San Antonio Social Media by Social Media Mentoring » San Antonio

San Antonio: July 2010 Social Media Events

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:26:11 +0000

As the long, hot, lovely days of summer pass leisurely by you might think that social media is taking a summer vacation this month like so many hard-working Americans. But you’d be wrong! There are plenty of great social media events in San Antonio this July to keep your skills sharp and your networking social. And who knows? In the midst of all that learning and networking you may even take in a ball game or become a Guitar Hero. It’s all in a day’s (social media) work, isn’t it?

Is your San Antonio social media event missing from this list? Leave the info in comments and I’ll add it.

Friday, July 2, 2010
Firecat Studios First Friday Coworking and Brown Bag Lunch
Location: 918 Nolan St., Suite 104, San Antonio, TX 78202
Details: Firecat First Friday Guitar Hero + Rock Band Challenge
RSVP: http://fff1007.eventbrite.com/

Thursday, July 8, 2010
Free Coworking Day at C4 Workspace
Location: 108 King William, San Antonio, Texas 78204
Details: Discover the beauty of coworking! Highspeed internet, printer/fax, coffee, meeting space, telephone rooms & more. Free parking all day. Next door to “Filling Station,” reviewed in San Antonio Express-News Sunday, Jan 31st, as darn good food.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Beer Ice Cream Fiesta Tweetup
6:45 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
Location: Freetail Brewing, 4035 N Loop 1604 W. Suite 105
Topic: Free Tail Brewing makes the finest beer ice cream this side of the Pecos River. Yes, it is ice cream made with Freetail beer. They’re making us a special batch for this, so show up, k?
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/beericecream/

Thursday, July 22, 2010
BMPR – The San Antonio Business / Media / PR Tweetup
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Holiday Inn Airport, 77 NE Loop 410, San Antonio, Texas, 78216
Topic: “SEO What?!” Join us as web analytics experts Ryan Kelly (Founder/CEO Pear Analytics); Susan Price (CEO of Firecat Studio); and Matthew C. Eagan (CEO of ImageFreedom) get to the heart of what’s important with SEO (search engine optimization). How can you make SEO and web analytics work without feeling like you’re selling your soul?
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/BMPRJuly/3

Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Social Media Breakfast San Antonio
7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Location: Madhatters, 320 Beauregard Street San Antonio, TX 78204
Topic: TBA
RSVP: TBA
SMBSA Facebook Fan Page: http://facebook.com/smbsa

Thursday, July 29, 2010
BMPR (The San Antonio Business / Media / PR Tweetup)
7:00 p.m.
Location: Nelson Wolff Stadium, 5757 Hwy 90 West, San Antonio, TX 78227
Details: Trade those business jackets for chanclas and join all your favorite BMPR people for a night out at the San Antonio Missions. Mostly, we’ll just hang out, but bring your smartphones for a few social media games. Important note: You must purchase tickets in advance by July 26th ($9.50) by calling Josh at 554-1521. It’s Dollar Night — so snacks and beer are…. wait for it…. $1. We only have 60 seats available.
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/BMPRbaseball

[photo credit: SXC]

San Antonio: May Social Media Events

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 02:17:01 +0000

They say April showers bring May flowers. But the month of May, in addition to yielding miles and miles of Texas wildflowers, also provides a colorful variety of social media events in San Antonio. Get your social calendars out. It’s going to be a busy month!

Is your San Antonio social media event missing from this list? Leave the info in comments and I’ll add it.

Wednesday, May 5 & 13, 2010
Free Coworking Day at C4 Workspace
Location: 108 King William, San Antonio, Texas 78204
Details: Discover the beauty of coworking! Highspeed internet, printer/fax, coffee, meeting space, telephone rooms & more. Free parking all day. Next door to “Filling Station,” reviewed in San Antonio Express-News Sunday, Jan 31st, as darn good food.

