please read our most recent email newsletter to see other events happening in January and February.

UPDATE:
Please congratulate our newly elected 2012 Board of Directors! All of our current Pro members can be seen listed in the side bar.

Each position is appended with a note about where the work must be done for that position; there are several that can be done from any island!

President: TARA COOMANS
Coordinate all other roles; set strategic course; interface with SMC.org; media spokesperson; MC quarterly events; plan quarterly Professional De sessions; supervise LinkedIn group; negotiate cooperative agreements with other associations and events; chief wrangler and cheerleader. Oahu for now.

Programs: HAL WILKERSON
Plan quarterly meeting topics; seek out qualified presenter; give them our meeting requirements; coordinate their slides and presentation; provide speaker details and links to the communication team; pick up leis for the meeting – for presenter and for sponsor; collect speaker bio; craft and deliver a personal introduction at the event; write a thank you note afterwards. Arrange for transportation/coordination for visiting speakers. Mostly Oahu.

Communication – Social: GWEN WOLTZ
Update Twitter & FB accounts; curate list of all member Twitter accounts and blog RSS feeds; highlight member accomplishments on FB and TW. Manage Flickr account. Any Island.

Communication – Web & Email: LAURA KINOSHITA
Post community events, thank sponsors, promote upcoming events, feature member accomplishments, create Eventbrite page and event blog posts. Any Island.

Communication – PR & Event Marketing: ALL BOARD MEMBERS
Write press releases and distribute; Post event info to SMC site and to as many other listings as possible; outreach to other associations; keep SMCHI in the news. Post SMCHI meeting info on related business sites. Update SMCHI LinkedIn group with information related to events per https://123.writeboard.com/6fspwtygu1qmohk3. Any Island.

Venue Planning: JANA PIERCE
Coordinate quarterly meeting dates and set-up with venue. Ensure venue meets tech specs. Communicate with venue in advance re: anticipated number of attendees. Print name tags for attendees on day-of. Arrive in time to greet attendees. Coordinate with tech support. Coordinate with sponsorship to ensure sponsors receive appropriate recognition. Monitor #smchi tweetstream during events. Post entry to SMC parent website after the event. Must be Oahu.

Venue Technology: DEREK GABRIEL
Set up live stream; set up presenter laptop; perform sound checks; help monitor Twitter and video chat. Coordinate with events to confirm hardware needs. Must be on Oahu.

Website Support: ROXANNE DARLING
Keep software and plugins up to date; create sponsor badges and place as needed; supervise user accounts. Any Island.

Sponsorship: ALL BOARD MEMBERS
Locate sponsor(s) for each qrtrly meeting and for the HSMYIR; collect payments; gather sponsor logo, urls and description for web tech; write entry on blog welcoming the sponsor; make sure sponsor receives due recognition and buzz; introduce sponsor at live meetings. Secure prizes for quarterly drawings. Write sponsorship proposals for new sponsorship opportunities. Mostly Oahu.

Membership: ALL BOARD MEMBERS
Outreach to potential new members; check SMC.org weekly for new members until auto-notification is in place; process new members (related post with info). Invite new members to Pro LinkedIn Group. Welcome new members on social media outlets, Facebook and Twitter. Request membership updates quarterly from SMC. Remind members whose membership is expiring. Keep SMCHI membership list updated on website. Keep membership Google Doc updated. Monitor SMCHI General LinkedIn Group for inquiries about membership. Print Pro Member name tags as new members are added. Assist neighbor island member visitors with transportation needs. Any Island.

Neighbor Island Reps – Maui, Big Island, Kauai: ALL MEMBERS
Be our ears and eyes locally; coordinate satellite screenings of quarterly meetings; share local events with email list manager to help in promotion. Promote social media best practices, Island Specific.

Anyone is welcome to review our BOD guidelines here.

This is our Second Annual celebration of your work and success in social media, the Hawaii Social Media Year in Review (#HSMYIR).

True to the commitment of our global Social Media Club – If you get it, share it!, we’re opening it up for everyone to share their social media accomplishments in 2011, the end result will be a digital “brag board” of sorts. We’re inviting you to tell us about your social media activities, so we can tell the world! Whatever your social media accomplishment for 2011, we want to hear about it and help you celebrate it!  Nothing is too large or small. From opening social accounts to creating campaigns, everyone is growing in the social media sphere and we’d like to celebrate it all!

This year we talked a lot about video and how it can be used in the social media sphere, so in the spirit of that topic, this year’s submissions be via video. We think video will create an impactful and unique presentation for this year’s #HSMYIR at the year end party on December 13, and  the best part is, you’ll also have an asset for you to use on your site! We’ll be giving tips on how easy this can be to do – so not to worry if you have never done video before.

Our guidelines for submission are simple:

• All entries must be based on the tools and concepts of social media.
• Each person is limited to a maximum of three entries (In the event of more than three submissions, we will ignore all but the first three.)
• Submissions must be your own work, not the work of others. They may be on behalf of a client.
• Submission is by video, uploaded to www.vimeo.com and an accompanying form submission (below.)
• Videos must be a maximum of one minute in length.
• Accomplishments can be large or small – all are welcome so long as the above criteria are met!
• Open to ALL based in Hawaii (not required to be a SMCHI member).
• All entries must be received by the deadline (UPDATED AGAIN): NOON December 13th.

