The second meeting of the Phoenix Chapter of the Social Media Club happened this last week. It was a very good meeting yet again.

A very enthusiastic group

I'm really enjoying the collaboration between PR/Marketing/Communications professionals and business people like me. Francine writes in her blog post of the event that she is impressed with the interest and I have to agree with her, it is reminiscent of the enthusiasm that surrounded the early boom days of the Internet.

It's a little hard for me to hear the comparison, as most of the work I did during the boom years of the 90's was associated with VC backed vapor ware type projects. While financially rewarding, in hindsight it felt like most of my efforts were undercut by the gold rush mentality that surrounded the company I was with.

I agree on the enthusiasm, but I don't think it's fair to compare this enthusiasm with the 90's internet "boom". The fundamental ideas behind social media are grounded in a much simpler and more practical conceptual approach to internet based communications.

Our working definition of Social Media

Many of the attendees offered opinions on what Social Media is, as that was our agenda item for the meeting.

While there were many good ones, the one Francine calls out as our working definition is:

It's the people, stupid

I like this alot but I do wish it was a little more positive. I find that when I talk to people about starting a blog, or a wiki or some other Social Media type of effort, there's an emotional commitment that separates those that really take to it and those that never really get it.

I like to call attention to that pretty early on. You really have to love what you're doing if you are going to use Social Media to do it.

The Foundation for Blind Children and Social Media

Francine recognized my attendance as well as Colleen Oakes' attendance as representatives of the Foundation for Blind Children (FBC).

Specifically she calls out her first thoughts regarding how Social Media can help the organization as:

I could see immediately how parents of blind children would make use of blogs and wikis to strengthen their ability to cope with difficult situations, in much the same way that breast cancer survivors have banded together to spur on the research and treatment options. And I could also see how the charity itself could communicate with its donors about the mission and the programs.

I really love these ideas, and would like very much to see them put in place. I've been much more focused on getting a handle on our tech groups project management and documentation efforts. I certainly like the idea of using Social Media to stitch together discussions relating to new parents and to improve the online fundraising efforts associated with the organization. Right now though I see social media as a very powerful way for us to reach out to volunteers (especially technical expertise) and make effective use of the time for those that volunteer.