The Pacific Center for Advance Technology Training (PCATT) will be hosting their 8th Annual ITSummit on Thursday, May 20 – Friday, May 21, 2010 on the Honolulu Community College campus. This year’s theme is social media in education and the organizers have lined up speakers to lead discussions in virtualization, using wikis and blogs in education, mobile application development, and more. I’ve been asked to be the morning keynote to kick off what will be an exciting and vigorous two-day conference about social media in education.
Take a look at the schedule below and get in touch with Gerald Cerny or Wayne Lewis to register for this free event.
Social media strategies are being fostered in executive boardrooms and entrepreneurial garages each week, quite often without the complete knowledge or skillsets required for successful campaigns. There are many people who promise to deliver and then there are those who have actually been living, breathing, and producing results using the different social media tools.
Next Level Hawaii will be bringing some of the national leaders of the social media industry to the Hawaii Convention Center from April 29 – May 1, 2010. I have spoken with and learned a lot of my knowledge from most of the speakers lined up for this conference.
Team Guy Kawasaki
Jesse Stay is like family to me, allow me to trace the genealogy. My business advisor, mentor, and dear friend Guy Kawasaki is an advisor for many different startups including Jesse’s Twitter and Facebook management tool, SocialToo. I’ve been a paid subscriber of SocialToo to manage my gratefully growing @NEENZ Twitter account since it launched and recommend everyone doing so too. More than Twitter, Jesse is also the author of two essential books for using Facebook: FBML Essentials and I’m on Facebook–Now What???.
Founder of the Gnomedex conference, held annually in Seattle, WA since 2001, Chris Pirillo is probably one of the most visible persons in social media recording an average of 1,000 videos per year and livestreaming as often as he’s allowed. (As I type this he has a little less than 300 viewers on his Ustream channel and he’s not even at his desk!). I’ve left conversations with Chris inspired and recharged, he has that much energy, but mostly encouraged to continue to pursue my goals.
Last year I attended, SOBCon: Biz School for Bloggers in Chicago, IL. Talk about an A-to-Z of social media, networking and tools. For three days I was listening and learning from good people doing great things. They were Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, co-authors of Trust Agents; Lewis Howes co-author of LinkedWorking the best how-to book for business networking site, LinkedIn; and the best tablemates I could ever ask for! One person that stood out to me because of his genuine grace was Geoff Livingston. He had just shared with the group his knowledge about mixing in traditional media and marketing practices with social media. We all had learned about his work with the United Way of Amercia, Save Darfur, and Live Earth. And yet, when we met in the hallway he carried himself with such grace and humility I couldn’t help but feel completely comfortable. Geoff is currently working with his new startup aimed at serving nonprofits and socially conscious companies, Zoetica, co-founded with nonprofit expert Beth Kanter and Kami Watson Huyse.
Rounding out the speakers are Roxanne Darling, Aaron Brazell, and Micah Baldwin. The agenda has not been published, but the conference is being produced by real estate consultant, Kelly Mitchell and I can only guess that there will be valuable information for the Hawaii real estate industry as well as nonprofits and entrepreneurs. Follow @nextlevelhawaii on Twitter for more updates.
The rates are reasonable as compared to other national conferences, including one that I helped organize, so consider registering as there are only a few weeks left.
A community-based appeal for Google to make Hawaii one of the test locales for its recently announced ultra-fast broadband service is being organized through an online petition. Called Gigabit Hawaii, the initiative seeks to get tens of thousands of residents to add their support on the Gigabit Hawaii Facebook Page by a March 15 deadline when the petition of community based encouragement will be transmitted to Google — which will be making initial selections after March 25th.
Why Hawaii is an Ideal Choice for Google’s Gigabit Network
Hawaii, home to nearly 1.3 million people, is the most isolated island chain on earth. We are 2,390 miles from California, 3,850 miles from Japan, 4,900 miles from China and 5,280 miles from the Philippines. Our state’s unique geographic isolation presents special challenges in keeping our families, communities and businesses connected across our islands and to the outside world. The speed and quality of our connection to the net directly impacts our ability to communicate, educate, learn and conduct business. Here are five reasons why Hawaii is an ideal choice for Google’s gigabit initiative:
Hawaii’s speeds are among the worst in the nation. According to 2009 CWA report on Internet speeds, Hawaii ranks 47th of all states in terms of average download speed.
Hawaii is the most isolated and import-dependent state in the union. As such it’s imperative that its economic drivers shift from tourism and the military to the sale and export of locally-produced goods and intellectual capital. High-speed networking can help achieve this vision of sustainability per our state mandate (i.e. Lingle’s Innovation Initiative.)
