SXSW Recap from 2009...

Well friends, SXSW is here! It’s hard to believe a year has gone by since the last one. Before I move forward talking about all the goodness and goodies in store for this year, I thought I would first highlight my posts from last year’s SXSW. You know, reflecting back before I move forward. Here we go.

SXSW Core Conversation: How LA Has Built A Sucessful Tech Community

Los Angeles has become a hub for tech startups with new ones popping up every day. Relationships are being formed and VCs are paying attention. Universities are showcasing developer opportunities unique to the city. So how did this happen? Welcome to networking 2.0. From Lunch 2.0 to Interactive Community Coalitions, BarCamp to Twiistup, LA is a great case study of how to build a successful tech community in your city. Join the organizers of the city’s most popular networking events for tips, advice, the how to’s and what-not-to-do’s to make your city’s community pop.

SXSW Fan Girl

Life just doesn’t really get much better than those 9 days in Austin each year when your mind is blown, your heart is full and your feet ache from exploration.

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Looking for 2-3 Web Designers for Quick Turnaround...

Two of clients of the marketing agency I’m contracted with here in New Orleans, FSC Interactive are looking for a quick turnaround to redesign their websites. I want to help them out because first, their products and companies are awesome, second because we all know that a clean slate on a new website can make all the difference for growth. For the right candidate this is an amazing opportunity to get involved with fast growing companies in the growing New Orleans entrepreneurial atmosphere. Web designers can be located anywhere, being on-site is not a requirement.

Brief details are below, for more specifics email me at sloane@fscinteractive.com and I’ll reply back to candidates that would be a good potential fit.

Project 1 is for a growing ethical retail company with a product being sold in multiple states to redesign a site with e-commerce including a log-in system for wholesalers. Web site turnaround time is under 1-2 months with a decent budget.

Project 2 is for a fast-growing technology solutions company to redesign a 5-7 page website to be built in wordpress or drupal. The budget is reasonable and the project deadline is 4-6 weeks from now.

Both companies are looking to make fast decisions, so if you have bandwidth, contact me ASAP for more details. Proposals are due MONDAY and decision will be made by Wednesday next week.

Lagniappe –> Looking for an intern for summer 2010 for FSC Interactive. Position and responsibilities could range from college student to MBA depending on candidates. Please email me for the job description.

Related Posts:
Teaching of the Buddhas
Cause It’s My Birthday Is Live
TGIF Video: The Wounded Warrior Project

Contest to win a SXSW Interactive Badge on NOLAlic...

NOLAlicious is giving away a free SXSW Interactive badge, and this week’s newsletter explains how. It’s simple! Tweet this message to enter to win.

As we wrote in the newsletter:

It’s our first giveaway at NOLAlicious and we wanted to make it spectacular for you, our amazing readers.

We have ONE SXSW Interactive Badge to give away. That’s a value of $550! For anyone on the fence about SXSW, having the pass paid for can be the make or break you need to make SXSW 2010 from March 12th – 16th a reality for you. It’s not too late to get housing and once you’re registered, you’re able to access rooms for badge holders not released to the public.

So how do you enter? It’s simple! Simply tweet this message:

Sign up for NOLAlicious, your weekly guide to New Orleans and tweet this to enter & win a #SXSWi Badge: http://bit.ly/NOLASXSW

Here’s the deal. The tweet is your entry. So it doesn’t matter if you’re already signed up for NOLAlicious or this is your first time hearing of us, your entry is your tweet. Everyone may enter the contest only once and the contest ends next Monday at 5:00 PM CST. We’ll be announcing the winner in next week’s NOLAlicious and across our networks so enter NOW for you chance to win a badge to SXSW Interactive.

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My First Mardi Gras...

This is my first Mardi Gras ever. As a new transplant to New Orleans this means I have the dubious pleasure to experience it as both a local and a newcomer, a feat that is leaving me (a few days in) exhausted. Yes I know, Red Bull is my friend. Yes I know, power through. Yes I know, take breaks when you need to but soak it all in because it’s peoples’ favorite holiday of the year.

All of these things are true. But I have the added esteemed pleasure to be documenting it for you courtesy of My Mardi Gras Experience. A site dedicated to rebranding Mardi Gras as the family-filled event it is. The creation of Tom Martin and the Zehnder Communications team, last year it was a stream on Twitter spreading the joy of Mardi Gras to people everywhere. This year it’s bloggers from around the country brought into town to blog, take photos and videos and capture all that is Mardi Gras courtesy of Tabasco and hotels provided by Sheraton.

As a shout out to my fellow bloggers in My Mardi Gras Experience, I created a Twitter List with all of them that you can subscribe to HERE.

You can also follow @MyMardiGras and visit the website HERE.
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Forbes Woman: 20 Inspiring Women To Follow On Twit...

I’m utterly honored this week to find myself on Forbes Woman’s list of 20 Inspiring Women to Follow. I look at the list of the other women included and am wowed by them and their passion, drive and accomplishments. If we are the sum of the people we spend the most time with and the circles we’re in, then I am in good company!

