One of the great features of the South by Southwest Interactive conference (that's SXSWi to you) is the plethora of panels and speakers there are to hear from. In many cases, you have to make hard choices because of an embarrassment of riches, so to speak.

If you've never gone to SXSW, I strongly recommend it, whether you're learning about social media or you're a representative for your company in the field. You'll meet plenty of other talented and like-minded individuals, you'll see new technology debuted (it's where Twitter first made a big splash), and you'll be able to hear some industry thought leaders. Not to mention you'll have a chance to keep Austin weird. If you can only attend one social media conference a year, make it this one.

Each year, the organizers of SXSW open it up to us plebs to select which panels we'd most like to see. Never one to say no, I've been asked by five different individuals to be part of their panels. Here they are. Feel free to vote for (or against) as many as you like.

1. #youFAIL: Respond or Die in Social Media - featuring Planet Hollywood and Miramax Films, moderated by Kirk Skodis
2. Social Networking for Dealers: Cultivate Relationships First - moderated by Mary Butler from Razorfish
3. Virtual Experience vs. Advertising to Change Brand Perception - with ABC and Qik, moderated by Tom Martin
4. Building Social Strategies at Fortune 100 Companies - a who's-who of brands, from SAP to Microsoft, Nationwide Insurance to IBM and Dell and moderated by Jim Storer
5. Can You Tame the Twitter Beast? These Brands Think So - Jesse Engle, CEO of CoTweet moderates this panel that inclues Whole Foods, Sports Illustrated and Starbucks.

But be kind. I'd like a chance to see some panels as well. ;-) And while you're at it, take a look around the Interactive Panel Picker and select some others. There are plenty to choose from.

Photo credit: The Laughing Squid (Flickr)

Posted via web from The Full Monty

Not quite, it would seem.

While we in business are seeing some advances from companies that are learning how to become more transparent, it's clear that the scientific community is stuck in the relative Dark Ages. Case in point: check out this guide on How To Publish a Scientific Comment in 1 2 3 Easy Steps (embedded below).

It would be funny if it weren't tragic.

I suppose it's a chance for those of us who understand and operate in the realm of online communications and social media to be thankful that we embrace instantaneous commenting and direct access to authors. That we co-create instead of hoard. That we can request assistance and get dozens of replies from people willing to collaborate for the sake of solving a problem or helping a colleague. That's precisely how open source software has allowed us to advance farther faster. iPhone app, anyone?

What if the scientific community were more collaborative (and I'm speaking about the publications here, not institutions themselves)? Or at the very least, collegial? What if journals and scientific publications held their authors to such high standards that they required more open disclosure of data, processes, and errors? Wouldn't that be something that we could all benefit from? The process below stands to illustrate the old thinking of self-promotion, fiefdoms, and jealously guarded secrets.

There must be a better way.

How to Publish a Scientific Comment in 1 2 3 Easy Steps

Posted via web from The Full Monty

Labels: communities, ethics, iPhone, strategy

It's an interesting scenario. Given a choice between social media activity and something else - and don't think that time isn't coming - what do you think you would give up before you left your favorite social network?

That's the very question that was put to 711 female internet users in the U.S. and Canada by ShesConnected Multimedia. What do you think they said? Have you selected your priorities yet? I'll give you a moment before launching into the survey results.

Ready? Good. Here's what the online cohort said:

• More than one-third (36%, to be exact) would sooner give up chocolate, their Pradas, or their mothers-in-law before they gave up social networking.
• But only half would be willing to pay a subscription fee for those site.

It's amazing to think the limits we'll go to for social networking. Pradas are expensive, I

get that. Mothers-in-law are...well, that's personal, isn't it? But giving up chocolate? C'mon, people!

As to the fee, it seems that most women - 92%, in fact - would be comfortable with an ad-supported model on the socnets. But only 22% would be approve of their data being sold to advertisers, and just 28% are okay with a subscription-based model.

Chart courtesy of MarketingCharts.com

The post popular activities in which they partake online are:

• Viewing video
• Reading blogs
• Posting photos
• Writing in blogs
• Posting comments

And some interesting additional data points about the respondents:

• More than two-thirds (67%) of survey respondents belong to three social networks, while 48% belong to four or more.
• The adoption of social networks by older women is especially strong. Women ages 50+ comprised the largest age group in the core user survey.
• More than one-third report they are in business for themselves
• Respondents spend a significant amount of time online each day, with 49% reporting they spend 1 - 2 hours per day for personal use and 48% reporting they spend five or more hours per day online for work.
• 83% of respondents have 50 or more connections or friends.
• 56% have started at least one group and have joined an average of two to five groups. Nearly one in three (29%) belong to 10 or more groups.

Pay attention to these ladies. There's clearly a lot of potential here.

That is, unless you take away their chocolate.

BTW, at Ford we recently asked women what they wanted in their cars. You'd be surprised at their reactions, which you can see by clicking here.

Photo credit: Wiedmaier

Labels: social networks, study, trends