Friday, May 7, 2010
Firecat Studios First Friday Coworking and Brown Bag Lunch
Location: 918 Nolan St., Suite 104, San Antonio, TX 78202
Details: Digital Ethics – Civil Behavior in Social Media, Email, Websites, Blogs, etc.
RSVP: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/663157522

Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Social Media Breakfast San Antonio
7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Location: The Egg & I, 16668 San Pedro Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78232-2242
Topic: Social Media Breakfast founder Bryan Person joins us to lead a discussion on “What have we learned about Facebook?” We’ll talk about the massive force Facebook has become and what all the implications mean for marketers/brands and users. Are the interests of those groups mutual? Join the discussion!
RSVP: http://tweetvite.com/event/smbsa0510
SMBSA Facebook Fan Page: http://facebook.com/smbsa

Thursday, May 20, 2010
BMPR (The San Antonio Business / Media / PR Tweetup)
First-ever evening BMPR!
6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Location: The Gatsby, 18730 Stone Oak Parkway, Suite 108
Topic: Ready for our first-ever Evening BMPR? We’ve got the double the goodness for you: The 2010 Bumper Awards for San Antonio’s Social Media Peeps and a great lineup of speakers about Social Media and Entertainment / Leisure.
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/MayBMPR

Friday, May 21, 2010 – THIS EVENT MOVED TO JUNE 18
Social Media Club San Antonio’s first-ever social media bowling tournament!
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: TBA
Topic: Grab three of your fave social media friends to form a team for our first-ever social media San Antonio bowling tournament. Sponsored by Kick Apps. (http://www.kickapps.com/)
RSVP: TBA

Saturday, May 22, 2010
PodCamp San Antonio 4
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Location: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, 618 N.W. Loop 410, Suite 312, San Antonio, TX 78216
Topic: Podcamp San Antonio is an UnConference being held May 22, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. It’s an “UnConference”, meaning that it’s a conference organized in an ad-hoc manner for everyone to attend and participate in. There are no keynote speakers or rigidly defined schedules. Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.
RSVP: http://www.podcampsanantonio.org/

Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Anti-Sex in the City 2 Tweet Dudes Bowling Night
7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Location: Bandera Bowl, 6700 Huebner Road. San Antonio, TX 78238-2142
Topic: If you like umbrellas in your drink. You are not invited. If your beverage of choice contains the colors red, yellow, purple, orange or any combination thereof. You are not invited. If you do not pee standing up. You are not invited. If you do not know more about Football than Nan Palmero. You are not invited. If there is less hair on your chest than on your head. You are not invited!
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/tdbowling

Thursday, May 27, 2010
San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind Tweetup / Lunch / Tour
11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind, 2305 Roosevelt Ave.
Topic: We welcome you to visit the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind and see what we are all about! Our next Open House is Thursday, May 27 from 11:45- 1:00. Come and be inspired.
RSVP: Call Nicole to RSVP 210-531-1532 or email nhoyt@salighthouse.org by Monday, May 24. (Lunch Provided). Let ‘em know you are a Tweetup friend. http://twtvite.com/SALBLunch

Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tweetbabes: Sex & the City 2
Meeting around 6:30 p.m. Movie starts at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Regal Northwoods Theater, 17640 Henderson Pass San Antonio, TX 78232-1500
Topic: Join the Tweetbabes for the opening night of Sex and the City 2. This is a casual, come-as-you-are tweetup (but feel free to bring your inner Samantha!). We’ll meet around 6:30 p.m. at the Regal Northwoods Theater to attend the 7:30 pm show. Buy your ticket(s) early to reserve your seat.See you and your Manolo’s there!
RSVP: http://tweetbabes.ning.com/events/sex-and-the-city-2-opening

Thursday, May 27, 2010
San Antonio tweetup
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Location: Lion and Rose Pub, 842 NW Loop 410 # 115, San Antonio, TX 78216-5613
Created by: @kr8tr

Friday, May 28, 2010
National Burger Day, @SmashBurgerSA & @SAFoodBank tweetup
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Location: Friday, May 28, 2010 is National Burger Day and San Antonio Smashburger is celebrating with the San Antonio Food Bank. This is what’s going on that day at the Potranco & 151 location: 11 a.m. Celebrity Smash with Eric Cooper, Executive Director of the San Antonio Food Bank. 11 a.m.-Noon The first 25 people who rsvp and bring a canned good will receive a free Smashburger. During the month of May, which is National Burger month, Smashburger has partnered with the San Antonio Food Bank and is collecting canned goods at all four San Antonio locations. Also, for every Texas Smashburger sold, $1 will be donated to the S.A. Food Bank. Every $1 donated equals seven meals for a family.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/denisemattox/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Welcome, The Elite Group: San Antonio’s Top Realtors

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:45:26 +0000

Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today at your quarterly luncheon. Below are the sites and articles I shared and more resources for your reference.

ActiveRain.com – billed as the largest and most active social network in the real estate space.

