#mandiesel photo

Columbia, South Carolina!

You really turned up and turned out for the first SMCCSC meeting of 2013! It was great to see so many people visit GraySail to learn and share knowledge about Google Analytics. We had attendees from all sorts of groups and businesses around the Midlands: The University of South Carolina turned up to represent in a big way with upwards of 5 attendees. The new Social Media Coordinator for WIS TV (and longtime member of SMCCSC, if we can toot our own horn a bit, toot!) Beth Baldauf was in the the house, awesome local hairstylist Erin Poole (who didn’t judge my hair even once), friends from Cyberwoven, and more! It was one of the most-populated meetings I’ve personally ever seen. GraySail CEO T. Hoke Currie delivered a Google Presentation (link to download the presentation slides) on the hows and whys of Google Analytics use, and then led an active Q&A where even the really old geeks (um, that would be me) learned some new and valuable information.

Now, I’ve never been good at segues, but speaking of new and valuable:

We were thrilled to see a number of new faces at SMCCSC in February! First-time attendee Scott D. Price (COO, Sandlapper Soaps) said he heard about SMCCSC during a recent local Tweetup lunch – a Twitter-based group of folks in the midlands who poke fun at themselves by hashtagging lunch meetups as #realtwitterati (background story available via context clues at the Free Times). When asked about his first SMCCSC experience, Mr. Price said he was “surprised to find that this group of Social Media experts and professionals were interested in how we use Social Media in our little eCommerce business. I’m sure with only a couple of years of Social Media experience, I was the least qualified person in the room… Yet, I was asked probing questions, and then more follow-up questions in the general discussion.”

Talking about his method of interacting with his audience – the Sandlapper Soaps Facebook page boasts nearly 11,000 fans as of this writing - Mr. Price said “I do not think you can maximize Social Media if you work in a bubble. I’m old-school; I really like the idea of face-to-face discussions. Skyping, chatting, and phone calls are all great, but I find brainstorming with someone in the same room generates much more creative energy.”

We couldn’t agree more!

As the meeting wound down, we took a minute to honor our friend, founding member, and SMCCSC Steering Committee President Chip Oglesby. Moving away and getting married, February’s SMCCSC was the last meeting where we’ll get to have Chip joining us (in person, anyway – I’m pretty sure he’s going to figure out a way to stream the meetings directly to his brain any day now). We’re going to miss you, Chip, but we are so very happy for you and Michelle!

#mandiesel photo

We’re looking forward to seeing the rest of you for Social Media Club Columbia March 2013. Thursday the 21st, 7pm. Bring a friend!

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