Big thank you to the author of the post, Halle Tecco for being a big supporter of mine. I simply can’t wait to see where we all are a few years from now and Halle certainly deserves to be on the list in addition to authoring it.

From the introduction:

Research from the Harvard Business Review last year showed that women get less love on Twitter than men. While the random sample of 300,000 Twitter users showed that men and women follow a similar number of Twitter users, men have 15% more followers. “This is intriguing,” the authors noted, given that there are more women than men Twitter users: 55% to 45%. Further, men are almost twice more likely to follow another man than a woman while women are 25% more likely to follow a man than a woman.

What can be done about this? We can start by seeking out and following more women on Twitter and other social networks. Below are 20 absolutely inspirational women who are tweeting up a female storm.

In celebration, I created a Twitter List featuring them all that you can follow HERE.

WhatGives Interview Series...

http://www.vimeo.com/7603818

Big thank you to the team at What Gives for the interview above from October’s Blog World Expo in Las Vegas where Christopher Smith (@groovemonkey) interviewed me about my cause-filled life, the turning point that got me there, Cause It’s My Birthday and what’s next.

Also, a shout out to What Gives for the post on my upcoming trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos later this week.

Related posts:
Make a donation to support Haiti
Dear Future Me
In Transit in the Philippines

Exciting New Press To Share!...

It’s been busy over at Camp Causemopolitan and there is some exciting press I’d like to share with everyone. I work really hard to help others and build community so to be recognized for that work is really incredible. I have gotten really amazing emails from people about each piece and it’s a great way to connect with new people either in the cause and philanthropy space or looking for a way to build cause into their lives, so for that exposure and opportunity to continue to help others and broaden my reach, I’d like to thank the writers of each of these four pieces.

Charities Look for Ways to Unlock the Benefits of Social-Media Tools, Chronicle of Philanthropy, December 10, 2009.

Sloane Berrent wanted her 30th birthday to involve more than sharing cake and drinks with friends. So she and a friend started using Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to spread the word that their birthday celebrations would benefit Netting Nations, a charity that fights malaria.

The pair asked people in their online networks to hold parties in seven cities in as many days. Supporters could give small donations: $15 to buy bed nets to protect a family from malaria, or $75 to protect a village. Ms. Berrent, a former fund raiser and marketer who left her job last year to volunteer, flew with her friend from city to city on their own dime for the parties. In a month, they raised more than $19,000

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Joining the Social Media Revolution...

As the crisis and aftermath of Haiti continues, I’ve been incredibly moved by the power of the social web to mobilize, create a groundswell and drive real donations to help the people of Haiti.

The video above about the “social media revolution” further illustrates that point. As a person who creates social media campaigns professionally, I’m asked all the time if services like Twitter are going to last, where the online space is going next, and why invest in a technology now if it’s only going to change in 12-24 months. In response, I say look at what is happening NOW in response to Haiti. That’s power. That’s the social web standing up and taking charge and putting money where their mouth is.

To learn more about Socialnomics, I recommend reading Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business by Erik Qualman.

If you liked this post, you might like:
Info, Info, Get Your Information Here
5 Things: My Notes on the Twitter Roadmap
SXSW Core Conversation: How LA Has Built A Sucessful Tech Community

Be a Part of Tweetsgiving!...

A few people have asked me what they can do this Thanksgiving to give back. If you’re looking for one online challenge that packs a real punch, check out Tweetsgiving, the second year in this campaign by Stacey Monk of Epic Change that launches in five days.

TweetsGiving is a global celebration that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude.

Scheduled for November 24 – 26, 2009, the 48-hour event created by US nonprofit Epic Change will encourage participants to express their thanks using online tools and at live events. In honor of the people and things that make them grateful, guests will be invited to give to a common cause at events held across the globe.

TweetsGiving 2009 from LittlePurpleCow Productions on Vimeo.

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Melts In Your Pocket Guest Appearance...

Chocolate. You either love it or hate it. Me? I’m of the love it category. Especially dark chocolate and I mean only for the all those feel goodery things it gives you when you have a daily dose. So when my good friend Andrew Seely started a web show, Melts in Your Pocket AND asked me to be a guest star (only his second next to Natasha) well how could I say no? Plus post Cause It’s My Birthday, I was staying at Doug Campbell’s gorgeous Brewery loft to work out of. Bliss.

Now we did go out and buy chocolate together, Green & Black to be precise, but we had a lot to catch up on (he’s launched a show after all and I’m back from Kiva and always on the go) so we didn’t exactly talk about WHAT we would be talking about on the show. Hey, I’m not the web star ok. And in the middle you’ll catch I really have no idea what chocolate smells like (I mean who ever thought such things?) So don’t judge me on that. But you know what – this was definitely stretching my boundaries. It was uncomfortable (theme of the week – and of my TribeCon panel remember?!?) It was fun and I hope you like it. I mean a show ALL about chocolate? What will these kids think of next?

To learn more about Melts In Your Pocket, follow the show on Twitter here.

If you liked this post, you might like:
When You Look For Something
Climate Change, Food Production and You
Day in the Life of a Kiva Fellow