Field Guide to Social Networking – Realtor.org

Yelp.com

TWITTER:

@rerockstar – local real estate agent, Matt Stigliano, on Twitter

@frankbailey – local real estate agent, Frank Bailey, on Twitter

@sahomesales – local real estate agent, Jeanna Martinez, on Twitter

@sheilamoran – local real estate agent, Sheila Moran, on Twitter

@kristinmoran – local real estate agent, Kristin Moran, on Twitter

@dannycharbel – local real estate agent, Danny Charbel, on Twitter

FACEBOOK:

Find More Fans on Facebook – RealtorMag.org

AgentGenius on Facebook

SABOR on Facebook

MOBILE/GEO-LOCATION APPS & GAMES:

HouseLens – real estate iPhone application developed by San Antonio company, Sweb Development

foursquare and the Mobilization of Social Media

Realtor.com Launches iPhone application

Realtor.com real estate search iPhone application

BLOGS:

Stuff About San Antonio by Kristin Moran

RErockstar.com blog

VIPRealty blog

San Antonio Homes Blog

YOUTUBE:

Top Luxury Real Estate Agent in Sarasota, FL

RERockstar featured RE/MAX of Texas social media panel (on the Sisters That Sell YouTube channel)

Realty Times

San Antonio Homes for Sale

SOME SOCIAL NETWORKING TOOLS:

San Antonio: April Social Media Events

admin — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:20:54 +0000

Fiesta’s fun but it’s not the only hot event in San Antonio this April. The list of social media events taking place this month keeps growing. Check back as new events (and more details for listed events) are added.

Is your San Antonio social media event missing from this list? Leave the info in comments and I’ll add it.

Social Media Basics Workshop (brown bag lunch) at C4 Workspace
Thursday, April 1, 2010
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: 108 King William, San Antonio, Texas 78204

Free Coworking Day at C4 Workspace
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Location: 108 King William, San Antonio, Texas 78204
Details: Discover the beauty of coworking! Highspeed internet, printer/fax, coffee, meeting space, telephone rooms & more. Free parking all day. Next door to “Filling Station,” reviewed in San Antonio Express-News Sunday, Jan 31st, as darn good food.

#Tweetbabes Lipstick Lounge at Amar Cosmetics
Friday, April 9, 2010
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Amar Cosmetics, Quarry Village, 320 East Basse Road, Suite 105, San Antonio, Texas 78209
Topic: Lipstick, tweets, wine, food and fun. Don’t miss this chance to hang out with fabulous women of San Antonio who love Twitter.
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/apriltweetbabes

Special Social Media Club San Antonio Event (Social Media Club Members Only)
The Happy Couple – Overtime Theater
Thursday, April 8, 2010 from 7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Location: Blue Star Brewery, 1414 South Alamo Street #105, San Antonio, TX 78204
Topic: We’re going to see the first live performance of this show and we’ve been specifically invited for what we can share with the community at large about our experiences. So bring the cameras for pictures before and after, record video during the Tweetup, but most importantly bring your artsy side, because this is sure to be a fun night of good friends and local culture.

There’s limited seating, but we hope to see many of you out there in support of the local arts. Free entrance to SMC members who RSVP in advance. We are setting aside 25 guaranteed seats to those people. Tweetup @ Blue Star Brewery starting at 7 p.m., prior to the show.
RSVP: http://smcsatheater.eventbrite.com/

Social Media Club San Antonio Monthly Meeting
Thursday, April 15, 2010
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Barbaresco, 9715 San Pedro, San Antonio, Texasm 78216
Topic: San Antonio, Fiesta-style! We’re being joined by representatives of @visitsanantonio who have big plans to documents this years Fiesta 2010! We’ll also be joined by @rbearsat who is cooking up a few projects on his end to make this years Fiesta a bit more interesting for those that enjoy geo-locating services.
RSVP: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/649469581/efbnen

Sneak Peek Fiesta Arts Fair Tweetup
Friday, April 16, 2010
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Southwest School of Art and Craft, 300 Augusta
Topic: Come down to the Southwest School of Art & Craft for a sneak preview of Fiesta Arts Fair! Get insider access to 119 Artists from all over North America, see their new work, tour the grounds before anyone else does and find out what it takes to make an event as big as Fiesta Arts Fair run smoothly.
After we finish, we’ll head on over to the bar at the new Hotel Indigo for some refreshing food & beverages and some chill time with old and new friends. See you there!
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/fiestaartsfair2010

Social Media Breakfast San Antonio
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Location: Absolutely Everything Catering,
Topic: Geo-location games are HOT. But what are the business benefits of participating in, & working w/, geo-location games anyway? Join us on 4/21.
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/smbsa0410
SMBSA Facebook Fan Page: http://facebook.com/smbsa

