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Social Media is about creating relationships and communities of people and connecting with them. Ja-Nae Duane got it right when she said, “It’s about making those connections, it’s meeting people, getting to know who they are, what they want, and how you can help them!”  Why?  There’s a huge benefit in it for businesses.  At the end of the day you want to talk to your customers and engage with them on a personal level – which is made possible through social media.  The platform is there because of social media tools, customers now expect you to talk to them, to care about them and to listen to them, and if you’re not doing that, you’re losing out on an opportunity to create meaningful and trusting relationships with your customers.

Choose your paths and discover new ones

Social media has opened up and created new channels of content distribution and points of conversation for businesses.  You can use it to distribute your message to your target audience, but ALSO to reach out and tap into a new customer segment.  How?  By creating relationships with your customers and the people that you want to be listening to you.  Bill Jacobson notes there is a strategy involved, “Social media and the message you want to get out and how you use the tools really projects where you want to go with your business and the types of people you want to connect with in the future.”

Note: While making these connections, make sure you are listening.  It’s important to understand the needs of the people you connect with and how you can provide for them in a unique way.

Relationship building and how you ALREADY do it

So how do you create these relationships?  This is the part that people usually get stuck with or the point at which they get overwhelmed.  Social media, in the beginning, can seem like a daunting task.  One thing you have to remember is that you cannot build relationships overnight.  Think about it realistically, can you make a best friend in one day or even in one week?  It takes time, and so does social media.

So where do you begin – lets break it down into a real life example.

Social media is FULL of all different types of people from different industries, with different personalities, skills and perspectives.  Naturally you won’t be able to, nor will you want to, meet all of them.  You have to focus in on the people you want to connect with that mean something to you.

In the real word, when you want to connect with entrepreneurs, you go to an entrepreneur  networking event or conference where you know you will be able to interact with entrepreneurs.  If you want to meet people in the culinary industry, you go to a food expo, and so on. You seek out the people you want to connect with online in the same fashion – you go where they hang out and where they are talking.

What happens once you find them?  Well, what happens when you’re at a networking event and you meet someone you want to connect with?.

• You introduce yourself
• They introduce themselves
• You ask them what they do and about their business
• You ask what brought them to the event
• You may make a reference to someone you know that does something related
• You tell them what you’re working on
• You answer any questions they have
• Etc etc etc … pretty typical right?

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So lets bring it around, full circle and apply this format to the realm of social media.

Introductions are made through your username, handle and bio.  You review what people are talking about and if it peaks your interest, you start a conversation.  Just like you would at a networking event, mention someone you know that could be of interest to them and tag that person in your note (similar to the CC protocol in email but as a “mention on twitter or tag in facebook)

Evan Kaufman, an experienced improv performer, hit the nail right on the head when he paralleled improv strategies with strategies to starting a conversation; “One of the great things about improv is the idea of ‘Yes, and,’ which is just very simply taking an idea, saying yes to it and building upon it.”  If there’s an idea you agree with and that aligns with your core values and interests, let others know about it and give credit to the person who shared it with you.

It’s a matter of time

It’s all about time management.  As Jim Spencer says, “If you’re spending too much time on social media then you’re probably not doing other things that you should be.”  Just as you schedule meetings into your day and allot a certain amount of time to projects, you should allow yourself a certain amount of time per day or every other day for social media.

What does this mean in a practical sense?  Here’s an example; give yourself a half hour in the morning and half hour after lunch to focus on your social networks.  As you become more comfortable in the space you’ll see what works for you and what doesn’t and conform your schedule to those observations.  Also, give yourself clear goals that make sense for you.

Here is an example:

I will find 10 people I want to connect with

I will send out 10 valuable tweets and post 2 times on my facebook page

I will comment on 5 articles or interesting tweets sent out by my network

I will spend 1 hour writing a blog post about ___

This may sound rigid but having a plan will relieve the common problem of “I don’t know what to do…”

When considering what commitments you will make to social media and what platforms you will use, take Steven Shapiro’s advice, “Doing one or two things, whether its twitter or blog, doing those very well in a way that resonates with you and makes sense with your daily operations makes a lot more sense than trying to do everything and not quite making it there.