Here are several ideas for how to create your social media accomplishment video:

• Make a Keynote or Powerpoint presentation and export as a movie file.
• Make a talking head video right from your computer webcam.
• Make a video from your iPhone and interview your client or colleagues and show us the business location.
• Take pictures and make a moving slideshow from them.

PSSST:

We are seeking prize sponsors. If you or your client are looking to get in front of a digitally connected crowd, this is a great opportunity for you! Please complete our sponsorship form here! For more information on sponsoring particular elements of the event, please fill out the form as well!

For More Info: 

Save the Date: Hawaii Social Media Year in Review

Register for Hawaii Social Media Year in Review

About Vimeo
This is a free web hosting site that allows you to create a free account and upload HD videos. We will be able to curate a list of all valid entries and it will create one place online where we can watch and discuss all of the entries.

HSMYIR Submission Form

Feeling stumped about how to make your video submission? Roxanne Darling is giving a 30-minute webinar on Sunday night to give you several ideas!

WHEN: Dec 11, 2011 at 8:00 PM HST.

https://www3.gotomeeting.com/join/209352446

Use your microphone and speakers (VoIP) – a headset is recommended. Or, call in using your telephone.

Dial +1 (510) 443-0603
Access Code: 209-352-446
Audio PIN: Shown after joining the meeting

Meeting ID: 209-352-446

Looking back at the tweet stream, (hashtag #HiMari) there were dozens and dozens of actionable tips: enough to put on your “Facebook Page To Do List” for a good 12 months in my opinion! In fact, I am so excited about all the nuggets that flew by I am sorting through the hashtag conversation and will be posting a separate Tip Sheet in a week or so. I will update this post when that is ready for viewing.

UPDATE 2011-10-26: Member Peter Liu created a Tweetdoc with all the tweets. Available for download here.

Meanwhile, our SMCHI chapter president Tara Coomans created a “Storify” from the event. It’s embedded here for you to enjoy!

What was your favorite moment at Mari’s workshop? Do tell us!

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2011 – HONOLULU, HI – 6-9 pm

We will be meeting at our favorite space, Amuse Wine Bar in the Cupola Room for an extended gathering 6 – 9 pm. We are still polishing the details, however you can be thinking about *your* social media accomplishments in the past year. This is not a competition! And like most all aspects of social media, everyone is invited! We think of it as our “un-awards” gala!

Here Are The Highlights:

What would you like to share with our Hawaii community?
- Big or small, we honor your adventures in social media – aka the modern way to connect with your customers and employees.
- What are the key points of your story?
- Who was beneficial in helping you?
- What have you gained as a result?
- Submit your story here.
Would you be interested in sponsoring this event?
- We are collecting prizes to give away.
- We would like to be able to purchase some party decorations.
- We have a number of neighbor island members attending; can you assist with lodging, car rental, or airfare?
- Prize drawings – to be announced on Twitter so as not to interrupt the party AND to give you maximum buzz! (We did this last year and it was great fun.) Submit your prize here.
Who will attend with you?
- This will be a fun event to share with colleagues at work.
- Have you been more social with friends? Invite them!
- Do you support a nonprofit who could benefit from social media? Please introduce them to our hui.
- Click here to RSVP for this event so we can have your name tag ready at the door.
What will be happening at the event?
- Food and drinks available for purchase.
- Music and possibly spontaneous outbreaks of dancing…
- Viewing your accomplishments on the big screen, looping all night long.
- Do you Spotify? Add your favorite party songs to our open playlist for the night!

Sponsors:

Our wonderful friends at Hagadone Printing are our Premier Sponsor for this special year-end event! Please follow them on Twitter @h1forall and join their Facebook page.

Vince Mitchell (@digitalsignguy) is bringing his Social Media Kiosk for us to play with! Thanks Vince.

Here’s the scoop:

Date: October 18th 6:00-7:30PM 

Event: Understanding Social Media Measuremt
Produced by SMCHI #SMCHI
Cost: Free; seating is limited.
Read more and register here for this free event.

Date: October 19th 9AM-4PM

Event: Hawaii Social Media Summit #SMSHI
Produced by Tech News Bytes
Cost: $90 with Promo Code: SMCHI ($110 without promo code)

UPDATE 2011-10-26: Member Peter Liu created a Tweetdoc with all the tweets from this event. Available for download here.

This fall’s Hawaii Social Media summit will also be part of two larger tech-related conferences taking place at the same time, which means the Hawaii Convention Center is going to be positively buzzing with marketers, techies and business owners. The fantastic Mari Smith will be the keynote speaker. If you aren’t already familiar with Mari, she’s written several books about social media, she’s considered a Facebook expert and is a social media source for publications including The New York Times, Fast Company, Inc., and the Wall Street Journal. She’s a fantastically popular speaker on the mainland and always draws a crowd.

In addition to Mari Smith, the education line up includes John Heckathorn of Honolulu magazine, local social media and community builder, LP Neenz Faleafine and several SMCHI Pro’s such as Linda Sherman, Laura Kinoshita and panels including Peter Liu, Roxanne Darling, Hal Wilkerson, Rob Bertholf, Tara Coomans and Bill Sodeman. This is definitely an action packed day you aren’t going to want to miss!

Register here:  Psst: Don’t forget that promo code: SMCHI.

UPDATE 2011-10-26: Member Peter Liu created a Tweetdoc with all the tweets from this event. Available for download here.

