Facebook

Happy birthday, Facebook.

The Social Media Club Seattle's first event of the year went off without a hitch last night, and we think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all.  For at least one evening, we all were able to trade in our emails, tweets and Facebook messages for some face-to-face conversation, in-person interaction, and even some laughs over a few cocktails. Turn-out was huge, the food was delicious, and the overall experience was great.

Q: How do I make new friends online? A: So you’ve popped onto Facebook, uploaded your email address book, and everyone you went to high school with has decided to friend you, even though they’d never speak to you back in the day. But you want to meet new people—perhaps in your industry, perhaps in your town, perhaps you just want to connect with someone you admire. Fantastic!

Q: I just got laid off. How can social media help me get a new gig? A: Your pink slip is a great opportunity to embed yourself into the social media landscape. Not only can you forge new connections, get back in touch with old contacts, and brand yourself online, but you can also make yourself more valuable to future employers. And we all know that “more valuable” is secret business code for “more expensive.”

Tracy Turner at the Columbus Dispatch has an interesting piece about how the old-school restaurant chain Bob Evans is adding to its traditional - and safe - marketing plan. The company is creating a Facebook presence, and relying on a group of Ohio University students to help them out.

At Spring Creek Group, we love case studies. They are the easiest way to explain to clients (and future clients) why social media is important and such an influential way to start actual online conversations. So imagine our pleasure when we were able to turn the case study microscope upon ourselves, after an unexpected opportunity was thrust upon us by someone we have never met.

"Presidential Candidate" Obama was a master of using the Internet to generate money and fan support.

The Spring Creek Group returned today from the Federated Media Conversational Marketing Summit. We'll try to punch out a few posts commenting on specific news and insights we heard, but the general takeway is that people are desperate for some way to track the success or failure of Social Media campaigns.So far, the only thing everyone can agree upon is that there is no right formula yet. How much is it worth to have someone watch a YouTube Video? Or to create a new one?

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Marketers are more confused than ever about how much budget they will have in 2009, and how to maximize their investments. Blogs, Facebook, Forums, YouTube - we run you through the best ways to use your existing marketing assets to help retain customers and turn them into evangelists. We'll talk about all of this at "Social Media for Business," on Tuesday's at the School of Visual Concepts.