I’m sitting in the conference room of the Courtyard Marriott in LA after my presentation to the International Professionals Network, I met some great members of the LA community and loved my time here (the hospitality of IPN:LA should go down in the history books as the greatest of all time, even Kanye West agrees with me)  –  I got to trial-run a new idea that I’m working on that is focused on the mindset of the small business owner and how they can analyze their opportunities in social media.

The presentation covers the opportunities, fears, definition, history and types of social media. Pay special attention to the end of the presentation, where I highlight a new analysis of social media channels. My thinking on this is rough now, but expect more on it to come — I’d love your feedback on this early iteration.

Here’s the talk, let me know if you enjoy it:

I’ll try to get video or audio for this, so you can hear the entire conversation.

If you were able to attend, welcome to my blog! Here are the references I mentioned during the talk and in the panel following.

Measuring Social Media:
- We need to focus on measuring engagement. Here are two great thoughts on this: Social Media Saber Metrics by Ian Schafer and Michael Brito.

Planning for success — check out the Air Force’s example [PDF].

Resources for finding niche groups: Meetup and Ning.

Good platform for private, safe, internal social communication: Yammer

Resource for small business owners to meet other small business owners who are trying to figure this out: Social Bees Network

My closing remarks focused on remembering that you aren’t alone in not understanding this stuff — no one does, it’s too young to be understood, we are still exploring it. This means it’s ok for you to ask questions, and be open with your audience that you’re still figuring it out. I’ll end with these directives: Be open. Be yourself. Be courteous. Be curious. Engage.