Date: October 20th 3PM-5PM

Event: Event Relationship Marketing with Mari Smith #HIMari
co- produced by Bare Feet Studios and SMCHI

Cost: $35

An intimate afternoon with Mari Smith. Mari Smith shares her secrets about building a circle of influence in social media. Having built a career as one of the country’s most highly respected social media experts using the very techniques she’ll share with you during this session, you’ll get to hear first-hand advice and recommendations. Mari’s followers are wildly passionate about her and her dance card is always full. This is a great way to connect with Mari in an intimate setting. Don’t wait to get your tickets until you see her on the 19th: it’s sure to be sold out by then!

Learn more and Register Here.

UPDATE 2011-10-26: Member Peter Liu created a Tweetdoc with all the tweets from this event. Available for download here.

As the author of this book, Marshall Sponder points out, unlike other forms of media, there is no single, widely accepted methodology for social media analytics. As an industry, we just haven’t settled on that. Indeed, its quickly becoming the holy grail. But the other camp has a valid, if purist argument: measuring the value of conversation in itself is impossible. Its true that there are numerous qualitative benefits to social media that don’t fit nicely on a spreadsheet.

But for those who have clients or stakeholders who are in need of results-oriented information, the book Social Media Analytics (affiliate link) is a fantastic place to start. Sponder begins his book reminding readers that setting up social media analytics requires significant time and research to implement. There are several areas that can be researched before determining what KPI’s will be applied. As someone who works with clients regularly on this issue, I particularly appreciated the way the author values the set-up process and identifies tools that are available for various tracking types. Included in these tools is a complete range of options with some case studies and practical advice about which tool may work best for you. From Radian6 to other lesser known options. There are not many measurement recommendations which have palatable price points for small business, although some do exist.  Understanding that it isn’t always practical, its worth stating that starting out with a quality measurement tool from the beginning will enable you to have baselines from which to compare future growth. If businesses aren’t measuring from the very beginning, measuring mid-stream will present its own set of challenges. Using a solid measurement tool from the very beginning also enables businesses to help identify the KPI’s that will be part of the social media growth. I’m in the camp of if you’re going to do social media right, it will at the very least require an investment in time and its worth it for businesses to understand how to measure and refine the efforts. I find that many businesses don’t know what to track in social media and investing in analytics software from the beginning will help in determining what is important to track depending on business’ objectives.

Another portion of the book I particularly appreciated was acknowledgement of debate over how to measure the value of a Facebook Fan or a Tweet. In addressing this topic, Sponder uses several case studies and quotes several “thought leaders” on the topic. What we see is that there is no one true value of a Facebook Fan or a Tweet, determining those values is dependent on a number of factors and if that’s a number that you or your client wish to track, then there are a multitude of considerations to take into account.

While there are numerous choices for methodology identified in the book,  the author gave an example in weighting different types of content and responses. I use a weighting model similarly when measure social media results and it was great to see another weighting strategy that might be employed.  The book sticks strictly to measuring social media, which I find slightly limiting because social media effects multiple areas of business including PR, Marketing, Customer Service and even Product Development. That said, by using a weighted scale of value, you could extend the benefits of social media to these other areas and this book gives markerters a good baseline from which to start.

Further along in the book, Sponder makes recommendations and gives examples on creating social media and implementation scorecards. Again, while the exact scorecard for a particular business or project may vary, the examples put forth are practical and useful. Included in the book are example scorecards from such well known companies as Ogilvy PR which measures what they call Conversation Impact. Essentially Conversation Impact seeks to quantify the value of particular messaging using 15 different metrics, but while its great information, as Sponder points out, its a benchmarking rather than analytics tool. Other models are presented as well including one for Share of Voice and Social Influence.

What the reader learns from this book is that they will have to choose which type of measurement will work best for the specific client or company and that there are a variety of options. No matter what phase of social media you or  your client is in, from beginning to strategic, something can be learned from reading this book. Its offerings and case studies are thoughtful and useful and the book itself is easy to read for data geeks as well as the uninitiated.  I suspect this book could be rewritten every 6 months as social media is a dynamic field, but much of what is contained in the book will continue to be useful for many years regardless of tools or changing philosophies of measuring the effects of social media.

SMCHI will be giving away a copy at our October 18th event on Social Media Analytics. In addition to my presentation on the topic, we’ll hear from some insight from the other camp of social media ROI presented by Gwen Woltz of Wahine Media and possibly even some others that we are working on! It should be a great evening! SMCHI is also in the midst of planning a panel on the topic for the Social Media Summit Hawaii, please use promo code SMCHI when you register for a $20 discount on ticket price.  So, if you’re interested in this valid discussion of social media analytics and ROI, please join us for any and all of these events for insight, lively discussion and different viewpoints on this very hotly debated topic.

PSSST: If you are a member of SMCHI, you are invited to attend a free webinar hosted by the Author of Social Media Analytics, Marshall Sponder. Register here: SMC Book Club Social Media Analytics

For more conversation on this topic, please follow” @smanalyticsbook on Twitter

Featured Presenter:
Tara Coomans (SMCHI president) will present an overview of the social media measurement/metrics landscape.

UPDATE 2011-10-25: Here are the slides from Tara’s presentation on Slideshare.net.

UPDATE 2011-10-26: Member Peter Liu created a Tweetdoc with all the tweets from this event. Available for download here.

Read her blog for all sorts of information about this topic.

Follow her on Twitter for a very engaged, informative, and entertaining conversation.

Bonus Presention: Gwen Woltz and Karen Weikert of Wahine Media
Gwen and Karen are going to wrap up the discussion on metrics with her insightful presentation on “What is the ROI of an Elephant?” View the Wahine Media slides on slideshare.net.