PBS Food Inc. SATX Tweetup – Eat Well Live Well
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
6:30 p.m.
Location: The Cove, 606 West Cypress, San Antonio, Texas 78212
Topic: Meet with other San Antonians to discuss the film #FoodInc airing on PBS at 8:00pm.
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/FoodIncTX

BMPR – The San Antonio Business / Media / PR Tweetup
Thursday, April 29, 2010
12:00 p.m.
Location: Holiday Inn Airport, 77 NE Loop 410, San Antonio, Texas, 78216
Topic: Social Media and Travel: Social media and travel tips to help you get great deals, show you the ropes on how to pack and more exciting #BMPR goodness with your old and new friends.
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/bmpr410

[Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/debaird/ / CC BY-SA 2.0]

Sharing. Exchanging. Social Health.

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:48:48 +0000

On Thursday I attended #SXSH – Sharing. Exchanging. Social Health. The day-long event included speakers and panel discussions about healthcare and social media. Several San Antonians attended this unconference to share and learn more about leveraging social media in various healthcare business.

Alan Weinkrantz asked me to guest post on the MySA.com blog he shares with Nan Palmero. They’re covering what San Antonians are doing this week at South by Southwest. You can read my guest post here.

Welcome, San Antonio Medical Group Management Association

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:46:07 +0000

Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today at the San Antonio Medical Group Management Association’s Annual Education Conference. Below are the sites and articles I shared today for your reference.

RESOURCES:

A survey released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project reports that 61 percent of Americans go online for health information, and the majority of them have turned to user-generated health information.

South by Social Health (SXSH), a gathering of those working in healthcare and using social media, will be held on Thursday, March 11, 2010 in Austin, Texas. Here’s a description from the official site:

SXSH is a day-long international social health un-conference encompassing all aspects of healthcare. The event will have structured, previously announced presentations in the style of a TED conference, as well as an “un-conference” portion — similar to PodCamp or HealthCamp — where topics are decided by the participants. Cost to attend is $25.

There is an #hcsm chat every Sunday night at 8pm CST on Twitter

Dr. Anas Younes on Twitter

Dr. Anas Younes on Facebook

Dr. Anas Younes’ blog

SPediatrics on Twitter

Spediatrics on Facebook

Spediatrics’ blog

Dr. Kevin Pho on Twitter

Dr. Kevin Pho on Facebook

Dr. Kevin Pho’s blog

Christus Health on Twitter

Christus Health on Facebook

Christus Health blog

Christus Health YouTube

Methodist Healthcare on Twitter

Methodist Healthcare on Facebook

Baptist Health System on Twitter

Baptist Health System on Facebook

Baptist Health System blog

Baptist Health System YouTube

University Health System on YouTube

Texas Medical Association on Twitter

Texas hospitals’ social media presence

U.S. hospitals’ social media presence

Colleen Pence’s healthcare and medical Twitter list

American College of Physicians -Physicians and social media: Debating where to draw the line

Top 10 Ways Social Networking Websites Can Benefit Your Medical Practice

50 Ways to Attract New Patients to Your Practice (#30 – Tap into social media)

Best Hospital Facebook Pages – Individual Hospitals, February 23, 2010

Medicine in the Age of Twitter, New York Times article

Medicine and Social Media, Why Do I Tweet? blog post by Dr. Anas Younes

Spreading the Word: Twitter vs. Facebook, blog post by Dr. Anas Younes

How Does One Deal with Physician Rating Sites? blog post by Pediatric, Inc. (Spediatrics)

The Cleveland Clinic’s social media policy for those who engage with them in social media

The Cleveland Clinic on Facebook

Op-ed: Social media can enhance the doctor-patient relationship

San Antonio: March Social Media Events

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:39:17 +0000

Social media is a living, breathing entity. Changes in social media happen daily (even hourly in some cases!). How can you keep up with that pace? Attend a local social media event to learn and share information with others working and playing in social media.

Here’s a list of the cutting-edge, can’t-miss social media educational and networking events happening in San Antonio in March 2010. If events are missing from this list please leave the information for them in the comments and I’ll add them. Some details for events are still in the works so be sure to check back for dates/locations/RSVP info.

