Me, Ann Lightfoot & Friends at the Social Media Holiday Happy Hour via Christiaan Todd Photography

In my previously addicted MMORPG days (that’s massive multi-role playing game for the uninitiated) we used to refer to our player relationships off-line as RL or “real life”.  Players in game would ask clan members (yes, I guess I was somewhat of a nerd; although not so much from the computer technology aspect, but from the highly competitive aspect of being the best with the highest player stats….that’s a blog post for another day!) if they knew each other in RL or just via the game.  Well, last night was a night for the Cincinnati Social Media Community to take their “game playing” completely off-line and meet up in RL.

The venue was Jag’s in West Chester, an upscale steak & seafood restaurant that was beautifully decorated for the holidays.  We had the entire back room and patio of the bar section and had live music playing on top of the bar.  You gotta see the pictures to truly appreciate this feat!  The aim was to mix up the local social media community with other friends and colleagues from a variety of professional backgrounds to get a conversation started and facilitate learning.  Anne Castleberry, Julie Sweeny Bogart and I are members of the New Media Cincinnati (NewMediaCincy) and Cincinnati Social Media (CincySM) social/digital networking groups.  We met virtually through Twitter and Facebook this past May and became great friends.  In fact, the three of us attended a recent REO/Styx concert and tweeted, twitpic’d and facebooked our hearts out as we swayed and clapped to the music.  (Note: the flashlight app for iPhone works great in lieu of a lighter for classic songs like Come Sail Away!)  It was at the pre-concert dinner that we hatched the plan for the Social Media Holiday Happy Hour.  I think that several people were glad that we did!

Who said you can't dance or play on the bar? via Christiaan Todd Photography

Over 100 people registered for the free event which featured complimentary appetizers, drink specials, live music and prize drawings.  Approximately 60 to 70 people representing a wide variety of backgrounds from social media folks, politicians (Charlie Luken was on the list), writers, non-profits, corporate types, attorneys, real estate professionals, bloggers, etc. made it out to Jags and from the comments that have been running on Twitter and Facebook, I think it was a very successful event.

Social Media Holiday Happy Hour at Jag's via Christiaan Todd Photography

Here are a few:

“Thanks for a great event, it was a good time and a great chance to network and catch up with people.”  -Brandon Kilby

“Thanks to Anne Castleberry, Michelle Beckham and Julie Bogart for a FANTASTIC party!!! Those appetizers were delicious. I got to see people I hadn’t seen in a while; make new friends; catch up with friends; and had an absolutely wonderful time. Thank you SO MUCH for planning this. I look forward to the next one.” -Vickie Sceifers

Me & Julie Sweeney Bogart at the Social Media Holiday Happy Hour at Jag's via my Droid cam

“Wow-what a great party. Thanks for all you 3 did. We had a wonderful time. Everything was perfect and the place was just gorgeous. Met some interesting new people and many special friends.” -Ann Lightfoot

Thx to great girlfriends @julieunplugged @michellebeckham and @CastlePoint for fab & fun SM party last night!- Debba Haupert via Twitter

Cincy social media holiday party is a huge success w @benjaminmccall & Rhonda Silbiger @michellebeckham see pi http://tweetphoto.com/6563893 -Margo Rose via Twitter

@michellebeckham It was a great time! I’m glad I went and was able to meet you! Great job! -Annie of ArtsyGirtie via Twitter

Many folks asked the name of the organization putting on the event.  They seemed surprised when I replied that there was no group, this was just about three friends throwing a party.  No hidden agendas, no ulterior motives, just the pure desire to bring people together in the act of being social.  I met someone who had been directed by his boss to come to our event in her place.  He had no idea about the evening; just that there was a social media element and it made sense for their company to be involved.  Gotta love it!  Ended up having a great conversation with him and I’m sure he is thinking that his substitute attendance was time well spent.

The point of this post is to simply say that social media is a starting place and a conduit for building relationships that lead to community; but somewhere in the process one must take the connection off-line and into the real world.  It is a fact that we all do exist in Real Life and it is here that we can create and establish deeper and more meaningful relationships, both professional and personal.  Cincinnati is on it’s way to becoming a Digital Hub, I’m just glad to be along for the ride.

Want to know more about how you can become involved in the local Soc Med scene?  Feel free to contact me at:  http://twitter.com/michellebeckham

Warning!  Shameless Request Here: Become a Fan of my Facebook page to stay connected and be in the know about breaking news in social media and local happenings:  http://www.facebook.com/C3.CreatingConnectionsConsulting

Happy relationship building!

Glenn Corbin and Me at Jag's via Christiaan Todd Photography

People Experiencing REAL LIFE! via Christiaan Todd Photography

Thanks to Daniel Johnson, Jr for manning Eventbrite, spreading the news through the New Media Cincy community and offering great tips!

Thanks to Christiaan Todd Photography for the great shots!

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Happyhour special drinks

Kira-kira kalau hangout di cafe outdoor/terrace gitu pas happyhour lo disedian minuman segitu banyak seharga Rp.20.000 per gelas tapi mesti abis sendirian mau ga ya?