Book Giveaway:
Social Media Analytics: Effective Tools for Building, Intrepreting, and Using Metrics by Marshall Sponder You must be present to win! (Amazon.com link)

Free Analytics Webinar by Marshall Sponder:
September 20th, 8 am HST
Read all the details here.

We are working on a few other ideas so this is just the start of what we’ll be offering at this event! We will definitely want to hear about your experiences with social media measurement too.

Who Will Benefit from This Topic:
* Those who are directly engaging in social media and want to understand the ROI
* Those who are managing social media for clients and/or employers (calling our PR, advertising and marketing friends!)
* Those who are just starting with social media and want to know the important things to measure before you spend a lot of time or money developing strategies and campaigns

Location:
Cupola private room, at AMuse Wine Bar, 2nd FL Honolulu Design Center
1250 Kapiolani Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96814
There is free parking in the Honolulu Design Center garage. Entrance is on Piikoi St, just mauka of Kapiolani Blvd.

Event Sponsor: H1 at Hagadone Printing
Please help us thank our Sponsor for this event, Hagadone Printing, and check out their H1 Division for “One SOurce Marketing.” Follow them on Twitter @H1forAll

Here is the slide deck with the preliminary results of the survey. If you are a social media practitioner, please take the survey and share it with your colleagues! More info can be found here.

If you’re developer, there’s a developer app with some great documentation. If you’re not, there’s a Static HTML: iframe tabs application that provides a friendly way of setting up a custom tab without too much pain. It even has built-in reveal functionality, which is the ability to present additional content to visitors after they press the Like button.

Here’s what you do:

Step 1: Install the Static HTML: iframe tabs Application

Install the Static HTML: iframe tabs application on the Facebook Page. If you administer several, you’ll be presented with a choice of pages to choose from.

Then go to the page and click on the new “Welcome” tab that was added by the application.

This brings up the application’s interface.

Step 2: Create Your Content

As you can see in the screenshot above, your content can consist of HTML, CSS, Javascript or anything that you might have in a web page. You can be as simple or elaborate as you like. For the Kaiscapes page, I simply created a image in Photoshop and uploaded it to this website.

Then I entered some simple code to display the image in the application.

Then I created a second image in Photoshop to reveal to the visitors after they press the Like button.

This time, the code sends them to this website if they click on the image.

Then click on the “Save and view tab…” button at the top.

You’ll get a message saying your tab has been saved, and be able to view it as a fan or non-fan. At this point, I should echo the warning that Facebook forbids autoplaying any media on tabs. Make sure your content doesn’t autoplay anything, or Facebook may shut your page down.

Step 3: Make This Your Landing Tab

The last step is to make this tab the default when visitors come to the page. Click on “Edit Info” at the top of the page.

Click on “Manage Permissions.”

Set the Default Landing Tab to the one you just created.

At this point, you’re pretty much done. If you want to change the name of the tab to something else, click on “Apps” while you’re in Edit Info.

Then click on “Edit Settings” for the application.

A popup will appear where you can change the Custom Tab Name.

Originally published at Kaiscapes by Peter Liu.

I know. We’ve all been there. In fact, the more time we spend in front of our computers, even being social on Twitter or Facebook or now..Google+, the more we really need it. It does seem kind of ironic. With all the technology why event meet at all? The answer is clear: No matter how much I love Twitter (and boy, oh boy do I loooooove Twitter), the more I find myself seeking ways to engage in person. Being together creates an uplifting energy that’s undeniable.

SMCHI always has the most interesting group of people at these meetings from such different backgrounds. Some of us have marketing backgrounds, some have advertising backgrounds, some people have advanced tech experience. Some people have been using social media for years, some just started and some, well, they what we’ll call them social-curious. Everyone is welcome, because everyone has something to add to the conversation. Because of this,  when we come together, we always find a way to solve one another’s challenges and help one another reach our goals. Social media tools like Facebook and Twitter reinforce those relationships, but its that person-to-person connection that we still need. Every single time I leave a SMCHI meeting, my creative juices are cranking. I’m always inspired by the group of people who gather.

Where do my ideas come from? Always from a conversation. When we meet in person, we exchange ideas in a collaborative way that we just can’t do any other way. That’s why SMCHI continues to have community public meetings. Not only that, but seriously, have you SEEN the wine list at Amuse? I mean, it weren’t for the wine bar, we’d have a harder time putting the “Inc. into Drink”. But that’s what we do, sip-discuss rinse repeat. After all, creating solutions can be the best time ever!

So no matter what your looking for, a recommendation for a project your working on. A little free advice. Some fresh ideas. Or maybe you just want to meet people in the community, I encourage you to stop by SMCHI. We’ll be doing our public meetings only 3 more times this year. July 20th (register here), October (date TBD) and our annual Christmas party. If you’ve been craving some truly social engagement, then there is no more social crowd than SMCHI. Our gatherings are vital for not just the social media marketing and digital communities, but especially for those not in those communities. Why? Because this is how you learn just enough to go forward and bring ideas and concepts back to your business and when your ideas come to fruition, you’ll have the resources to make it happen.

If you’re on a neighbor island, you can connect with our members there. We have members on Big Island, Maui and Kauai.  On Kauai, they are meeting to participate in the live stream, together. It’s open to everyone who wants to join or is curious about using social media.  They meet. They eat. They talk. Its the greatest combination of IRL (in real life) and digital collaboration. Its truly cool. I need to get over there and go to one of their meetings too!