But where’s the FUN?

It may seem overwhelming to get started and there will, no doubt, be some confusion in the beginning, but don’t forget to have fun with it!    Social media is supposed to be fun, so take advantage of the “fun factors” that exist.  No one like a “stiff” on or off line.  Take part in the fun, for example, compete for “mayorship” on Foursquare and note the great people you’ve met in a #followfriday on Twitter.

Become a part of the community and have fun with the people you meet, that’s what social media is all about!

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LOOK FOR YOURSELF

July 1st was International Social Media Day — and BOY was it fun!  Social media is all about communicating and sharing, so following suit, Ja-Nae Duane, the president of Wild Women Entrepreneurs & JDV, shared her knowledge with a group of over 80 attendees at last nights “Boston’s Mashable Social Media Day” [#smday] hosted by Joselin Mane of @BostonTweetup. And what better way to share it than through YouTube!

The video features thoughts and insights on social media from:

Ja-Nae Duance: “Author of How to start your business with $100” @TheSunQueen

Jeff Cutler: @jeffcutler, Nomx3 and jeffcutler.com

Jim Spencer:  JBS Partners, BlogWranglers.com, @fairminder, Web Page Advisor

Steven Shapiro: New Leaf Legal @newleaflegal

Bill Jacobson: WorkBar Boston @workbarboston

Evan Kaufman, actor with Improv Asylum, @improvasylum

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This blog post is brought to you by, Evona, Manager at WorkBar.  You can email her atEvona@workbarboston.com, call 617-861-4940 or follow on twitter http://twitter.com/evonawiktoria

The way people work has changed dramatically

These days 80% of what a person needs to work is found on a laptop and cell phone. The other 20% is where the need for #7, as stated by Seth, lies – people need “someplace to go”. The types of people looking for this 20% includes startups, freelancers, entrepreneurs, consultants, small groups etc, people that are not tied to or required to go into their office, at least not consistently. Often times these people cannot afford office space based off the traditional model which includes 1+ years of commitment to a lease along with costly overhead and other daily costs.  I would argue that it’s not the end of office space rather a shift away from traditional office space.

So what are the modern options available to these mobile professionals?

• Work from home
• Work out of coffee shops
• Work from shared/coworking offices

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Why working from home falls short

Working from home is the easiest initial solution for workspace.  However, it is also because of the “working from home” option that the second two choices exist. So why not just stay at home and work from its comfort all the time?  Coworking is a huge trend popping up all over the world that addresses this exact question.

Why do people need somewhere else to go? Ask around and you’ll find the three most common reasons are:

1. There are too many distractions at home and its hard to stay focused.
2. People feel like they never stop working because they are always at home which blurs the line between one’s personal and professional life.
3. People need a place to meet with clients. For startups and entrepreneurs especially, coffee shops/their house doesn’t provide them with the professional meeting environment they are looking for when trying to establish and convey a professional image to their clients.
4. And the most common reason… The first thing I hear from people who come looking for coworking space:
5. They NEED to get out of the house and talk to people or else they’ll go crazy!

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Why Coworking?

Coworking spaces provide the 3 essential factors that address all of the above problems.

• Professional workspace
• Meeting/conference rooms
• Human interaction

There is something to be said about being amongst a group of other working professionals and an increase in motivation. People like having a designated workspace because it puts them into “work mode.”   Even in a coworking environment where people from various industries aggregate and work on very different projects, it works.  The point is, everyone is working and as a result, creating a “work mode” atmosphere – the switch is ON.  The additional benefit of having a designated “work” space is that it physically separates and draws a clear distinction between work and home.  Think about that next time you get home from work and plop down on the couch … it feels good!

