All the rage right now is Posterous for their backward cross posting aggrigation.  I love the premise & can’t wait to start using it, just other things to conquer right now (j.o.b being one).

The cross posting tools in Utterli are fantastic for sending text, audio, video & still pictures to your blog.  When we (Mike Boss & I) were at MPC Computers we used Utterli (what was then called Utterz) for this very reason to reach out to publication editors at one education/tech conference in particular.  Mike set up interviews with editors to talk about the changing hardware needs of the education market and where they saw the need for certain pieces in the future.  After the interview (which he recorded for a future pod cast) he would take a picture of the editor, with text & send a “voice mail” with-in 10 minutes of each other & it would show up on Mike’s blog as one post.

In doing this and nurturing other relationships via email and Twitter, Mike was able to get MPC off of the blacklist & get coverage in an industry magazine (physical & web) with-out “paying” for it.  Traditionally, MPC would spend their media dollars (around $250,000) to get the inside front cover of a magazine & a few banner ads on the website.  ROI sucked.  Honestly, I don’t know the end result ROI of Mike creating relationships…but it was a whole lot cheaper than $250k!

On a personal level, I use Utterli for my personal blog for the Grandparents.  I take pictures of the kiddos on my Blackberry & send it and audio to the family blog at least 3 times a week.  The kids sing Happy Birthday, tell of their first poops on the potty & I just recently let them jabber in the background for a few minutes on the ride home.  Grandma said she felt like she was in the car & how nice it was for me to share something like that with her.  :)

How can you cross post to your blog to engage others on a daily basis & make them feel like they are “right there”?

Why back in the old days (2008!) I was introduced to the audio blogging service Utterz (which for some reason got renamed as Utterli).

It was great – by simply dialling a dedicated phone number it was possible to record audio clips, commentary on the go using a mobile.

It was even possible to send through pictures to join up with it and join a community of users with the usual friends/comments etc.

I was soon using it fairly regularly to report on events and even incorporated it into the MEN’s Labour Party Conference coverage of that year with two reporters posting clips.

So it was hugely disappointing when the UK phone service ended but there it was – services come and go, change and differ and, without a tipping point, that’s the way the digital cook crumbles.

So when I saw iPhone users busily doing the same thing I with the AudioBoo app I wondered whether I’d made the wrong phone choice.

Until a chance remark from AudioBoo superuser Christian Payne (Aka @documentally) led me to this;

http://phoneboo.audioboo.fm

First register your mobile phone number with the site and then you will be guided through a couple of very simple steps to link the phone to the online account and be given a phone number to use.

On calling the number, a recorded message, similar to an aswerphone, gives you the necessary promptes and hey presto! Audio blogging on the move from any phone.

Stand by to hear more in the future – for now there’s just a couple of test items on my channel but do feel free to join me.

It’s hard to believe, but the Social Media Breakfasts seem to keep getting better! This month we had our largest group yet meet at the Crescent Club in Midtown Memphis for what promised to be a great way to start the morning. There were plenty of familiar faces mixed in with a great group of Social Media newcomers.

LunaWeb President, Dave Barger, hosted the event and kept everything running smoothly, as well as answering questions on all thing Social from a crowd that eagerly supplied both answers and inquiries. After some initial discussion, long time Social Media Breakfast attendee, Bob Hazlett, gave a hilariously informative presentation on Social Media campaigns gone wrong entitled, “You Suck at Social Media.” He effectively walked us through the best of the best on down to the abysmally low in Social success (from Zappos shoes to Microsoft’s twitter presence).

As always though, the best of Social Media Breakfast happened before and after the official presentations. Staying true to the idea of being “social” there were plenty of opportunities for networking, catching up, meeting new connections, and sharing new Social Media information.

You can already RSVP for the next Social Media Breakfast on the MeetUp page. And be sure to check out photos from SMB #7 here! If you haven’t already been to one of the Social Media Breakfasts, talk to one of the people who have. We’ll see you at the next one!

Memphis was visited by its second high-profile blogger within a week’s time, and most of us are still reeling from the good vibes and exciting conversations these events created.

Monday night, Geoff Livingston, author of Now is Gone and his PR blog, “The Buzz Bin,” met for a tweetup at Quetzal cafe in downtown Memphis.  Attendees included everyone from seasoned Social Media veterans, to several fresh faces looking to see what the web has to offer their business.

Despite the excitement surrounding Geoff’s attendance, the evening took on a very relaxed tone as the crowd mixed through the room networking, finding familiar faces, and engaging the featured guest in conversations about the state of the blogosphere and the benefits of Social Media for business.

As the evening progressed, the tweetup culminated in a Geoff becoming the centerpiece of a group discussion, moderated by LunaWeb’s Dave Barger, where an eager group shared their ideas and questions about Social Media, while the Washington D.C. based PR and blogging guru addressed each topic, drawing from his own experience for examples and anecdotes.

The event was a huge success for LaunchMemphis and a great experience for all of the attendees.  Upcoming on the Social Media horizon is the Socia Media Breakfast on October 1st at the Crescent Club.  The breakfast is open to everyone!  See details on the Meetup page.