C’mon down and join us. We promise to be friendly and not use acronyms like “IRL” or “LOL” in real life. We’re human too. Come see for yourself.

The informal structure worked well and in keeping with the Social Media Club’s mantra of “If you get it, share it” supported both social media professionals and businesses seeking to learn about social media. Last year, however, the parent organization received official 501c6 status, making them a n IRS-approved educational nonprofit organization. Our local chapter, SMCHI, was offered the opportunity to become an official chapter operating under the parent organization.  Committed members of SMCHI felt this would offer the club several advantages. However, in addition to the perks offered by nonprofit status, SMCHI was also required to elect an official Board of Directors and conform to organizational requirements and a Code of Ethics.

On May 7th, all current paying members were invited to a planning retreat where one of the topics of discussion included nominating volunteers to official board leadership positions and the definition of those positions. Those nominations were put to a vote to all current paying members and we are proud to announce our first elected Board of Directors for 2011:

Chairman/Founder:
Roxanne Darling, Bare Feet Studios (honorary position)

President (2011):
Tara Coomans, Akamai Marketing

Events and Sponsorship Chair:
Tyler Stratton, Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu

Awareness Co-Chairs:
Roxanne Darling, Bare Feet Studios and Tammi Hitchcock, 3 Peas Media

Technology Chair:
Peter Liu, Kaiscapes Consulting

We congratulate all new BOD members and thank them in advance for their commitment to advancing social media best practices and helping educate the community about SMC throughout all of Hawaii.

If you are interested in getting more involved with SMCHI or perhaps running for a BOD position in 2012, please contact us for ways to get more involved with the leadership of SMCHI. We are an entirely volunteer-run organization and immensely appreciate those who can assist with events, communication and resources! Next year we hope to fill even more board positions.

Steve Garfield has some pretty heavy production chops, but his new book Get Seen (not an affiliate link) removes all the fear and stigma from using video for business. While he covers a lot of technical elements, he does so in an easy, step by step manner that includes photos. But perhaps Steve’s most helpful advice is reminding users not to get too hung up on purchasing expensive equipment or worrying about production perfection. Throughout the chapters, he shows users how to use sites like Vimeo and YouTube and interviews video masters who provide insight into how businesses are using video for content. He even throws in some fun sites that you’ve probably never heard of, like Xtranormal.com where I made this fun video in less than 15 minutes.

While I was making my own video for this book review, I took to heart Steve’s advice and “just did it.” A couple perhaps more obvious lessons are available in the out takes of this video. I’d call myself a novice video producer, in other words, I’ve made some for fun and I even made one for the famous Best Job in the World Application in Australia a couple of years ago. But while I can navigate Imovie and a point-and-shoot video camera I haven’t utilized the format much for business. I mean, after all, we can’t all be Roxanne Darling and have a hit YouTube series. Or can we? Steve Garfield is all about encouraging you to take a stab at it. Whether you use video for your blog or as a citizen journalist with CNN’s Ireport or as a product demo video is a tool that people love to see – and its easier to produce than you probably thought. Steve even has a series of recommendations for creating video content without having to star in your own video. Perhaps the most fun I had was playing with a site Xtranormal.com, you can see the results of my test here, it took 15 minutes to produce and it was free. So have it at! Let your imagination run wild…I know my own brainstorming gears were grinding!

Now, you can see from my video, I didn’t do anything fancy. I wasn’t trying to showcase my video chops, I wanted you to see how easy it can be. Even from your desk. I chose to use Vimeo to share the video with you for lots of reasons. I think Vimeo is a great resource for professionals and its just as easy to use as YouTube, without the clutter. It doesn’t have the built in audience that YouTube has, but it I think its viewers are more targeted Also, our own blog has a 20MB limit on uploads, so it was easier to post it on Vimeo without giving up any of the production value. I did have some wonky challenges with embedding the video into this blog post, most specifically that after adding in the embed code, the site didn’t want it to stick. I solved that by adding the code right before the “save”. But just in case there is another issue, check it out here.

So what are you waiting for? Give it a shot!

And if you’d like your own copy of Steve Garfield’s book “Get Seen” then be sure to join SMCHI for our July 20th event. But even if you can’t be there, tweet @smchi with the hashtag #getseenhawaii to be entered into the drawing!

Thanks for watching. And reading!

We’ve also heard on the street that some of the people at our meetings want more formal presentations, Well, we have that for you this month!

We’ve been conducting a survey of social media practitioners to find out how they sell their services, and what types of programs have been truly beneficial to their clients. We will feature a panel of our professional members who will explain the numerous ways to plan and purchase social media services. Here is a short URL you can use to help us spread the word: http://t.co/vGhoXgO

Presenter: Roxanne Darling

Roxanne will present the results to date of our Social Media Practitioners Survey. She’ll be covering what people charge, how they package their services, and all the inside scoop that will make you a smarter social media buyer. Roxanne is a Professional Member of Social Media Club, the founder of the Hawaii Chapter, and a partner at Bare Feet Studios. She just completed a six-month New Media Artist-in-Residence campaign for the Lānaʻi Visitors Bureau.

Presenter: Laura Kinoshita

Laura is joining us in the house from the Big Island! She is a Professional member of Social Media Club and has a PR and Marketing company that specializes in social media. She recently conducted a survey of social media use by small business in West Hawaii and will presenting her results. She is an analytics guru, and measures “outputs, outgrowths and outcomes in areas such as awareness, engagement, influence and behavior.” Her survey will explore a number of local trends.