Delaware's First Tweet Up was a Success

This past Thursday I attended the first ever Delaware Tweet Up event at Iron Hill Brewery in Wilmington. I did not really know what to expect but it turned out to be a great event! Basically it was a normal happy hour, drinks, appetizers and a variety of people with various professions. I entered to receive my badge with my name and twitter id, and admission was an affordable 2 canned goods or $5.00 to go to the local food bank.

The coolest part was the fact that they had a large twitter feed in the room with all of the tweets with “#deltweet” included in the post. So not only were we interacting in person, we were also communicating via our cell phones and computers through our tweets. Although it may seem dorky to some, having the giant twitter board in the center of the room was a conversation starter itself. We were able to see everything from what people were thinking about the appetizers to invitations to those not in attendance to get over to the tweet up.

The article featured in the paper the next day took some harsh criticism for not being news-worthy, however I think that this just goes to show how technology and social media can be used to add another layer of networking to an otherwise normal happy hour gathering.

Of, şi cât m-am abţinut să nu mă iau de amuzantul, de altfel, Cătălin Măruţă, dar n-am ce face. Nu, nu suntem genul să ne luăm de vreo gafă, ori de vreo bâlbă iminentă unei emisiunii în direct.

Vroiam să vă întreb dacă nu vi se pare, în ultimul timp, că aţi mai văzut o dată emisiunile lui Cătălin Măruţă? Adică, dacă “veveriţele” nu şi-ar schimba vestimentaţia şi lookul, am avea parte de acelaşi Măruţă cu aceiaşi invitaţi.

M-a amuzat când am văzut-o prima dată pe Andra invitată pe canapeaua soţului ei. Bun, frumos. Nu mi-a plăcut a doua oară, dar deja şi a treia oară într-un timp atât de scurt?

Am înţeles că horoscopul lui Neti face audienţele să sară, dar chiar s-o chemăm de două ori într-o singură săptămână pe vestita Carmen Hara? Pentru “ca să ce”, cum ar zice unii?

Zic şi eu, acum nu trebuie să vă supăraţi

sursă foto: www.happyhour.protv.ro

¿Dónde? En el Club Europeo

25 de marzo 19.30 hs

Happy hour has been taken to the next level, all you need is a beer and a web cam and now you have a virtual happy hour. Sara and I hooked up our web cams and I was able to hang out and have a drink while Amanda was visiting her. Cheers!

Bahoi la Maruta in emisiune la Protv! Sau cum sa ajungi vedeta prin intermediul internetului.

Ei bine, de ceva vreme, mai ales in state e la moda ca cei care se prostesc cel mai mult in fata unei camere web,si care fac cele mai tampite si necugetate gesturi sa aiba foarte multe vizualizari, sa devina populari,un fel de vedete online, si nu numai.Ba mai mult, cunoscute show-uroi tv tin neaparat sa ii aibe ca invitati.Ca deh, ratingul e rating, fie el pe youtube sau la Tv.

De o perioada in Romania un terminat care uneori e funny ,alte ori e chiar trist, a inceput sa apara pe situri dedicate,in special pe youtube, si sa starneasca reactii multe la numar.Fie ele critici,injuraturi sau laude,NU CONTEAZA.Important este sa se vorbeasca despre tine.Indiferent in ce mod.Daca nu vorbeste lumea despre tine,nu existi.Exercitiu simplu de logica.

Din cate imi pot da seama e de etnie,dar nu pot garanta.Isi zice Bahoi,Bahoi de la Constanta.Dar nu cred ca e din municipiul Constanta,ci mai degraba dintr-un satuc din judetz,sau din Cernavoda,cine stie?

Ideea e ca probabil din plictiseala,din lipsa de ocupatie sau de prieteni,si din amuzament, de ce nu,acest Bahoi mai intai Ne-a invatat sa spargem parole la messenger,apoi sa hackerim nasa,dupa care s-a reprofilat pe depanari pc-uri cu ciocanul si dat lectii de bataie de strada si dans pe manele.Apoi s-a aruncat de pe podul de la Cernavoda,in Dunare.VEZI AICI

Chiar daca unora le starneste mila,altora dezgust,ceea ce e clar e ca multora le starneste rasul.Drept pentru care una din televiziunile romanesti,cea mai de top de altfel,la avut ca feature de cel putin 2 ori,la o emisiune de rating.Aia a lui Maruta.

Asadar iarasi un semn ca ne luam dpa americani,mai ales Protv a pastrat o linie strict-USA.Si a avut sucess.Ba chiar a luat Emmy cu o serie de 3 reportaje.Ceea ce ma intristeaza pe mine e ca televizunea din Pache Protopopescu cultiva intens manelizarea si prostul gust.Chiar rusine!!

Pe internet nu e decat unul Bahoi
Un pas inainte si-apoi doi inapoi
Orice mister il dezlegi doar cu Bahoi
La valoarea lui nu exista locul 2

Clar este insa ca Bahoi asta a devenit un fenomen,dar ce e val,ca valu’ trece.Astept un film cu Bahoi prezentand stirile alaturi de Esca.

Numai Bine!