Oatmeal, Twitter, Blogs, and Pimpin – Cincy Social Media Breakfast
August 12, 2008
This morning I joined 30 or so really cool people at the Cincy Social Media Breakfast, which was held at the FirstWatch in Rookwood Pavillion. As I understand it, this was the 2nd gathering of the group, and it was the first I was fortunate enough to attend. What an awesome event!
The breakfast was wonderful for a number of reasons. First, it’s great to meet the people who you follow on blogs, twitter and the like in person – you know actual human interaction. I saw some old friends like Debba Haupert and Criag Jolley, as well as made many new ones. Everyone there was so friendly, and there was a nice community vibe to the event. Everyone was there to make friends, learn, and share ideas.
The event was also very informative. Kevin Dugan, one of the organizers of the event, opened by speaking about some of the interesting new trends in social media. From Facebook applications to Flip Video, to making your next powerpoint presentation into a rock video, to the importance of writing “slippery” content, Kevin shared some great ideas. He then opened the floor up to the crowd to share individual experiences and projects that people were involved with on the web. So many ideas… So many cool people… Not enough time to pick everyone’s brains.
The featured speaker for the event was John Atkinson, Co-Founder and CEO of PimpMyNews.com. PimpMyNews is a free, web based service that will convert RSS feeds into audio and then deliver them back to you either through their web stie or via podcast. You visit their site, register for an account, pick from an extensive list of RSS feeds and you are set. I was so impressed with John’s presentation (which was just him talking – no powerpoint) that after the meeting I immediately went to the Apple store and picked up a new shuffle just to use for listening to pimpmynews. With a list of unread RSS feeds that grows daily and communte that puts me behind the wheel close to 2 hours a day, this was just a no brainer. I downloaded my first podcast this afternoon, and I am now officially pimping my news. (Or having my news pimped? – Not sure which is correct)
The sponsor of the event was MarketWire, an innovative company that specializes in the distribution of press releases through both traditional channels and via new media outlets. They offered a brief but very informative presentation about their services, and some of the things that separate them from others in the field. Thanks to MarketWire for breakfast, which was delicious.
In summary, the event was a great way to start off the day. I look forward to the next breakfast, which I am definitely going to try to attend.
Were you there this morning? What did you think? What was your favorite part of the meeting? Who did you meet? Will you go again?
Comments
7 Responses to “Oatmeal, Twitter, Blogs, and Pimpin – Cincy Social Media Breakfast”
Got something to say?
Thanks again to all who put together Cincy Social Media Breakfast. Wrote about it on LUCRUM blog. http://tinyurl.com/5oa8pu
Good post about the Cincinnati Social Media Breakfast by @davidebowman http://bit.ly/SMBPost Nice title! heh-heh
David! It was fantastic finally getting to meet you in person this morning.
One of the things I love about these face-to-face meetings with folks I’ve followed through social media is that we’re able to pick up conversations we’ve already had online in-person.
As John mentioned to me, he felt like he’s known me for about six months since he’d been following me.
I also like it that, when I meet new people at these gatherings, it gives me a small bit of their mindshare for some follow-up conversations.
David:
Good to see that you enjoyed SMB Cincinnati. It’s exciting to see how much the SMB series has grown around the country, and good to know it’s taking root in Cincinnati as well.
I’ll be passing through your fair city this weekend on my relocation drive from Boston to Austin. Looking forward to waving hello!
David, Great post – and thanks for the kind words about PimpMyNews.
My favorite part of the meeting was learning what others are doing in the social media/tech space – Great things are happening in this right here in Cincinnati.
I too am looking forward to the next Social Media Breakfast!
John
Co-founder & CEO
http://www.PimpMyNews.com
David,
Sorry I missed what sounded like an awesome event! I do, however, appreciate the blog post and will plan on attending the next one.
Steve
Purple Trout, LLC
David – Great recap. Thanks for coming and it was great to meet you!