Intentions

[Keith Burtis]

Hey all, if you are a new member of the Buffalo Tweetup Ning group I think it would be good if we all stated our intentions on what we'd like to get out of this group, and any discussion topics, formal or informal.

I just got back from Podcamp so that I could learn to Podcast, but there is much more I need to learn. I am a woodturner and I would like to share my craft with the world! I would like to discuss how to use video, podcasting, and the social media tools to gain an audience.

In the future I would also like to discuss how I might get sponsored by companies in my genre, and begin to build a business from this.

These are things I am interested in. please chime in and let everyone know what you are using social media tool;s for in your life, goals, business or just for fun.

Keith

[Jim Milles]

I'm just eager to meet other social media types in the Buffalo area. I missed PodCamp Toronto, unfortunately, but I love talking with other podcasters, bloggers, twitterers, and anybody else who is interested in social media.

[Keith Burtis]

Jim, thats great ..we have met, but I'm sure only scratched the surface. I am wondering how many folks in Buffalo are actually using these methods for anything. I know there is a decent sized facebook group, but I have not gotten too involved. Wgo knows. It will just grow organically I'm sure.

[Kristina Lively]

I recently moved to Buffalo from DC where there is a very strong tech community. (Particularly for women who tech.) DC has a fantastic community for fostering knowledge and networking. Here in Buffalo, I don't know if there are similar groups and I haven't met them yet, or there is a need for such groups. I would like to be a part in cultivating such groups should they not exist.

Though we are coming from different angles (education/artisan/etc) there are many ways in which social technology can make our work more efficient and effective. Granted, location is really a minor detail when communicating with one another, but it is fun to occasionally turn off our computers and get together face-to-face.

What I'm looking for in this group is to meet other's using social media tools. I'd like to learn from others as well as learn how to better educate future users.

[Keith Burtis]

Kristina, Very cool, I would like to add that we did miss you & Jim at Podcamp Toronto, but for anyone that has never been to a podcamp they really have to experience it. This I suppose would be considered a bit of a barcamp. Small at that to start, but I think Buffalo gets a bad rap when it comes to "New & Exciting" I have seen DC Media makers, Boston Groups, Denver Groups, Seattle Tweetups...hey why not a Buffalo Tweetup group. Thanks for interspersions of your thoughts.
Keith

[Timothy J. Finucane]

I mainly looking to network with people, find out who's using social media, how, and what results they are getting. I was running an indie music podcast a couple of years ago and I'd like to get back to it again. I a regular on twitter and can be found just about anywhere else under the username speljamr. This just seems a good way to make new friends.

[Lisa]

Hello, I work in an academic advising unit at UB, we are beginning to use social networking to enhance the services we offer to undergraduates. At this point we do this with blogs and a few groups in facebook. To date this has been successful, especially the blogs, but in thinking about the future it seems like social networks will be the way to go. I am not thrilled with facebook because of the issues with privacy and am wondering if a network like Ning would be better. The catch is that the students are in facebook, would they be interested in joining a different network?
On a more personal level I enjoy blogging and like the idea of all the applications in a network like Ning. I also love Buffalo and like talking about the city.

[Keith Burtis]

Lisa, I have some thoughts on this. Will you be meeting up with us on the 28th of March? Is that day available for you. Although I am not in the Education Business I know social media pretty well, and facebook was hot and now it's luke warm. Things will always change. Jim Milles may have some ideas a s well.
Keith

[Lisa]

Keith, unfortunately I will not be able to be there the 28th. I am hearing the same about facebook from our web services director, he is also the one suggesting we think about a group created in a place like Ning. His thought is that students after time will not want us in a place they view for THEIR social use, eventually they will move on the the next fad. As part of an experiment we have already tried using a social network created in Elgg, but that did not go over well. I like Ning but I wish there were was more to it, for example I can not add a widget to the text box page in this network. You can say that facebook has a good deal more to offer in this way and I think that is one reason students like it.

[Jim Milles]

Lisa, have you looked at Airset? I'm using it for a few projects. It has a built-in blog, wiki, filesharing space, listservs, and lots more.

[Lisa]

Very interesting Jim, thank you. I need to research this a little more, at first I thought Airset was similar to Flock but I also need to learn more about Flock.

[Jim Milles]

Lisa, Flock is a web browser (it's the one I'm using right now on my MacBook Pro). Airset.com is a web service that combines collaborative tools like shared calendaring and files sharing with community-building tools like blogs, wikis, photo albums, and music playlists. It can be confusing because it offers so many features, but you can disable any you don't want to use.

[Lisa]

Jim, I need to research them both a little more but I thought Flock was a place you could aggregate all of your on line tools (social networks, blogs, etc) so that you could log in to one place to monitor them all.