I wanted to tell you real quickly about two new communities we’re forming and how you can participate if either of them are right for you.
#SMbyDesign Weekly Twitter Chat
#SMbyDesign is a Twitter chat I have long dreamed of starting. A Twitter friend named Daryl Woods and I had this discussion probably two years ago but I did not make it happen, though it keeps coming up. So today, another friend, Emily Fitzhugh who is a social media consultant and I decided to make it happen! We’re kicking off this Thursday (yes, day after tomorrow) and will do this every Thursday morning at the following times:
PST 7:00 AM
CST 9:00 AM
EST 10:00 AM
UK 3:00 PM
KUWAIT 6:00 PM
BANGALORE 8:30 PM
HONG KONG 11:00 PM
I’ve shown a few representatives from different countries here as we tried really hard to make this time work around the globe. #SMbyDesign chats will cover a few different aspects of social media design:
- the actual design processes and challenges of branding and doing interesting things for clients or your company on social media platforms
- great examples of social media channel design we see that is inspirational or pushes the envelope and gets us thinking about new ideas for engaging fans
- interviews with designers, agencies and marketers who have done a phenomenal job of branding social media channels so we can learn from them
- strategy and tactics for different platforms for those just starting out in social media (though it will help you to be somewhat savvy as many conversations will be of an advanced nature)
A lot of advice can be found online for how to market yourself on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or LinkedIn. But advice on maximizing these channels from a design and branding standpoint is not so readily available. To truly do “social media by design” it takes more than a strategy – execution of the brand being extended visually and emotionally is important and yet not talked about as much. Let’s discuss it together!
Girls/Women Who Love MLS Soccer Community
Also in the process of being formed is a social community for women like Sherry, Heather and I who love their pro soccer team here in the US: MLS pro soccer. Some great sites like http://kickette.com exist but are largely focused on soccer overseas. We noticed a missing presence of female-oriented blogs and personalities, though they exist scattered around the web and social channels… we want to bring these women together and create a safe and fun place to both learn about the sport (a lot of us don’t know the technical aspects and so some reporting goes over our heads) and to show other women that there are crazy, soccer-addicted females all around them that they can relate to. This is not so much to exclude men, as it is to be able to freely talk about things that interest us that don’t interest and usually annoy the men (player hair and fashion IS a very important topic!) Some phenomenal women around the nation are part of the founding group – you’ll get to know them after we launch. The community is open to any female of any age that loves her MLS team and watching pro soccer.
This site will be launched prior to the season opening games. If you’re interested in being notified when it launches head to our temporary site and submit your email to be notified. We will be so happy to meet you and play with you in our new community when we launch!
I hope you’ll join me in the #SMbyDesign Twitter chat on Thursdays or the soccer community if you’ve been bitten by the MLS bug like I have. If you have any questions about either group, let me know in the comments!
