SoCon 09 WRAP
by A.man.I
SoCon 09 is a wrap. I must say that Atlanta’s social media community made a nice show. This was my third year attending and I saw a few familiar faces, and met some new folks who bring unique talents to the SM community.
In the past, I’ve produced video podcasts for My Urban Report, but this year I decided to live stream the morning session via UStream. There were some Internet connectivity issues, but I was excited to see folks tune in, including James Andrews who was watching at home as he prepared to attend.
The conversation surrounding this years’ conference centered on identifying what Atlanta’s social media niche will be.
My thoughts on Atlanta’s niche: Since I come from a news background, my hope is that Atlanta can contribute to the development of some innovative journalism initiatives that will help the profession rebound from the current troubles.
Kennesaw State is positioned play a role in this with the help of a 1.5 million dollar grant to develop sustainable journalism models. Of course, Atlanta has a small but dedicated core of independent media makers like Grayson Daughters, Rusty Tanton, Amber Rhea, and myself. Former AJC reporter Lyle Harris is getting ready to launch the Georgia Online News Service. I’m also hopeful that other traditional local journalism outlets won’t be left out of the conversations. There were few traditional news folk. I had great conversations with a couple of AJC staff members (Eli Wednekos, and Jamie Gumbrecht) who see the social media light.
On the business side of things, I need to do a better job of using social media to promote and market Visual Eye Media. I survived 2008, but with the current economic climate, there will be challenges. My plan is to continue to be self-sustaining by teaching, and freelance video production. Once I complete my Masters degree I’ll be in a better position to teach on the university level (I’m currently teaching digital media as part of a GED program at KSU). The video production is a work in progress, but it is truly my passion, and my work speaks for itself.
James Harris and I hosted a break out panel on how to leverage multimedia with business which went well. The discussion was well received, and the feedback that I received was positive.
With all of that being said, SoCon was a great conference to network, think, and make connections. I hope to build mutually beneficial relationships, and I’m looking forward to next year.
Great SoCon09 Links:
SoCon09 Photos
AJC Article
AtlantaBusinessChronicle SoCon Wrap
PJNet SoCon Wrap
Concept Hub SoCon Wrap
Spatially Relevant SoCon Wrap
Grabbing Sand SoCon Wrap
BernaiseSource SoCon Wrap
TechDrawn SoCon Wrap
Cafemir SoCon Wrap
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Good to see you again, and thanks for the shout! Nice work streaming.
Good to see you too. It was a fun exercise.
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Amani: Good job on the video presentation with James Harris. Hard to believe that SoCon09 was the 3rd year, eh? So much has changed, for the better. (at least in social media…)
[...] Amani [...]