Presenter: Felicia Durant:

Felicia is a graduate student at UH and has been tracking small business use of social media in Hawaii. This research is an exploratory study that aims to identify the various uses of social media – namely, Facebook and Twitter – as a public relations platform by small businesses in Hawaii and their perceived effectiveness. Preliminary findings and data will be discussed. If you have not taken her survey yet, please do so before the meeting! The link is here.

After the presentations, we will have panelists joining us via Skype and in the room – rumored to be with us are Chuck Lasker, Professional member from Kauai, Peter Liu, Gwen Woltz, Professional member from Oahu, Professional member from Maui, and Toby Tamaye, of AT Marketing, and more!

Doors open at 5:45 pm; Tuesday nights have special discounts on food and wine at Amuse Wine Bar so please bring your appetite along with your curiosity and expertise. We’ll be meeting in the private room Cupola, complete with leather lounging sofas, cafe tables, and waiter service! Please note our July meeting is on a Wednesday.

This month, we’ll be giving away a copy of Steve Garfield’s book Get Seen (book review here), which has some great advice for businesses, entrepreneurs and bloggers for using video as a content cornerstone. Whether you can make it to the event or not, you can tweet @smchi with the hashtag #getseenhawaii to be entered into the drawing.

1. Register Now and Join us on July 20th.
There will be food and drinks for purchase (so the event itself is FREE). Plus, eat pupus and reload your wine card at Amuse!

2. Use and Follow the tag: #SMCHI
That stands for Social Media Club Hawaii and helps us track the conversation and photos about this event!

3. We welcome Virtual Attendees! Please register so we can send you last minute details. You can join our Twitter chat or the live stream chat here:
bit.ly/smchitv

Date: Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Time: 6 – 7:30 pm.
Location: Amuse Wine Bar, Cupola Room
Cost: Attendance is FREE! Drinks and food will be available for purchase!
Dress: Anything goes. Please bring your business cards and smart phones. Everyone is welcome!

Be smart and register now so you will have a pre-printed name tag and can sign in without standing in line!

There is free parking in the Honolulu Design Center garage. Entrance is on Piikoi St, just mauka off Kapiolani Blvd.

5:45 – Doors open; come early and help us set up!
6:00 – 6:15 pm Networking
6:15 – 7:15 pm Discussion
7:15 – 7:30 pm Networking

Exposed

Think back to fourth grade. While the teacher’s back was towards you, were you whispering to the classmate seated behind you? Or maybe you were passing notes? And then, oh no! The teacher calls on you and asks you to share what you’ve been whispering. Or worse — your teacher takes your scribbled note and reads it aloud to the entire class. Would you have been mortified because the information just shared publicly was meant to stay private? Could you not have worried about it because it was something widely known, anyway?

This is the same perspective that should be applied to your personal social media platforms – for every post or tweet and private message, ask yourself: how would I feel if someone shared this to everybody?

Mishaps happen. In the case of Rep. Anthony Weiner, a simple Twitter typo broad-casted his intended direct message into a public tweet.

Social media, social gathering

What you say on social media platforms is the equivalent to what you say aloud to a crowded room. Everyone has the ability to read/hear what you are saying; even if they are in the “room” and listening passively. In an actual social gathering or event, would you talk about that zit on your butt or that nasty thing you do every morning?

In today’s socially-connected environment, the lines between personal and professional are easily blurred. For those who know you in a professional setting, you are seen as the spokesperson — the representative — of your company. Whether you like it or not, how you hold yourself — online and off — reflects that of your employer… and the clients you represent.

We need to consider more heavily: would you want you employer to see this? would you want your clients to see that? Would you be okay seeing this published in the media?

Professional and personal – use discretion

Social media is about being “social” and a constant stream of conversation, and many people choose to share bits and pieces of personal information as a way for others to see the “real” person, and not the “professional prude.” What about your professional and personal life do you mind sharing to people you work with and those you consider as friends?

The extremities of what personal information you choose to share is also a reflection of what you stand for and the associated public image risks you are willing to take — activists and advocates may share deeper, slightly uncomfortable experiences to help paint a picture of issues that truly occur; tech and programming gurus may share more about their joys and frustrations with new codes and technologies to show they are innovative and open to evolving trends; and aspiring CEOs and politicians may choose to only share accomplishments and community events they attend to present a “winner” and “community-person” image. Take some time and reflect on what your how “risky” you want to be, and what your sharing limits are.

Like “IRL,” choose what you share with discretion, and an understanding of how you want yourself to be perceived.

(image provided by and hosted on Masterfile; royalty-free)

Our local chapter membership has grown considerably in the past few months and we now have an active “SIG” or special interest group focused on education and engaging with Hawaii’s college-level students, educators, and administrators. Globally, there has been an #SMCEDU initiative underway for two years.

On the call:

Tara Coomans, Moderator, President SMCHI
Burt Lum, Bytemarks Cafe and Windward Community College
Chuck Lasker, SocialKauiai.com, developing course for Kauai Community College
Jesse Mahoney, SocialKauai.com, developing course for Kauai Community College
Julia Myers – Chaminade University Outreach
Roxanne Darling, Bare Feet Studios, SMCHI Founder
Note: All of our members can be found in the blogroll in our sidebar.

