It's a Small World AND a Big Big World

On Saturday, I attended the Charlotte Observer Social Media Conference at Queens University. I saw the sign-up information in the paper on Monday, December 21, and for $30 decided I could take a chance that I would be free and signed up. I'm glad I did--the conference was designed for 200 people--they had OVER 200 in attendance and another 180 on the waiting list. The conference filled up on the first day!

Just to give you a quick summary, the conference went from 9:30-3:30 and was designed for everyone from beginners to regulars users of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. However, I spoke with Jen Rothacker, the organizer (and also the manager and writer for MomsCharlotte.com, owned by the Observer), and she said that the vast majority of people in attendance were newbies to social media. Frankly, if they are reading about the event in a true newsPAPER, that's not a big surprise. I thought the conference was great and well worth attending; I spotted locally famous journalists in the audience along with the rest of us plebians.

I was primarily interested in learning how nonprofits can use social media to reach more people. This was not specifically addressed. However, I had several takeaways, including websites that enhance your use of the internet (ning.com, slideshare.net, bit.ly... I thought foursquare was cool, but sadly, people will always be able to find ME one of three places: at home, at the kids' school, at the grocery store). (If you are also interested in using social media for nonprofits, I recommend following Beth Kanter on as many social media platforms as possible.)

My most valuable takeaway, however, was the awareness of many communities that are represented in the form of community blogs and websites, and the opportunities to learn about the world around us through different lenses. Thanks to a grant from the innovative Knight Foundation, the Observer has partnered with 5 "hyperlocal" online community partners to expand its neighborhood coverage. Click here to link to the Observer article with all the details about the partnership.

I plan to visit these partner websites often this year, checking out what's making the headlines in the suburbs and the African-American community in Charlotte. It's just possible that the headlines won't be the same as they are in my Facebook community.

To Do: Stretch the boundaries of your world without moving a muscle. Look into hyperlocal blogs and websites that don't address your specific concerns. Visit this website for some inspiration.