If you’re on Twitter, you’ve probably heard of Tweetsgiving (which starts today!) and the Twitter Kids of Tanzania. In last night’s The Social Nerdia Show! I had an awesome conversation with Stacey Monk, founder of Epic Change, the non-profit organization behind Tweetsgiving that “invests in people with incredible stories“. It was easy to see that Stacey’s heart is as big as her dreams to make a difference the world.  Her story is quite powerful and so is the story of those that her organization is helping and working with.

Listen to the entire conversation with Stacey on the Flash player below. You can also subscribe to us on iTunes, stream from mobiles on Stitcher, and listen to upcoming shows LIVE on blogtalkradio.

“We believe there are incredible people across the globe that are creating change in their own community; we try to amplify their visibility and impact,” explained Stacey about what drives Epic Change. Tweetsgiving was a project that Epic Change “imagined six days before American Thanksgiving in 2008 with six volunteers, and launched only 48 hours before Thanksgiving.”

The Tweetsgiving idea was simple: ask people to share about what they were thankful for and ask them to donate to the project if they felt moved to do so. The result was over $10,000 in donations that were invested to build a classroom at a school founded by Tanzanian Epic Change fellow “Mama Lucy” Kamptoni, a woman who used her own money to open up a school that today serves more than 300 kids.

The Twitter handles of those who made donations were painted in the room so it is no coincidence that Twitter and the “@” symbol have become quite popular in the school in Tanzania. These days, Mama Lucy and the kids have become passionate users of the microblogging platform and you can follow them yourself here. ”They do not yet have a library, but they access to a world of information!,” Stacey said with much excitement about the kids’ access to the internet, which has been made possible thanks to a recently donated Technology Lab.

The goal for Tweetsgiving 2009 is much larger than that of 2008 and Stacey told me that it includes building a library, a cafeteria, and a dorm for the kids in Tanzania. (more…)

Rick Marini is the founder of SuperFan, a site built around the idea that people are passionate about all kinds of things, from bands and celebs, to brands and video games. In short, SuperFan is a social hub for the things you love. It’s also a great way for companies to get acquainted with their true fans. It is no coincidence that Rick, an experienced entrepreneur and Harvard MBA, has gained not only loyal super fans, but also advisors like Dwight Howard and Shawn Fanning. Below are some questions that Rick answered for Social Nerdia. Enjoy!

1. How do you define the word “fan” and why do you think it has become such a key element of the social web?

I define a “Fan” as someone who has a genuine interest or passion for something and is proud to be associated with it. People around the world are passionate about their favorite music, sports, entertainment, games, books, places, products, schools and so on.  Everyone is a fan of something.

2. From Second Life to World of Warcraft and $1 gifts on Facebook, virtual currency is becoming.. normal. What is the future of online currencies and micropayments?

The future of “Web 3.0” will be centered on social games that utilize virtual currencies and micropayments.  Most of these games are free-to-play but also include special features where players can enhance their playing ability by purchasing virtual currency to exchange for virtual goods.  Some examples of virtual goods include clothes for an avatar, plants for a virtual farm or garden, power-packs for more energy, or tools/weapons to complete game tasks faster.  The virtual goods market in the US will be $1 billion in 2009 and is expected to be $1.6 billion in 2010.  The Asian market is already at $5 billion in 2009.

3. As a Harvard MBA, what do you think post-recession MBA programs could do to better prepare technology and business leaders?

“Post-recession MBA’s” have the benefit of experience and that should be applied to business leadership.  The risk-reward ratio was out of line for the past several years and that drove short-term greed.  I think great business leaders have a long-term perspective.  They understand that there can be bumps in the road but they also realize that getting to the final destination takes a lot of hard work and taking short cuts rarely works. And sometimes those short cuts can have an enormous impact on the ability for everyone to drive towards those long-term goals.  We are now digging out of that unfortunate situation. (more…)

Web 2.0 tools and technologies, things like blogs, wikis, podcasts and RSS, are changing the way companies communicate and collaborate, both internally and externally with customers, partners and suppliers. In last night’s The Social Nerdia Show! I was able to speak with Michael Chui about how companies can successfully leverage Web 2.0 and social media. Michael, a McKinsey & Company consultant serving technology and telecom clients, has been co-leading research on emerging long-term technology trends and their impact on clients and some of this research can be found on studies published by The McKinsey Quarterly, including “Six ways to make Web 2.0 work.”