Hawaii’s geography has always been a driver for cutting-edge high-speed networking. It’s why the influential ALOHAnet, the predecessor to Ethernet, was invented here. There are thousands of families and communities scattered across the Hawaiian islands. Fiber would provide incredible opportunities for them to stay connected and participate in shared cultural events and educational opportunities. Workers providing net-based customer support from home can provide services spanning Japan to New York within regular local work hours.
Hawaii represents a huge telemedicine testbed opportunity. Hawaii is the first state to offer online physician visits statewide, open to 700,000 HMSA members (54% of the population). As noted in the article, if a high-speed testbed using this software across communities is successful, this would make a great starting point for taking the lessons learned and applying them to the rest of the nation. The software, community, and business infrastructure is already there!
Google has offices in 17 states, but has no Hawaii presence. Why not? As mentioned above, Hawaii could be a great testbed for Google Health. Our state is the perfect place for software engineers to escape the colder weather of mainland winters, and it’s certainly one of the most inspiring places on earth.
Today, Neil Abercrombie filed his paperwork and took an oath at the State of Hawaii Office of Elections as a candidate for Governor of Hawaii in 2010. Part of his campaigning efforts include the use of social media tools and networking sites. He and his team have been using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and more since 2007. Now, he wants to empower his volunteers by providing them with cutting edge campaign training.
Beginning Thursday, March 4, 2010, as the Social Media Director for the campaign, I will be conducting social media training at the Abercrombie for Governor headquarters at Ward Warehouse, 1050 Ala Moana Blvd., in the former Stuart Anderson’s restaurant. Training is from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Each week, training classes will be every Thursdays from 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
The kind folks at Ad2Honolulu have invited me to speak to their organization about the Art of Self Branding. As someone whom over the years first accidentally created a self-brand and then cultivated it into an actual business, I am honored to share my journey. Will you join us?
From their website:
A bunch of ad making, creative seeking, mac loving kids
Well . . . big kids maybe. And we’re among the top in our field. Why? We explore new ideas, stretch our minds, meet the right people, and sharpen our skills. And we’re doing it now. While we’re still young enough.
Ad 2 members—all no more than 32 years old—are either employed or interested in advertising and it’s related fields. Members bring fresh ideas, new imagery and revolutionary concepts with their youth and creativity.
Learning from each other is what makes Ad 2 Honolulu tick. New members soon find out that Ad 2 Honolulu is about gaining professional experience, while having fun. There’s heaps of talent and ambition in the club—reaching all corners of the industry—and with that comes a healthy helping of good ol’ partying.
Industry-leading provider of cross platform mobile applications, Motherapp Limited has partnered with local media marketing startup, Pono Media to develop and market mobile applications in Hawaii, Guam, and throughout Polynesia. Founded in Hong Kong in 2005 by former original Google team member, Ken Law and serial entrepreneur, Leo Chan; Motherapp focuses on creating mobile apps using their patent-pending technology, which allows them to create applications quickly and easily for all major platforms. Clients include mobile operators, banks, and leading content providers like Guy Kawasaki, Jeremiah Owyang, and Chris Brogan.
Pono Media Founder, L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine has put together a team of local programmers; Kaeo Kepani, Zen Lao, and Tammi Hitchcock. Only a week into the partnership, the team has already begun developing mobile applications for local businesses.
Faleafine first entered the tech industry in 2007 as an enthusiast and then a writer for Nononina’s citizen media site, Truemors and currently as the Chief Evangelist for the company’s leading news aggregation site, Alltop. She is one of Hawaii’s leaders in the social media community speaking to businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurs about creating ones own opportunities as well as providing media solutions and strategy services.
A tourism driven State, Faleafine explained, “With a mobile app, travelers will be able to book their flights, hotels, or activities at the convenience of their smartphones whether they own a Blackberry, iPhone, or Droid.”
For retail and manufacturing businesses, a mobile application will allow customers around the globe to easily order products or local residents can send their family and friends gifts. As a business owner with children who have equally busy lives, Faleafine envisions more personal luxuries, “I’d like to be able to order and pay for dinner from Haili’s while watching my son’s soccer practice via an app built by Pono Media, powered by Motherapp.”
Pono Media is looking to empower every Hawaii business and organization with their own mobile application and will be looking towards doing the same in Guam and the rest of Polynesia later this year.
