Send Some Love to Ike Evacuees: help raise $5K for FoodBank- in 5 days

Donation Deadline: September 22

A group of dedicated bloggers in Austin, Texas are digging deep into their pockets and asking their friends to do the same. Why Austin? According to the Capital Area Foodbank over 6,500 evacuees are housed in local shelters and thousands more are staying with friends and family. The Capital Area Foodbank, which supplies food to shelters and 25 lb. food boxes to families, is running out of chow and needs help!

A web site has been set up for individuals to make a donation through  ChipIn.com's secure donation site. Or through the widget at the top left of my page.

Your money can initiate a match:

• a $5 donation provides $20 in food
• a $25 donation  provides $100 in food

Anyway, you can do the math.

Also, you can give further assistance by putting a ChipIn widget on your blog or web site. See the one I have added at the top left of my page.

Kudos to Connie Reece of EveryDotConnects, the Social Media Club Austin and the Austin 501 Tech for making this happen

IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION: WORDPRESS SERVICES
The individual or company that makes the largest donation through this ChipIn widget will have access to two hours of time for a Wordpress installation, customization or training by Chel Wolverton, the very capable administrative assistant for Social Media Club. Upon completion of the ChipIn campaign, Chel will contact the winner to find out which of these services is preferred. The amount of your contribution will not be disclosed.

Note: your gift through this ChipIn page is not tax-deductible. If you need a receipt for income tax purposes, you must donate directly to CAFB by check or major credit card. (They are not set up to receive donations via Paypal.)

Thank you Brains on Fire! SWOMfest Here I Come!

**Update: the volume problem has been fixed! Many apologies!**


Dear Brains on Fire:

I am actually a thank you note kind of girl- the real ones on paper. This time, however, I feel it is really important to return your message in the same medium. (see above)

As a runner, I can really appreciate Matt's dedication, so I hope you will share this with Matt, wherever he is on his run...

I can't wait to meet you all in Austin, Texas on October 30 at SWOMfest!

Yours,

DebInDenver (aka I Can't Keep Up)

PS- this is my first ever home video, so there may be a couple, well one, overused phrases.

I WON! Thanks to Brains on Fire I am Headed to SWOMfest!

It doesn't get much better than this folks. Today I was chosen at random by the great folks at Brains On Fire to be their guest at the Society for Word of Mouth's inaugural SWOMfest. (note my online handle is "DebInDenver")

And what is "word of mouth" you are asking? Word of mouth is the term to describe communication between individuals- in person and electronic- that helps spread a message. It's the grassroots conversation that goes on about your product, service, organization or cause. And you want it to be good. SWOM members include social media gurus, PR professionals, marketers, internal and external communications professionals and sales professionals.

A colleague and I were just discussing the term "word of mouth" and how it's use is expanding. Well, a conference with a whole bunch of fun folks is a good way to do that!

Watch the video and cheer Matt on, he's got a lot of miles ahead of him!

Next up: my video response!

-I Can't Keep Up

Finding your way around...how do you learn about social media?

I am sorry for the lack of posts! Work on my new site has taken me away from blogging. It will be up and running soon.

A recent post by GroundFloor Media got me to thinking about how I learn about and find new social media resources. Probably my chief research method is browsing the web and reading various blogs that cover topics related to my work. I want to learn from the best, but how do I find them? Not everyone can spend their time randomly searching the web. There are a lot of different ways to go about finding the best folks to learn from and I'd like to share a few of them with you.

GFM highlighted Spotlight Ideas' list of the Top 100 Advertising, Marketing, Media & PR Sites - a great list with a range of sites across multiple fields. But one reader questioned the selection criteria.

If you want to find a site based on sheer numbers- The Viral Garden posts a weekly list of the Top 25 Marketing and Social Media Blogs. Mack Collier selects the top 25 based on their Technorati ranking- the number of websites and blogs that link to each blog on the list.

You have several options if you use Mashable a site that follows the social media industry. The site often puts together theme-based lists. I did a search for "women's blogs" and got a link to their article on the Top Ten Social Networking Sites for Women. Another way to mine the site, click on the "Tags" button and select the keywords that match your search keywords.

A random method to use when you have the time to kill- head over to Alltop.com's Social Media page. You can browse the various sites listed to see their most recent posts. Alltop.com is meant to be a type of online "magazine rack" for readers to browse while searching a particular topic, or to "just browse."

My other method? Reading friends' blogs. Most of my buddies have amazing curiosity and instinct and teach me something new everyday! Check them out on my blogroll!

How do you find social media sites? Share your wisdom with us!

-I Can't Keep Up