Blue Star Tweet Up
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: 116 Blue Star, San Antonio, Texas, 78204
Topic: You’re invited to Blue Star’s first ever tweetup event on Tuesday, March 2 at 6 pm. Come enjoy free beer and join the conversation about art and social networking, get tips on self-promotion, and generate some buzz about Amalgamations.
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/pnt545

That Taco Shop Breakfast Taco Tweetup
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
7:30 a.m.
Location: 2414 Babcock Road, Suite 103, San Antonio, Texas, 78229
RSVP: http://twvt.us/thattacoshop1
Topic: Stop by on Wednesday, March 3rd, to enjoy breakfast tacos with Twitter friends. Get a free drink or coffee with purchase.

Innotech San Antonio
Thursday, March 4, 2010
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Location: Norris Conference Centers, Crossroads Mall, 4522 Fredericksburg Rd., A-100, San Antonio, TX 78201
Innotech San Antonio Socia Media Speakers: @giovanni and @epodcaster. Expo floor iSML (Innotech Social Media Lounge) @colleenpence, @shaine, @luissandovaljr, @firecatsue.

First Friday and Coworking Brown Bag Lunch at Firecat Studio
Friday, March 5, 2010
12:00 p.m.
Location: 918 Nolan #104, San Antonio, Texas, 78202
Topic: Going Mobile – Smart phones, iPhone apps, text messaging, iPad – worlds of possibility for marketing.
RSVP: http://fff1003.eventbrite.com/

Free Coworking Day at C4 Workspace
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Location: 108 King William, San Antonio, Texas 78204
Details: Discover the beauty of coworking! Highspeed internet, printer/fax, coffee, meeting space, telephone rooms & more. Free parking all day. Next door to “Filling Station,” reviewed in San Antonio Express-News Sunday, Jan 31st, as darn good food.

Social Media Club San Antonio
Saturday, March 13, 2010
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Hickory Street, 800 Congress Avenue (8th street & Congress Ave), Austin, Texas
Topic: This month the San Antonio Social Media Club heads up to Austin for a Saturday night meeting to get together with our friends from KickApps & Akamai for a special SXSWi Tweetup! Get in on the fun with games from Sweb Games: Guess That Tweet, and Twitter Collaborative Storytelling: Apple vs. Microsoft, Google vs. Evil, and The Future of Tweets.
RSVP: http://smc-sa.ning.com/events/sxsw-tweetup-getdown-kickapps

Social Media Breakfast San Antonio
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Location: TBD (check back for details)
Topic: SXSWi Recap – Were you unable to attend SXSWi? Or did you attend and now want to share all of the fabulous info you soaked up with your friends at SMBSA? We’re meeting to recap and rehash the amazing and intense ride that is SXSWi. Did you survive? Was it worth it? What hot trends are emerging in the world of social media? Join us for this special SXSWi recap breakfast.
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/smbsa0310
New SMBSA Facebook Fan Page: http://facebook.com/smbsa

BMPR – The San Antonio Business / Media / PR Tweetup
Thursday, March 25, 2010
12:00 p.m.
Location: Holiday Inn Airport, 77 NE Loop 410, San Antonio, Texas, 78216
Topic: BMPR’s First Anniversary!
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/bmpr310

#Tweetbabes (and #Tweetdudes) Lunch
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Auden’s Kitchen, 700 East Sonterra Blvd, San Antonio, Texas 78258
Topic: Socializing with Twitter/social media friends, meeting new people. All are welcome but only 20 spaces are available for a small, chatty lunch. RSVP now!
RSVP: http://twtvite.com/93vnhp

March Social Media Events in San Antonio

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:08:54 +0000

Welcome, PRConsultantsGroup!

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:49:09 +0000

Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today at the PRConsultantsGroup Annual Conference about Social Media Trends. Below are the sites and articles I shared today for your reference.

BLOG POSTS/ARTICLES:

I Have Abandonment Issues, by Debi Pfitzenmaier (@MomonMars)

Thinking Outside the Social Media (Makeup) Box, by Colleen Pence (@colleenpence)

RT This Post: Why Twitter is Making Us Lazy, by Kami Watson Huyse, APR (@kamichat)

Social Media Contests – Participation is Not Always Easy to Come By, by Mike Kornacki (@Yellowledbedder)

Relationship Chaining: Building and Activating a Community, by Kami Watson Huyse, APR (@kamichat)

SITES/BLOGS

Mashable
The Social Media Guide

Inside Facebook
Tracking Facebook and the Facebook Platform for Developers and Marketers

Social Media Explorer

PR Sarah Evans
Excellent resource for PR and social media and where the two meet

Brian Solis
Defining the convergence of media and influence

Chris Brogan
Community and Social Media

Global Neighborhoods, Shel Israel
Following social media wherever it leads

BOOKS:

Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
@chrisbrogan and @julien

Twitterville by Shel Israel
@shelisrael

Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
@CharleneLI and @jbernoff

Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel
@scobleizer and @shelisrael

Social media for good: Tweetsgiving San Antonio

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:51:34 +0000

* UPDATED TO ADD: The Tweetvite link to RSVP for Tweetsgiving San Antonio is not working consistently. To RSVP please click here and click on “open ticket” to reserve your space at the party. *

Do you remember your school days? The readin’, writin’, arithmetic? Learning your ABCs and, eventually, fractions and maybe even quadratic equations (yikes!)? Who was your favorite teacher? How did attending school guide you to your current profession? How did it shape the person you’ve become?

Did you drop your kids at school today? What are they learning this month? My daughter’s learning to write the alphabet and starting to read. My son is singing his ABCs and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. When they return home from school each day I’m amazed by, and very grateful for, all they’ve learned.

For children in the United States attending school is a given. We all contribute to the costs of their education with our tax dollars. We often take for granted the fact that children in our country have the right to an education. But that’s not the case in every country.

In a small village in Tanzania one woman had a dream. Mama Lucy Kamptoni (@MamaLucy) decided to give her hard-earned income as a poultry farmer to help build a school for local children. She wanted to help raise the next leaders of Tanzania.

Mama Lucy Kamptoni and the #Tweetsgiving kids

The first Tweetsgiving took place in November 2008 when six volunteers came together over six days to launch a fundraising effort over Twitter to help Mama Lucy build a classroom for the Shepherd’s Junior school which now serves over 300 children in Arusha. Just two days before Thanksgiving 2008, “Tweetsgiving” became the #1 trending topic on Twitter as people on Twitter flooded the stream sharing that for which they were most grateful. People made contributions too and their donations were used to build a classroom; the Twitter IDs of those donors were painted on the walls of that classroom.

Join us for Tweetsgiving San Antonio on November 24, 2009, @BrasseriePavil from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.!

This Tweetsgiving we’re hoping to spread the gratitude across Twitter again. Funds raised will again be invested to expand Kamptoni’s efforts at Shepherd’s Junior, where an orphanage, cafeteria, library and more classrooms are greatly needed, and to fund future Epic Change fellows like her across the globe.

This Tuesday, November 24th, San Antonio’s incredibly active, always impressive social media community will gather at @BrasseriePavil to eat, drink, and be merry and to give thanks for the abundance we enjoy in our lives. But we’ll also be channeling our social media efforts for good.

Alice, one of the children who attend Shepherd's Junior

You can be a part of this generous effort by tweeting and blogging about Tweetsgiving on November 24-26, 2009 and about all for which you are grateful. And, if you feel so moved, please consider donating (either online here – see “Additional Donation” near the end of the page or when you attend one of the Tweetsgiving gratitude parties around the globe) to help Epic Change and @MamaLucy continue to help the children of Arusha, Tanzania get the education that our children already enjoy.

@BrasseriePavil will provide complimentary appetizers and free beer and liquor samples from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Happy hour prices will run all night. And, those who donate will be entered into a drawing to win

Those who donate at Tweetsgiving San Antonio will be entered into a drawing to win one of the following great prizes from our generous donors:

- a cooking demo for 10 people from @BrasseriePavil that will take place tonight.

- a one-night stay @WestinLaCantera Resort.

- dinner for two at Francesca’s at Sunset (@WestinLaCantera Resort).

- one of two sets of vouchers each good for 2 tickets to any San Antonio Symphony Pops or Classics concert in the 09-10 season.

(Must be present to win.)

Join us for Tweetsgiving San Antonio @BrasseriePavil or online (on Twitter w/ hashtag #Tweetsgiving, in blog posts, and/or via online donations) or at a location near you to express your gratitude, to have fun and to help others. Social media is a powerful thing and it’s even more impressive when we use our powers for good!

Thank you to all of our Tweetsgiving San Antonio sponsors: @BrasseriePavil, @WestinLaCantera, @SASym (San Antonio Symphony) and your generous donations!

This post was created as part of a global groundswell of gratitude called TweetsGiving. The celebration, created by US nonprofit Epic Change, is an experiment in social innovation that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. I hope you’ll visit the TweetsGiving site to learn more, and to bring your grateful heart to the party by sharing your gratitude, and giving in honor of that for which you’re most thankful.

[credit for all photos: Tim Llewellyn]