And so it comes down to the human need for interaction. It’s amazing how above all else, this is the driving force behind the coworking movement.  Next time your walking past a coffee shop during the week, take a look inside … coffee shops are not designed to be workspaces and yet you’ll find that people are cramming into corners and using any available surfaces to work on – for hours! Why? Because being at home gets lonely and monotonous and makes people feel like if they don’t get out they’ll go crazy!  Interaction is, by far, my personal favorite and most rewarding part of coworking.  On a daily basis I see people, who work in completely different industries, interacting with each other, helping each other, posing questions and offering each other advice etc.. The cross pollination of ideas occurs naturally and creates an office ecosystem unlike any other.

There are also other work styles that I find to be interesting that align with many of the motivations present behind coworking.  Two of my favorites are Workshifting and Workplace Autonomy based of the ROWE movement (thanks for the tip @knightcourt777).

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What is Workshifting?

“The essence of workshifting is being small, mobile, and self contained — the ability to work anywhere there’s a table and wifi.”

Sample topics of discussion on Workshifting.com, which features tips, reviews, and opinions about the world of Web commuting include:

• How Many People Actually Telecommute?
• The Science of Motivation
• Professional Space and Coworking
• 7 Considerations for Setting Up a Home Office
• The Nature Of Remoteness

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What is the Workplace Autonomy & ROWE movement?

“Where people are paid for productivity, not time spent ‘at work”

The Workplace Autonomy movement is based on ROWE which stands for Results-Only Work Environment.

About ROWE

Results-Only Work Environment is a management strategy where employees are evaluated on performance, not presence. In a ROWE, people focus on results and only results – increasing the organization’s performance while creating the right climate for people to manage all the demands in their lives . . . including work.

In a Results-Only company or department, employees can do whatever they want whenever they want, as long as the work gets done. No more pointless meetings, racing to get in at 9:00 am, or begging for permission to watch your kid play soccer. No more cramming errands into the weekend, or waiting until retirement to take up your hobbies again. You make the decisions about what you do and where you do it, every minute of every day.

ROWE in Real Life:

In “Experiments in workplace autonomy” you can read about how “CEO Jeff Gunther launched an experiment in autonomy at Meddius, one of a trio of companies he runs.  He turned the company, which creates computer software and hardware to help hospitals integrate their information systems, into a ROWE—a results-only work environment.”

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Join Grasshopper and WorkBar Boston for our

Entrepreneur Summer Launch Party

Date: June 9th 2010

Time: 6:30PM

Location: WorkBar Boston

Featuring:

Entertainment, Food, Snacks, Beer, Wine & More!

RSVP HERE

Grasshopper loves co-working. WorkBar loves entrepreneurs.  We both love beer, good food, and meeting new people.  Come out and enjoy all these things with us!

Get ALL the details below:

Entertainment:

• An interview and discussion with Antonio Rodriguez.  Antonio is a passionate entrepreneur, the founder of Tabblo, and former CTO of HP.  Antonio will be interviewed by Jonathan Kay (Ambassador of Buzz at Grasshopper) and they will discuss “Lessons Learned – Having Created and Sold a Successful Startup”

• Matt from “Drink A Better Brew” – Matt takes a unique approach to pairing craft beer with food.  For this occasion Matt will be pairing his specially selected craft beers with the gourmet and delicious deserts from Finale in Boston!!

• Ja-Nae Duane, Founder of Wild Women Entrepreneurs, will be raffling off 3 copies of her book, “How to Start Your Business with $100.”  Learn what you need to start a business, how to successfully outsource areas of your business, and how to do it on less than $100!

Food & Snacks:

• A “PopChip” tasting table! PopChips are so good, and actually healthy too.  They were nice enough to set up a table for us with an assortment of all their different flavors!

• An amazing variety of Mini Burritos from BOLOCO!! Who doesnt love a good mini-burrito?  Flavors: Buffalo Chicken, Summer Steak, Teriyaki Chicken, and Teriyaki Tofu.