Notes:

Key issues for developing a college curriculum:
- acceptable use policy
- privacy issues
- ethics

Local Courses:
Chuck & Jesse want to develop a certification track to help people get jobs in social media over at Kauai Community College. So far it is slow going. Burt is starting a Social Media class at Windward Community College this fall in the computer sciences department; tech focus. The IT department is very excited to have this new offering!

Status of Global and Local SMCEDU:
Tara shared the current status of SMCEDU: a working group for the past 2 years, 9 student chapters at local colleges, early stages of developing standards for Social Media Curricula at the college level.

Many resources are available via Social Media Club – student chapters that are already organized, professionals at various colleges who can lend support, use the main SMC site and follow the hashtag: #SMCEDU. As a local chapter, we can support EDU locally by sharing case studies, guest lecturing, use of our mailing list for those with EDU preferences, our FB page, website, etc.

We discussed open education iniitatives – podcasting courses and looking in iTunes for existing coursework for reference. (Rox mentioned that Stanford and UC Berkeley have been podcasting their entire course catalog for years; she knows of easy, affordable turnkey solutions for classroom recording.)

We agreed to collaborate on course development and delivery via sharing notes, getting support from the professional members, providing guest speakers, etc.

Goal: to create a state-wide Student Chapter of SMC so all colleges and Universities can collaborate. Jesse will add a sub-group to our FB page so we can keep each other in the loop. Julia thinks this is very doable so long as we have some leadership to keep all the students and educators informed. (Hence the Facebook sub-group coming soon!)

Tara has created a subgroup on LinkedIn for EDU discussions. This is part of our members-only area. Please let us know if you would like to know more about joining! There is a Student/Teacher rate of only $25 per year.

We agreed to have monthly calls for ongiong brainstorming and support.
Third Tuesday, 9 am.

Next Call:Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at 9 am. Rox will post *new* conference call info in LinkedIn. Plan on 30-60 minutes. Today’s call was completed in about 45 minutes.

You can listen to the call here:

Please tell your colleagues; the more data we can collect, hopefully the more accurate our report will be!

If the embedded survey below is not working for any reason, please just use this direct link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/T8VYRS6

May’s SMCHI meeting featured two guest speakers, who joined us via Skype for an open-ended Q & A session. Even the best Social Media plans have hiccups and need a little improvising. The SMCHI Q&A live stream event is case in point. Before the meeting started a few of us arrived at the Stage meeting room early (oh, so conveniently located next to Amuse Wine Bar) to set up the computers and equipment & make sure everything ran smoothly. Okay, I’ll admit it… we were only temporarily sidetracked from technical duties while selecting “social” wines (and coining the phrase putting “INC.” into “Drink”) but then it was back to work!

The impromptu “tech team,” Tara Coomans, Shiloh Swanson and Roxanne Darling connected then tested a MacBook, video camera, microphones, Skype, UStream, and the venue sound system. All systems were go during the test phase, but once the meeting started we couldn’t hear our Skype guests and they couldn’t hear us! After a few minutes of awkwardness Tara figured out that holding the plug into the Mac jack just at the right spot everything would work. The only problem… well, Tara had to stand and hold that plug the whole meeting! (Just thankful there was a solution!) After a few awkward giggles and much patience from our guests and a solution, quit literally “in hand”, the meeting continued.

Our first guest, Phyllis Khare (@phylliskhare), is a co-author with Amy Porterfield (@amyporterfield) and Andrea Vhal (@andreavahl) of the new book, Facebook Marketing All-In-One For Dummies. Generously joining us via Skype from Iowa (which means it was about 11 PM her time when the meeting started in Hawaii). Phyllis fielded some great questions from our audience including Facebook for business and strategies for identifying your customers expectations for Facebook. She also recommended Mari Smith’s Facebook page as an excellent resource for Facebook apps. Phyllis also recommended embedding videos into Facebook so visitors can watch them immediately (vyou.com <http://vyou.com> )

Our second guest, Peter Liu (@peterliu47) of Kaiscapes Consulting joined us on the hot seat from Maui. Peter is a technologist, an Internet/computer industry veteran, and founder of Kaiscapes.com. Peter consults with businesses on bringing computer and Internet technologies into workflows and strategies. Peter fielded questions on best practices including cross posting and dealing with the challenges that can occur in social media campaigns. Peter is also an advocate for corporate blogging, so he also addressed how using a blog can establish credibility and relationships with your customers.

The energy in the room was fantastic, attendees were eating up the pau hana treats available from Amuse and having a great time asking all kinds of questions to our guests. Some lively discourse that followed only served to highlight that social media is a growing field and that in many cases, there can be many “right” answers. Questions came in from the live stream and from Twitter, enabling members from all the islands to participate.  Much to our excitement, a group of about 10 people, organized by professional member Chuck Lasker got together on Kauai to participate in the live stream and have a social media discussion as well.

So in the end, even with the little technical glitches, the SMCHI team felt it was a success.

Many Mahalos to Phyllis Khare and Peter Liu for joining us online and fielding questions and thanks Tara for coercing the plug and developing claw hand from holding the audio connection for over  an hour! (We have her cramped claw hand captured in a photo to prove it!)

If you missed the live stream, or if you’d like to watch it again, you can find the recording  on the SMCHI UStream page.

Event photos by @jtfreezeframe at the SMCHI Flicker page.

This post was a collaboration of SMCHI Professional Members: Tammi Hitchcock and Tara Coomans

Once our responsibilities are finalized, we’ll offer our professional and small business membership an opportunity to vote and even nominate themselves for open positions, of which there are several.  There are only a couple of requirements for nomination:
1) agree to the code of ethics for the board members
2) be a Professional or Small Business member of Social Media Club.