Listen to the entire conversation with Michael on the Flash player below. You can also subscribe to our shows on iTunes, stream from mobile phones on Stitcher, and listen LIVE on blogtalkradio.

For the past 3 years, Michael and his McKinsey team have been surveying over 2000 executives on their use of Web 2.0 in the enterprise. “There has been an evolution; the number one thing that has changed over the years is continuing adoption and usage,” Michael explained.

As more and more enterprises experiment and deploy the tools, it seems like more of them are starting to realize their real value. Michael explained that the results are impressive because “two thirds of respondents actually reported driving real business benefits from the use of Web 2.0 in the enterprise, which is quite a powerful result.”

Some of the benefits discovered include an “increase in speed to access knowledge and expertise, increase in cost-savings related to communication and travel, increase in employee satisfaction, and increase in the effectiveness of marketing and customer satisfaction.”

(more…)

Samsung is one of the most admired companies in the world. With a roster of high-quality HDTVs, smartphones, and cameras, it is not surprising that the company’s products speak for themselves, but there is also very talented people making sure the world knows about the latest and greatest from Samsung. Last night, on The Social Nerdia Show! live podcast’s 28th episode, I had a conversation with Matt Moller and Keith Swiderski, Samsung’s Social Media Strategists. They told me all about their customer-centric approach to engaging with people on the social web and provided some advice for making an impact in social media.

You can listen to the entire conversation with Matt and Keith on the Flash player below. You can also subscribe to all our shows on iTunes, stream it from a mobile phone on Stitcher, and listen to it LIVE on Thursday nights on blogtalkradio.

Samsung has been doing several things all over the social web, including campaigns like Tap & Take, Twitter accounts, and even incredibly popular Extreme Sheep LED Art. However, Samsung is not new to social media. From message boards and forums like the ones found on CNET to early social networks, Samsung has always paid close attention to what people say online.

“In addition to listening and gathering, we want to go out and actually engage customers and help them get the most out of their products,” Keith explained. “When Windows 7 beta came out a lot of people were using our netbooks. We found out that people really liked it and it enabled us to know how people were using our products.” He continued by saying that “moving on to Twitter and Facebook was a natural extension to let consumers know that we’re about more than just our products.”

Social Media at a Large Multinational

Because Samsung is such a large company, “a lot of these (social media efforts) evolved from the bottom-up. Samsung empowers its people with getting involved in new things and being on the cutting edge,” Matt explained. Samsung doesn’t have a social media policy with specific details about what employees can and cannot do online. “Samsung feels strongly in its employees right to freedom of speech and being able to express themselves.”

Matt also said that the different territories and regions worldwide are able to take control of how they reach customers with social media. While there is a consistent and unified message for the Samsung brand, Matt also said that he doesn’t think there will ever be a “central entity that will control all social media” because that would not really align with what social media is about. (more…)

Have you ever wanted to see who is on your web site at any given time? I’m not talking about the number of page views that your web site got this month. I’m talking about now, right now. Well, Woopra might be able to help.

Last night, on The Social Nerdia Show! live podcast’s 27th episode, I had a conversation with John Pozadzides, the CEO of iFusion Labs, the parent company of Woopra, an innovative web analytics application that lets you see who your visitors are and what they are doing, in real-time.

You can listen to the entire conversation with John about blogging, analytics, marketing, social media, and much more, on the Flash player below. You can also subscribe to all our shows on iTunes, stream it from a mobile phone on Stitcher, and listen to it LIVE on Thursday nights on blogtalkradio.

