Event Recaps

Social Media: Emergency!

973 days

by Todd Van Hoosear in Event Recaps

On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire on the BP-licensed Transocean drilling rig Deepwater Horizon leaves 11 people missing, 17 injured, and the beginning of an international nightmare.

Just a few days later, water is even more top of mind for Massachusetts residents when a major water main break leads to boil water orders for 2 million residents around the Boston area.

When a crisis occurs, local, state, regional, national and sometimes international organizations (on both the public and the private side) spring into action to coordinate efforts. In many regards, social media makes this easier and easier to manage. But concerns exist: for example, how do you manage the spread of misinformation?

A panel of practitioners at last Thursday’s “Social Media: Emergency!” event walked us through what happens — and what should happen — when a crisis strikes. Our moderator was Ellen Rossano, principal of Crisis Media Consultants. Panelists included Jess Weiss, New Media Liason for Governor Patrick’s office; Brad Blake of Hill Holliday; and Anna Waclawiczek from the Department of Agricultural Resources.

Here’s the video from the session:

Social Media Emergency! Handling a Crisis Today from Todd Van Hoosear on Vimeo.

Interview with Jeff Cutler for Citizen Gulf Project

997 days

by Todd Van Hoosear in Event Recaps

Wednesday’s nationwide CitizenGulf Project raised around $10,000 with less than two months of planning. Boston contributed both money, awareness and insight. Even if you missed Wednesday’s event, you can still contribute to the cause!

Here are the five videos we made during Wednesday evening’s CitizenGulf event, thanks to Jeff’s insight and Ja-Nae’s camera skills:

PART 1: In which we learn who and what brought us all together this evening:

PART 2: In which we talk miles (both vertical and horizontal), and the three main industries impacted (oil, seafood and tourism):

PART 3: In which Jeff answers questions about safety, the difference between hurricanes and oil spills, and the tension between the government, BP, scientists and reporters:

PART 4: In which Jeff talks accounting (lost sales, lost jobs, etc.), awareness, access, anniversaries and appetites:

PART 5: In which we wrap things up, Jeff reminds us how we can help here in New England, pleads with us to not boycott BP gas stations and answers the burning question of what his favorite meals were:

Thank you to our attendees, supporters and promoters, who include:

Name	Contribution Level	Anecdote
Lois Ardito	CitizenGulf Supporter	Thinking outside the fishbowl.
Donna Bertolotti	Individual Sponsor	Thank you for your support!
Robert Collins	Attendee/Contributor	“No, no, over HERE!”
Jeff Cutler	Host	“Buy your gas from BP!”
Mick Darling	Attendee/Contributor	“When does the dancing start?”
Ja-Nae Duane	Attendee/Contributor	“The female Tony Robbins!”
Ashley Gagnon	Attendee/Contributor	“Where’s the valet parking?”
Geoff Livingston	Event Organizer	“#YankeesSuck”
Sandy Kalik	Attendee/Contributor	“Let me know when you’ve figured it out.”
Kelley Kassa	CitizenGulf Supporter	“I know how to deal with fishermen!”
Susan Kaup	CitizenGulf Supporter	“Help I need a venue!”
Chris Nahil & Wife	Attendee/Contributor	“It’s near and dear to my heart.”
Chris Pollara	Attendee/Contributor	Thanks for helping!
Ellen Rossano	Attendee/Contributor	“Well, the service was good…”
Leonardo Souza	CitizenGulf Supporter	“She’s always this quiet!”
Matt Searles	Attendee/Contributor	Loyal longtime Social Media Club member.
Todd Van Hoosear	CitizenGulf Supporter	“Help I need a venue!”
Lauren Vargas	CitizenGulf Supporter	The impetus behind the Boston event.
Mark Wallace	CitizenGulf Supporter	Sponsored Jeff’s Gulf trip.
Adam Zand	CitizenGulf Supporter	“Sure, but how was the food?”

DONATE TODAY!

citizengulf ioilspill nomx3 smcboston socialmediaclub

Photowalk #3: Mt. Auburn Cemetery

998 days

by Todd Van Hoosear in Event Recaps

It was a damp day with occasional fits of rain, but a dedicated group of photogs took a tour of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge last weekend.

Mount Auburn Cemetery was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior, recognizing it as one of the country’s most significant cultural landscapes. Founded in 1831, it was the first large-scale designed landscape open to the public in the United States. Today its beauty, historical associations and horticultural collections are internationally renowned, and #SMCBoston was there.

Tag your photos SMCBoston in Flickr and they’ll show up in this slide show:

cemeteries cemetery photography photowalk smcboston

Steve Baker Commentary

1063 days

by Todd Van Hoosear in Event Recaps

Thanks to our sponsor Netezza, members of the Boston Social Media Club were fortunate to be able to enjoy an intimate evening with author and former BusinessWeek Senior Editor Stephen Baker. Steve’s most recent book, The Numerati, looks “at how a global math elite is predicting and altering our behavior — at work, at the mall, and in bed.” He was invited to present a keynote at the company’s Enzee Universe 2010 User Conference, and was gracious enough to take time out of his schedule to meet with the group and share his thoughts on life, journalism, numbers and the new book.

Here is the complete audio from last night’s session.

Listen Now:

Special thanks again to Steve for taking the time to speak with our group, our sponsor Glen Zimmerman of Netezza, Wendy Larkin of Topaz Partners who manned registration and Tim Allik who played cameraman.

Update 23 June 2010: Tim Allik captured some video of Steve talking specifically about his BusinessWeek experience. You can read Tim’s thoughts on the Tech PR Gems blog, and have a look at the video below: