Just sending this quick reminder about next Tuesday's RMIUG meeting.

We hope to see you there.

Thanks.

JZ

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The Tuesday, September 9th meeting of the Rocky Mountain Internet
Users Group (RMIUG) will discuss "Social Networking: Our Friend or the
next Friendster?"

It seems like we hear the term "Social Networking" incessantly. It's
impossible to turn on the TV and not hear about people's competing for
Twitter or LinkedIn friends or the fact that teenagers spend more time
on MySpace or Facebook than any other activity online. Even YouTube
has become so mainstream that they were recently part of presidential
primary debates. With a gazillion Tweets and hundreds of millions of
MySpace pages, it seems like "Social Networking" is all the rage on
the Internet these days.

The statistics seem to back up this phenomenon:

* comScore recently reported that Social Networking sites like
MySpace and Facebook received almost 191 million unique visitors in
May 2008 with MySpace and Facebook getting roughly half of that
traffic alone.
* HitWise reported that the average time spent on Social
Networking sites for all Internet users was over 27 minutes long.


Those of us who have been working with the Internet for a while have
seen trends like this before (anyone remember Friendster?) and can't
help be skeptical.

But what are these sites? Why are people attracted to them? How are
they different than before?

If the Information Age can be coined the Attention Economy, then
eyeballs and mindshare is the currency. Social Networking sites have
been getting much of our attention. Is it finally time to take notice?

During the next meeting, we will bring in a guest speaker to discuss
this fascinating topic:
Jason Cormier (jcormier@...) is Co-Founder and Managing
Partner of Room 214, a Google-certified search marketing and social
media agency and CEO of RSSReady a RSS Feed product and services
company. Jason is a strategist dedicated to the systems and
operations that make Room 214 clients successful. He plays a lead role
in the development of customized search engine visibility, online word
of mouth and social media programs, ROI analysis and tactical
execution of marketing plans. As Chief Executive of RSSready, Jason
also coordinates software development and custom install efforts for
Post Zinger, an advanced content management platform for blog,
podcast, RSS feed management and reporting metrics. Current clients
Jason works with include Alltel Wireless, The Travel Channel, Rally
Software, Hive Live, EAS, Centura Health, Best Promotions, Smarty Pig
and the Denver Broncos.

Links:
Room214: http://room214.com
RSSReady: http://www.rssready.com
Company blog: http://www.capturetheconversation.com

The meeting is Tuesday, September 9th from 7:00 - 9:00 pm (with
optional 6:30 pm start for refreshments and informal networking). The
meeting will be held at The National Center for Atmospheric Research
(NCAR) at 1850 Table Mesa Drive in Boulder. To get to NCAR from the
Boulder Turnpike (US 36) or Broadway (US 93), take Table Mesa Drive
west towards the mountains for approximately 2.5 miles into the
foothills. NCAR is at the top of the hill. For door-to-door driving
directions, go to MapQuest (http://www.mapquest.com/), click on
Driving Directions, enter your starting address, NCAR's address, and
voila! Park in the NCAR lot, go in the main door, and ask the guard to
point you to meeting, which is held in the main auditorium, right off
the lobby. The meeting is free and open to the public, but we may pass
the hat to help defray expenses.

Our meeting location seats about 120 people. That is usually enough
room to accommodate all attendees, but it's impossible for us to
predict how many people will show up for any given meeting. Seating is
always on a first-come, first serve basis, and in the event of more
attendees than seats, we won't be able to admit additional people into
the auditorium after all seats are filled.

Thanks to our three sponsors who help make RMIUG meetings happen:
---------------------------------------------------------------
MicroStaff (www.microstaff.com) which provides Creative and Technical
talent for Web, Interactive Media, Marketing Communications and
Software Development projects, is the sponsor of food and beverages
for RMIUG meetings.
ONEWARE (http://www.ONEWARE.com) -- a Colorado-based software company
that provides semi-custom web-based applications, sponsors the RMIUG
meeting minutes.
Copy Diva (http://www.copydiva.com) which provides marketing project
management, marketing communications consulting, and web content
development is the AV sponsor for RMIUG.

Consultants and companies are invited to bring Internet-related
Product information, brochures, and business cards which will be
displayed on an information table.

There are email mailing lists set up for this group. To subscribe or
unsubscribe, see http://www.rmiug.org/maillist.html. You can also
reach the RMIUG "Executive" Committee at rmiug-comm@.... Our web
site is at http://www.rmiug.org/

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Please note that RMIUG is hosted at NCAR and we are their guests. NCAR
has security regulations in effect that we must follow in order to use
the facility. If any RMIUG attendee is unwilling to follow these
simple regulations, I would ask that he or she not attend and instead
read the minutes after the meeting.

Here are the NCAR security policies that must be followed:

1. No weapons.
2. Must sign in at front desk and provide name.
3. Cooperate with security folks including providing ID if requested.
4. We are guests of NCAR so cooperation and courtesy are expected when
dealing with NCAR staff.

If there are any questions or concerns with this policy, please
contact me directly.
Thanks, Josh Zapin (josh@...).
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