Enter Woopra

Woopra makes me very excited about the future of real-time because real-time is how the web should be. It’s what the web needs to be. I’ve done my share of waiting, refreshing, and reloading, and if 2010 is not the year for the real-time web to explode and break out of the tech bubble and into the mainstream, then I’m going to hang out in real-time in real-life with actual friends under the real-time sky drinking some real-time water. So take note Google. And take note everybody else. Anyone creating online products and services has a bit to learn from the accomplishments of the FriendFeeds, FourSquares, Radian6s, and Woopras of the world.

I first heard about John P. and Woopra at WordCamp Dallas. I must admit that I did not realize what Woopra was at first. The words “live” and “real-time” simply did not sink in. But once installed, I was able to see who was visting socialnerdia.com at that point. I was used to getting some of this info from Google, but Google Analytics always provided it a day too late. Woopra is about the now, and that adds a whole new layer of meaning to how we measure the web. (more…)

Ryan Paugh is the co-founder and community manager of Brazen Careerist, a career management tool for next-generation professionals. Ryan and I had a great conversation on the 26th episode of The Social Nerdia Show! live podcast.

We talked about his transition from the corporate world to entrepreneurship, Generation Y, the job market, and the social way to manage your career. Ryan also gave some great tips for those interested in becoming online community managers.

You can listen to the interview in its entirety on the Flash player below, by subscribing to the podcast on iTunes, and by streaming it live every Thursday night on blogtalkradio.

The current state of the job market is not exactly exciting. With the stock market slowly recovering to 1999 levels and a high unemployment that is truly worthy of a ‘Great Recession,’ there are still some good news. I’m serious. First of all, companies are starting to hire again and everyone is a bit more optimistic about the future. Second,  people are becoming much more willing to connect online and recommend others for positions.

And that’s why Brazen Careerist is a site you need to check out, especially if you’re young. While Monster and CareerBuilder are good to browse for countless of too-good-to-be-true and questionable positions, and LinkedIn is the place to share your resume with an established network, Brazen Careerist “helps you build your network,” as Ryan told me. He also pointed out that “young professionals don’t have a lot of experience and connections, and they need a place to build those connections online.”

Getting a job has a lot to do with who you know. Social networks can definitely help. From connecting with old high school friends to getting to know your current friends even better, social networks are becoming an extension of who we are and a map of who we know. As we learn to collaborate better with others online, a collaborative approach to career management makes sense. Ryan said it quite well: ”Collaboration for your career management is something new. Traditionally, it was something very competitive, but it’s not the best way to do it. At Brazen Careerist we encourage people to have that idea sharing mentality, it’s a Web 2.0 mentality. We’re sharing instead of hoarding information for ourselves.” (more…)

Bob Knorpp is the host of The BeanCast, a weekly round table podcast that gathers advertising and marketing thought leaders (aka actual ad experts) to discuss industry issues and current events. After many years in the ad industry, he started The Cool Beans Group, a marketing consultancy that provides B2B and B2C expertise in branding, strategic thinking, social media, and more. I had a great time talking to Bob on The Social Nerdia Show! and you can about our conversation, including 7 social media insights, below.

You can listen to the show in its unedited greatness using the BlogTalkRadio player, subscribing to the podcast on iTunes and/or streaming it on your mobile phone using Stitcher.

Podcasts are now everywhere and there is one for everything. Bob explained that “the competition (in podcasting) is really steep and there are so many choices… the chances of getting noticed are minuscule.” And yet, The BeanCast has made quite an impression on a lot of people in the ad industry. The show’s forward-looking slogan “The Best Marketing Podcast Anywhere,” is becoming a reality with every weekly show. With only a year and a half of being on the online airwaves, the show has gone from a water cooler experiment to an influential conversation that is a must-listen for anyone even remotely interested in marketing. As Bob told me, “you don’t need to build a huge audience to have impact, you just need to reach the right people.”

Reaching the right people is not enough though. To truly create an impact on a growing audience, Bob makes sure that The BeanCast is entertaining. “As much as I try to present a forum for smart people to present their ideas, my primary objective is to have an entertaining program.. that stimulates conversations.” The payoff of the show is a combination of information, entertainment and relevancy. And that’s probably why The BeanCast is one of my favorite podcasts: it showcases the thought-provoking views of experienced people in the ad industry, without being boring. (more…)