Drinks:

• Craft Beer: A variety of craft beers from Drink a Better Brew
• Common Beer: As you would expect (i.e. Bud Light, Heinekin, etc.)
• Wine: A few bottles of Red and White

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Questions? Comments? Concerns? Suggestions?

• Jonathan Kay – Jkay(at)grasshopper.com or @grasshopperbuzz
• Evona Niewiadomska – evona(at)workbarboston.com or @workbarboston

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A BIG thanks to BostInnovation.com for being our media sponsor

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And to our food sponsors:

Leah Derus

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Leah of amorrosa.com is the winner of WorkBar’s “I work from home now get me out” photo contest!  As our winner Leah won a Community Membership to WorkBar for the month of June.  We are so excited to add Leah to our coworking community — The more the merrier!

Her winning entry:

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WorkBar Community Membership:

Office without overhead.  Perfect for today’s mobile or at-home daytime worker.

• Work space (available seat)
• 01 Hour/week conference room
• Work Mon-Fri 8:30AM-5:30PM

The membership also includes:

• Wired and wireless Internet
• Printing/copying/scanning
• Unlimited faxing
• Free coffee/water/snacks/soda
• Access to conference room & meeting room with projector set-up
• Lounge and private phone areas
• Invites to our member events; happy hours, lunches etc
• Invites to our networking/professional events

Congratulations Leah!  See you around the office!

Open to members and non members

Do you have a creative Mac-centric business? Is technology or another aspect of business hindering your team’s creative output? Have you grown quickly and now realize you could use some organization and strategy? Are you looking for ways to better collaborate? Perhaps you’ve heard about fusion IT and would like to meet in person?

Now through the end of June, fusion IT is offering Open Office Hours in the WorkBar Boston conference room every Thursday from 3:00 – 4:00 PM. We will offer two half-hour sessions to offer big picture advice, without cost or obligation.

What types of questions we can answer:

• How can we make our network faster?
• Why do we need our wireless to be secure?
• How can I stop using my aol/hotmail/comcast/rcn e-mail to use my own branding and appear more professional?
• We know we should back up, but how do we start?
• How can we make our web videos look better?
• Why is our Final Cut editing system so slow?
• Should we upgrade to Snow Leopard? Should we upgrade to Adobe CS5?
• Why does it take so long to export video? Can we make it go any faster?
• We have dozens of hard drives. Is this a safe way to store our video footage?
• What’s the difference between Avid and Final Cut Pro?
• I have dozens of passwords (or passwords on post-its). How can I manage them safely?
• Is there any way to reduce the amount of Spam we get?
• How can we improve the productivity in our office?
• We need a new web site, and have no idea how to start. Can you help us?
• We have X video camera, Y editing software, and we need to put Z on the web. How?
• What is a codec? What is “uncompressed”. What’s better, 720p or 1080i?
• Should I buy a new Mac now, or should I wait?

Ask any of these, or bring your own. Send an e-mail to office_hours@fusion-it.biz to inquire about availability. We look forward to chatting!

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What is fusion IT?

fusion IT serves a three-fold purpose; to inspire, connect, and equip the Massachusetts Creative Economy.

We inspire hundreds of creative businesses through our blog, Creative Reaction. We actively connect people through our affiliations with the  Massachusetts Production Coalition, Ad Club, and MITX.

Our consultancy focuses on ka-POW-er and leverages technology to enable Mac-based Advertising, Production, Post-Production and affiliated businesses to be World-Class. We specialize in companies with video production and post-production workflows. We are the entire IT department for smaller creatives businesses. We are Mac OS X Server and Pro Video specialists for IT departments not possessing these skill sets. We design, integrate, and optimize rock-solid Final Cut Pro editing systems for companies which do not have a Video Engineer on staff. We are workflow specialists, keeping projects moving from conception to implementation, from you, to your client, to your client’s client.

Having worked within the Boston Advertising, Production and Post-Production community for over 20 years, fusion IT is uniquely qualified to help your creatives ROCK!