If you are a social media professional who would like to become more involved in the social media community, please feel free to nominate yourself or submit your interest and qualifications to the nomination board here. Voting will be closed on June 30th, 2011 and board members will initially server through the remainder of 2011.

Other changes are in the works as well:

• SMCHI is now holding our free educational community meetings quarterly: July, October, December (our now annual year-end party)
• Interactive Tweet-Ups will be held in the months of August and September. These are designed to support local businesses and organizations.
• Informal Tweet-ups may be additional scheduled as “needed.”
• Periodic Go-To meetings for our paid Professional and Business members to discuss topics of particular relevance to social media practitioners. They are currently scheduled for June and November; existing members will receive notification.

Along with our change in schedule, we’ll also be formalizing sponsorship opportunities for events and Tweet-ups, so if you are a business who wants to engage a wired and social community, please contact usfor more info! Sponsorship opportunities may include opportunities to host Tweet-Ups for the social media community – what a great way to kick off your social media campaign!

Our motto for the global Social Media Club organization is “If you get it, share it.” In that spirit, here is a copy of the notes of from the Professional and Business Member Retreat, available for download here

Caveat: Facebook, as we all know, changes very rapidly and often without warning. As of this writing, this works fine, but no guarantees the next time they change something.

Step 1: Create an Application on Facebook for Your Site

You’ll need a Facebook Application ID and Secret codes to make this work. Go to http://www.facebook.com/developers/createapp.php:

Enter a name for your app. It can be anything, but I like to use the URL of the site so I remember which app goes with which site. Press the “Create App” button and you will be prompted for a CAPTCHA code to prove you’re human, then you’ll be presented with this:

You don’t need to fill in anything further unless you want to. Simply press the “Save Changes” button. You will then see this:

Step 2: Install the Facebook Comments for WordPress Plugin

Go into the Plugins section of your WordPress site and click on the “Add New” link. Search for the Facebook Comments for WordPress plugin by we8u. Install and activate the plugin.

Step 3: Configure the Facebook Comments for WordPress Plugin

The Facebook Comments for WordPress plugin has a lot of options. Here are the minimal ones I’ve found necessary to set:

In Basic Settings, enter the Application ID and Secret codes from the app you created on Facebook in Step 1. Click the “Include Facebook comments on blog” option.

Set the number of posts and the width of your Facebook Comments box.

Set your language, then under Advanced Settings, check the box that says “Include Facebook JavaScript SDK” unless you’ve already installed the SDK elsewhere.

That’s it! You’re done! Now people can post comments about your blog on their walls.

Issues: As of this writing, I’ve experienced a few issues with this plugin. The biggest issue I face right now is it doesn’t seem to work with Thesis from DIYThemes. The Like box shows up, but the comments box doesn’t. If anyone has found a workaround for this, please post a comment below. I would be in your debt. Thanks in advance.

Originally posted at Kaiscapes by Peter Liu

Local Klout Rankings

Imagine, a dark room crowded with bubbling bunson burners and other methodical devices. A lone man snickering to himself as he drips one sinister-looking fluid into a previously innocent solution which leads to a wild explosion followed by  the cry of “EUREKA!” The image of the mad scientist isn’t so different from another near and dear to the Social Media Club of Hawaii: the mad coder. The mad coder, fueled only on inspiration and Mountain Dew stays up all hours of the night faced with multiple eerily glowing screens and the lonely sound of keyboard clicks. The mad coder who performs digital experiment after digital experiment until he finds one that’s a hit.

Hawaii has its share of mad coders but none who so specifically resembles the mad scientist as Rob Bertholf. Affable and open, Rob hardly seems like the frantic image described, but those of us who know him, know this image isn’t too far off. Talking to Rob about his latest digital experiments is akin to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride through Social API’s, WorldPress Plugins, SEO and an array of Social Media Assets. Long a leader in Hawaii’s digital scene as as one of the very first Professional Members of Social Media Club Hawaii, Rob  continues to grow the digital community by uniting mad coders and marketers together to create exciting results.

Rob Bertholf

Rob says his inspiration is based in creating the assets and the tools that enable strategists to create programs or identify opportunities within social media. Now it seems as though the recent launch of HawaiiKlout.com was merely the proof of concept in a larger vision of localized Klout rankings or kLokal. “Having a localized leaderboard segmented into Brands, Celebrities and Influencers helps put the Klout data into perspective.”  After creating HawaiiKlout.com, Rob reached out to Klout CEO Joe Fernandez to inform him that he was using Klout’s API in this way and also to ensure that his use of the brand name Klout wouldn’t land him in any legal hot water. Fernandez was quick on the response, not only endorsing Rob’s vision, but asking him to implement it using some features of Klout Connect which allows more data to be analyzed ensuring relevant online influencers. Klout.com CEO Joe Fernandez endorses Rob’s vision by saying “Here at Klout, we love to see original ways to use our data and kLokal is a great example of localizing Klout.”

Hawaii social media users looking to connect with like-minded influencers will find kLokal.com a welcome tool, as will visitors to Hawaii and businesses looking for experts in relevant fields with a social media presence. As Rob himself says: “After reviewing HawaiiKlout, there were a number of influencers who I had not crossed paths with previously, I’m now following them and having engaged conversations,  thank you for uncovering them Klout!”