Not-so-secret social media happy hour brings sophisticated networkers out for a drink

Tuesday, March 17, 2009 | Source: SOAPBOX

In recent months, Cincinnati's social media scene has been busy amping up their rallying cry.

Last week, Procter and Gamble invited top executives from online juggernauts, Google, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to a not-so-secret meeting between their company's top chiefs as well as executives from advertising and branding agencies and local technology companies.

Following the all day meeting, networking events were held at downtown hot spots Bootsy's and Bang Nightclub. CincyUpdate and local marketing firm Proxi Marketing Solutions hosted the event at Bang while Cincinnati's own ShareThis sponsored the first of many "Cincinnati Social Media Happy Hours."

Local social media advocates Kevin Dugan, Director of Marketing Communication, F|R|C|H Worldwide and independent Marketing, PR & SocMed consultant; and Daniel Lally, VP, Pinger PR at Powers Agency, are making sure these events go beyond hype.

"Social media is the shiny new object and everybody wants to use it," Lally says. "Our goal is to bring professionals together – social media developers and social media practitioners – to help them separate the communication tools from the interactive toys."

And they are succeeding.

"The fact that so many people turn out for the events, their level of active participation, and their energy for more topics, formats and events points to it being useful for the members," Lally says. "That’s our yardstick. The level of interest and feedback we get from outside the region further indicates that we’re on to something."

Yet, they don't see this as a competition among regions.

"I'm not a big fan of comparisons with other cities because each has its own culture and the social media community in each has its own objectives," Lally says.

Each region and city has its own strengths, including Cincinnati.

"Where I think Cincinnati leads is in the practical application of social media," Lally adds. "People like to say we’re conservative here. That’s a misconception: we’re pragmatic. What you see in Cincinnati Social Media is a group of people who are looking beyond just the technology and focusing on how businesses and organizations can use it to build relationships with people."

To learn more about Cincinnati's upcoming social media events, visit here.