As I mentioned in a previous post, the unconference format, especially for the Hawaii community (and perhaps for yours) will be very important for 2010. For years we’ve been researching, networking, and building our kits with branding, marketing, and social media tools. Moving into the new year, the focus should be on building and strengthening your community.
As I have for the past few years, I’ll be traveling throughout the U.S. and for the first time, internationally; attending different tech, social media, and leadership conferences. Additionally, upon returning to Hawaii I will be conducting presentations based on what was learned, gained, and processed from each conference.
Here are a list of conferences that either I or my partners at Grilled Cornbread, LLP are considering attending in 2010:
January
International CES
January 7 – 10, 2010
Las Vegas Convention Center/Hilton Convention Center/Venetian Hotel
Las Vegas, NV
This will be an evolving list because let’s face it, tech and social media conferences are planned in a handful of weeks. There are some unconferences that I have not listed because they’re invite only. What conferences are you attending to build and strengthen your community and team in 2010?
Today I was fortunate enough to speak to the members of PRSA Hawaii about using photos and videos in social media. My focus was on (2) different uses of video as a marketing tool.
Use video to explain your product or service
One of the assumptions that companies often overlook is that their targeted audience or potential audience understands their product or service upon initial inquiry or contact. When launching your product or service, keep in mind the 3-types of learners: visual, audio, and hands-on. With visual learners, do not make additional assumptions that text or pictures are enough.
As the Chief Evangelist of Alltop, my opinion may be subjective, but take a look at the MyAlltop tutorial video below it has all of the elements of the different types of learners, including hands-on because it simulates the actual action readers will perform to build their customized MyAlltop page.
Put the camera in your customers hands
In October, I was fortunate enough to have dinner with Scott Monty, Ford Motor Company’s Head of Social Media. It was then that I first learned about Ford’s social media campaign, Fiesta Movement. In a coconut shell, 100 “agents” were given the keys to a Ford Fiesta, sent on selected missions over a 6-month period and asked to document their experience via social media.
I received an email from Scott last night with the following numbers from the agents’ published content:
More than 6 million views on YouTube
740,000 views on Flickr
3.7 million impressions on Twitter
Additionally, Ford has been able too:
Attract 80,000 people whom have asked to learn more about the Fiesta
Of the 80K, 97% are currently not Ford owners
Awareness of the vehicle is at 58%
Ford sold 1K vehicles in the first week of reservations
It’s important to note that the vehicle being marketed will not be available at dealerships until another 6-months.
Bruce Fisher, Ed Morita, L.P. Neenz Faleafine
If you’re still not convinced to use video to either help your potential customers understand your services or product or as a promotional marketing tool; fellow speaker, Bruce Fisher of Hawaii Aloha Travel demonstrated that a search for specific hotels in Hawaii on YouTube return his videos in the top results. Fortunately for the hotels, his videos enhance their brand, however not every company is that lucky.
UPDATE: Date changed to Saturday, February 27, 2010
Mark your calendars!
My friend Burt Lum confirmed that he will be organizing Unconferenz III on Saturday, February 20, 2010. I’ve offered my help to making the third year another success, and I’ll be posting updates as I get more details. Keep in mind, space is limited so once the invites are announced, you want to purchase your tickets right away.
In 2010, the unconference format for conferences will be even more important, especially for businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurs in Hawaii. 2010 will be about smaller groups, focused content, and most importantly fostering relationships to build and strengthen your communities.
[re]Think: Hawaii targeted no more than 200 attendees total, TEDxHonolulu focused on 100 audience members, Liz Strauss’ SOBCon targets 150 attendees, SocialFresh are 1-day conferences for specific target audiences, Hawaii Community Foundation Leadership conference is targeting less than 300, and Lum’s Unconferenz has always targeted between 50 – 100 individuals in the various technology fields. Call him a visionary, but he’s been planning and hosting the type of conferences the Hawaii community will need moving into the new year.
And, for the record conventions and expos will still be important too, and I’ll be posting the ones I’ll be attending in 2010 in a later post. But, for the Hawaii community, in 2010, smaller is better.
UPDATE: Unconferenz III will be held at Kapiolani Community College.
Earlier this month at the [re]Think: Hawaii conference, I announced my partnership with Ed Young of TEYC Hawaii and launched Entrepreneurs-Wanted.org. EW will provide the following to entrepreneurial teams and individuals:
Business intelligence
Mentoring
Networking
Access to capital
Before the official launch, we were already working with companies. Interested in taking your idea and company to the next level? Email: startup@entrepreneurs-wanted.org
As I mentioned in a previous post, the 
