The In's and Out's of the Web

October's networking breakfast offers a first-hand look at both sides of the Internet and what it can offer businesses and organizations. 

Expect to see examples of current web trends in both the public social networking side of the web as well as the back-end enterprise-wide collaborative side, and learn how you can deploy cutting edge technology solutions to meet your own marketing and public relations objectives.

As usual, it's the first Friday of October -- Oct. 5 -- from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. at Gonzaga University's Cataldo Hall just in front of the school's old administration building.  Prices beginning this month are $10 for students, pre-paid members, and members who RSVP; $13 for members at the door or for non-members who RSVP; and $15 for non-members at the door.  So save some money and RSVP online -- click here!

Our guest speakers, both operating from Spokane, are Nick Murto of Seven2 Interactive and Joe Tansy of Guerilla Development Company.

Nick Murto and his partner Tyler Lafferty formed Seven2 in 2003. Mr. Murto has an extensive background developing interactive marketing strategies for such prominent firms as AT&T Wireless, Nintendo, Ericsson, Motorola, Therm-a-Rest, National Geographic, among others.

Guerilla Development Co. is a Spokane based company that creates database driven web applications and solutions for large companies.  Their current focus is implementing Sharepoint solutions to facilitate enterprise-wide communications for clients such as the Renton and Lake Washington School Districts and the City of Renton.

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Dive Into the Net

There couldn’t be a better way to celebrate the launch of MarCom’s new website – and, finally, online RSVP and payment – than a program on new media technologies.

Remember Carson McComas from last year’s October membership meeting on blogging? For those of you who weren’t there, Carson is an Internet marketing consultant,  entrepreneur, search engine marketer, web developer and change agent. Carson’s website is www.frogbody.com. Here you’ll find his business, marketing and entrepreneurship blogs and Internet marketing tools.

I recently checked in with Carson and asked him a few questions to get us warmed up for October’s program.

D: What are some of the best new blogs you are reading?

C: It's funny, I've actually been trying to curb my blog reading so I can get more done. Those who have survived the cut are Om Malik (www.gigaom.com) for industry pulse, Seth Godin's excellent blog (www.sethgodin.typepad.com) and Jason Calacanis's blog (www.calacanis.com). If you can sift through the noise posts, Calacanis is a genius – he sold Weblogs, Inc. to AOL for a reported $25 mil last year. His new venture is www.mahhalo.com – the world’s first human powered search engine.

D: What is the best way to start making a website interactive?

C: You might predict my answer, but create a blog where you regularly give away lots of great information that would be of interest to your customers/prospects and tell them about it. Be patient, persistent and altruistic.

D: What are your thoughts on social networks? Valuable in the business world? Are you actively involved in any?

C: They seem to benefit the network itself greatly (converting traffic to ad revenue), but the business value outside that escapes me. I think I'm the only one with that opinion.

D: When do you know it is time to upgrade/enhance a business website?

C: When it's providing no value beyond a hosted brochure.

One of Carson’s blogs is www.workhappy.net – “a blog of killer resources for entrepreneurs.” Here’s a “happy quote” from the blog that I felt appropriate as some of us “old media” folks venture into a new world of interactive communications:

"The key is to just get on the bike, and the key to getting on the bike...is to stop thinking about ‘there are a bunch of reasons I might fall off’ and just hop on and peddle the damned thing. You can pick up a map, a tire pump, and better footwear along the way."
   -- Dick Costolo - Founder of Feedburner.com

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Renew Your MarCom Membership Now and Save

Now’s the time to kick off the 2007-2008 MarCom year!  To get a discount on your annual dues, all you have to do is pay by October 5th.  To pay online using a credit card, click on the ‘PayPal’ option.  Or you can pay by cash or check at the October 5th meeting, 7:30 a.m. in Cataldo Hall at Gonzaga University. 

If you pay by October 5th, the cost is: 

$65/person, annual dues; 
$55/each additional person from your company;

--OR--

$155/person, dues plus prepaid breakfasts for the year;
$145/each additional person from your company, dues and breakfast.

After October 5th, add $10 to each of the above listed amounts (so standard dues will be $75; student dues remain $15).

Please contact Pam at (509) 323-1309 or pamelak@spokanefederal.com if you have any membership questions or would like to receive a hard copy invoice in the mail.

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New Features for Your Convenience

Spokane MarCom's rebranding efforts have finally hit the Internet with the launch this week of it's new website at www.spokanemarcom.com. 

One of the key features is the ability to RSVP online for our monthly breakfast meetings.  Your reservations will help us better track attendance (with the savings that permits), so we are passing that savings along to you.  Just go to the RSVP Page to let us know you plan to attend the next meeting, and then you can pay online using a credit card through MarCom's Pay Pal account.

Online payment capability also means you can renew your MarCom membership online.  The Membership Renewal page lets you choose the type of membership (professional or student) and whether you or your business/organization will be paying the bill. 

By some strange quirk of timing, October is when everyone needs to renew their membership.  So as a blatant attempt to encourage you to use this feature, we are discounting membership rates by $10 through October 5th.  Until then the standard professional membership is just $65 (and $55 for additional employees from the same employer).  Membership plus pre-paid breakfasts is just $155 ($145 for additional employees), and then all you have to do is show up and enjoy breakfast and an engaging program the first Friday of each month.

As for the rest of the website, you will find the Directory and Jobs pages (for members only) with the information that you've come to expect on them.  The Awards page will link you to photos from the 2007 Spark Awards Gala or a list of the winners.  And the Internships page give some great comments from recent interns and their hosts about the value of this program.  So click around and explore, and if you have suggestions for the site, please direct them to John Carter at john.carter@sgs.org.

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"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited."
   -- Plutarch, 46-120 AD

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