Submit Entries through

MAY 13TH – MAY 23RD

Submit a picture of your “home office”  for a chance to win a FREE Community Membership for the month of JUNE 2010 to WorkBar

Email entries to info@workbarboston.com

“Home office” subject to individual interpretation

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Email entries must include

Subject: WorkBar Photo Contest Submission

Contact email/phone number

Name

Attached Photo

Entries will be voted on May 24th-May 28th – Goodluck!

Summer is just around the corner and getting those extra credits in can get exhausting!  We are here to provide you with a great place to work, study and meet our diverse community of entrepreneurs, freelancers,                                                                  startup companies and other Boston professionals.

We have a lot of space and various work areas including single desks, multi worktables and work bars – all designed to cater to your individual work preferences.

As for our community of members, you may be wondering how, short of introducing yourself, you’ll get a chance to learn about the projects they are all involved with or the types of companies they have — don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! WorkBar hosts several member Happy Hours, lunches and other events that help foster interaction between our members and encourage the sense of community our space is so well known for — which lends to the fact that we are much more than just a shared office space!

So how can you benefit?

We’re offering a 15% discount PER MONTH for all full time students (w. valid ID)

Our space offers:

• Ample workspace
• Meeting space for group projects/meetings – equipped with projection capabilities
• Printing/faxing/scanning
• Coffee/soda/snacks
• Great location across from South Station
• Discounts to Zipcar & Boston Sports Club (located next door)
• Invites to our social/networking events

We are NOT an office (n): a room, set of rooms, or building where the business of a commercial or industrial organization or of a professional person is conducted.

We do not exist in the dictionary … we are a COWORKING COMMUNITY!

What makes us different from a regular office is the great community of people we engage with on a daily basis and the wide range of talent from which we are inspired.

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What are our favorite coworking moments?

• Cereal breakfast and emerging trends in green technology… why not?
• Reggae Friday’s … and spanish lessons from our in-house expert!
• Taste testing the latest batch of home brew.. Mmm
• Spur of the moment brainstorming sessions when someone’s got a problem on their hands… here to help!
• Enough ice cream to feed us for a month – Thank you Food Expo and our foodie loving members.
• Hey Happy Hour!
• New member mixers
• Exclusive invites to the happening events around town … because “we know a guy!”

We aim to inspire ourselves and those around us with our thoughts, actions, ideas and ambitions

Here is a picture of Allen’s MBTA clock:

Allen's Time Indicator

See the clock in action at JP Licks in Jamaica Plain

Along with the $500 cash reward Allen also received a signed bus stop, from the Forest Hills stop, from the newly confirmed head of the MBTA!

Allen Smith winner of the MassDOT Developers Real Time Challenge

The winners of the Software application based category were a team of current uLocate employees headed by Jared Egan.  Their winning entry was an iPhone app called Catch the bus.  The two winners had more in common than just this challenge as Allen is a former uLocate employee.

Here are all the winners:

Challenge Winners

Congrats Allen! Here is Governor Patrick announcing the winners of the MassDOT Challenge:

MassDOT Developers Real Time Challenge

On Thursday, February 18th, MassDOT announced the MassDOT Developers Real-Time Challenge. The Challenge calls on developers to create both software applications and physical installations using the real-time feed of MBTA bus locations and arrival predictions found below. The goal of the Challenge is to make this information available anywhere, anytime. The challenge has two categories, with a $500 cash prize for the winner in each and recognition at a March event.

Physical Installation Challenge: This challenge calls on developers to create physical installations making information from the MBTA Real-Time XML Trial Feed accessible in public locations. These solutions must be installed along at least one of the five MBTA Routes for which the feed is available on non-MBTA property. Examples include: LED countdown signs in businesses or other locations along the route, LCD countdown signs in businesses or other locations along the routes, bus arrival indicators, physical signs informing users of the existence of real-time data through the phone or on the web, or the inclusion of the MBTA real-time bus information in existing installations along the MBTA Bus routes.

Read the full contest details