I’ll be participating in Blogout09 in Singapore on March 6, giving my Communications Inside Out (see below) talk, which is based loosely on the last chapter of my book, SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate. I’ll be in the esteemed company of Yongfook, the Ashton Kutcher of the Singapore social media scene, and Melvin Yuan, who is referred to by Kevin Lim (aka @brainopera) as “a ridiculously thoughtful public relations gentleman in Singapore.”

In commemoration of my visit to Singapore, Kevin has created this stunning photo montage:

Note that Yongfook is cited for his good looks, Melvin for his intelligence, and me for giving away copies of my book. This is how I want to be remembered! On the other hand, can either of them drive a Zamboni? I think not! My picture is a composite and the hand with the book doesn’t even belong to me! I appear to be grimacing after eating a bug or something.

Here are a few things you might not know about me:

• I came up with the original concept for Blogout in 1992, but since there was no such thing as blogging then, I had a hard time selling the idea
• The internet IS a series of tubes, and I will prove this scientifically during my presentation
• If you send me $500 by PayPal, I will disclose my great secret of making millions by blogging.

Hope to see you in Singapore!

Communications Inside Out

Now that the social media “dust” has settled, many companies feel like they’ve made the transition to a stable, predictable, Web 2.0 world. Not so fast! I’m going to lead a conversation about a second wave of changes underway or rapidly approaching. Communications Inside Out, based on the final chapter of my book, is loosely structured around five key shifts in perceptions about what social media is, and how it behaves:

• Speed–>Brevity
• Managed Participation–>Chaos
• Letting Go–>Taking Back
• Engagement–>Doing Business
• Wild Wild West–>Civilized World

For example, the attention span of the average person online has grown shorter and shorter, and with it, the length and duration of online content has similarly been reduced. Online videos, once considered “short” at three minutes, are now less than a minute, or even a few seconds in length. Entire “blog posts” have been reduced to 140 characters on sites like Twitter. In other words, while the emphasis in social media was on speed, it is now on brevity. Similar shifts have taken place elsewhere. My presentation will take a random walk through a handful of such shifts, helping participants better understand the nature and role of social media in the future.

Tags: Blogout, Singapore, Communications Inside Out, SocialCorp, Social Media Goes Corporate, Yongfook, Melvin Yuan, Kevin Lim, brainopera

Peachpit, publisher of my new book SocialCorp, has kindly invited me to join them in their booth at Macworld San Francisco to talk about Twitter business basics and to sign copies of the book (available in the booth #S-1026). I will be there Friday, January 9, 2009, at 2 P.M. My chat will cover both a general introduction to Twitter as well as a discussion of how businesses are using it. If you’re in the Bay Area, I hope to see you there!

Tags: Peachpit, New Riders, SocialCorp, Twitter, Joel Postman, Macworld, San Francisco, 2009

I’ll be speaking at an IABC event at Cisco, in San Jose, CA, November 13. The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Here’s what we’ll be talking about:

Communications Inside Out: Today, many companies have embraced corporate blogging and/or have built some type of customer interaction into their corporate websites. Many feel that the new media dust has settled and that they have made the Web 2.0 transition.

However, in this presentation, Joel Postman will explain that there is a second wave of new media driven changes rapidly approaching. This wave will have a dramatic impact on corporate communications, and ultimately how companies do business.

In a preview of his new book SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate, Joel will talk about the drivers and implications of the five new transitions that are taking place as a result of new media and give early examples of the new “inside out” world of communications.

This new world is one where corporate communicators can play a role, but only if they understand and adapt to this next wave of change.

This presentation is a must for any corporate communicator who employs, manages or monitors new media as part of their day-to-day role.

Event registration is $20 for IABC members, $35 for the non-members, and $10 for students.

If you’re in the Bay Area, hope to see you there!

I’ll be giving a keynote Oct. 15 at the Executing Social Media Conference in Atlanta. The organizers have put together a couple of great promotions and a contest:

Register at http://www.communitelligence.com/psps/psitem.cfm?psid=221 and use the promo code esm08300 for $300 off regular conference admission.

To save even more, there’s a 2-for-1 registration offer which allows two people to register for the price of one.  Purchase online and put the 2nd person’s information in the Ship To field of the registration form.

And last but not least, you can win one of two free tickets they’re giving away by entering the Executing Social Media Atlanta contest at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/survey.zgi?p=WEB228B2MXGDUG

Entrants need to answer this question by Thursday, Sept 9: In 300 words or less, what tactics would you use to introduce one of the following social media tools into an existing, conservative organization? (Blogs, wikis, RSS, podcasting, online video or social networking).

Tags: Executing Social Media, Atlanta, Conference, Discount, Promo

I’ll be giving the keynote at the Communitelligence Executing Social Media Conference, October 15 in Atlanta.

The tagline for the conference is New Tools, New Rules, New Game. I will be kicking off the Collaboration track of the conference:

What’s hot on the Internet eventually finds its way inside organizations. This session surveys the way companies are using wikis, podcasts, online video and intranet social networks to allow employees to connect, communicate and collaborate.

As always, I look to you, my loyal readers, to help me with the latest (and coolest) case studies on how companies are using these technologies internally, and with business partners, to collaborate, share ideas and make things happen. The best case studies will be rewarded not only with visibility in the keynote, but with a stylish, 100% cotton, limited edition, Socialized t-shirt, designed by award winning Los Angeles graphic artist Opehlia Chong.

If you’re coming to the conference, I look forward to meeting you there!

Tags: Executing Social Media Conference, Atlanta, Joel Postman, Communitelligence