Joe talks about how SxSWi is like a “nerd spring break” for him. He likes how you’re able to connect with people in a fun environment and how you get to really know people personally and not professionally.

Joe and Ryan talk about how their products are changing where they’re heading for the future. Joe talks about the importance of partnering and the brands who are supporting the growth of social media and the power of the people behind it. Ryan talks about the success of being one of the top 5 brands at SxSWi this year and the new improvements Hootsuite is releasing.

The three wrap the interview up by discussing the importance of brands engaging in social media rather than monitoring it. Measuring analytics can help brands determine how effective their social media engagement is and what they can do to improve it. Social media engagement, content, and analytics are becoming the trending topics for SxSWi rather than the tools and websites such as Hootsuite and Klout are making great headway in this transition.

Conference Instyles – 3.11.11 from Social Media Club on Vimeo.

VOS is a company based in Guatemala that makes sandals out of natural rubber from rubber tree plants. The sandals are made with natural raw materials and are considered eco-friendly. Villages in Guatemala produce the natural rubber from plantations. The natural rubber plant takes 7 years before it produces latex and has a 25 year life span. Rubber plants are constantly being planted and tend to by workers in order for environmental balance.

If being an eco-friendly product wasn’t enough, VOS has a program called Two Steps at a Time that provides education, and healthcare to the plantations producing the rubber. José explains the left step of the two steps is to give away a pair of shoes for each pair of VOS sandals purchased. José works closely with Soles for Souls to make sure these shoes are being distributed properly. The right step is to provide basic education and healthcare to these villages producing the rubber plantations. By simply purchasing a pair of VOS sandals, a customer has helped with two different causes.

José talks about the future for VOS and how he would eventually to become a whole apparel brand.  His goal will always to remain eco-friendly and giving back to those who are contributing to the well-being of our planet.

Two Steps at A Time Social Intiative – 3.14.11 from Social Media Club on Vimeo.

David explains the idea behind Spot.us is for journalists to collaborate funds to produce their stories in a campaign format.  Viewers can read brief summaries about an idea a journalist is pitching and choose to donate money to help cover production costs. Spot.us is not exclusive to professional journalists or reporters. In fact, many users of this website are inspiring storytellers looking for an outlet to share their ideas.

David and Chris discuss the future of journalism as tools and websites like Spot.us begin to increase. Also, the two point out that citizen journalism is not meant to replace traditional journalism but to co-exist with it. Having these tools can develop more stories and allow ordinary people to share their stories.

Citizen Journalism with Chris Heuer (Social Media Club) and David Cohn (Spot.US) from Social Media Club on Vimeo.

Paul kicks off the panel by sharing the Coca Cola Happiness Machine which was a project produced to make a college campus smile. Paul and fellow co-workers teamed up with Coca Cola and installed a Coca Cola machine at a college campus that vended out funny items such as six-foot subs, pizzas and other products that made college students laugh and smile. Hidden cameras placed in various spots captured the smiles and laughs from the students making the video genuine.

Paul continues the panel by answering Tweets from people following the show’s hashtag #99Questions. From discussing the term “social media” to elaborate questions about the Coca Cola Happiness Machine, Paul covers all areas and makes this panel about the viewers.

99 Questions and Viral Ain’t One of Them – 3.14.11 from Social Media Club on Vimeo.

Doug starts off the interview by explaining most people use ask.com when they need an answer to a particular question quickly. This capability makes ask.com different from other search engines like Google or Yahoo. Unlike these search engines, ask.com shows quick answers as results rather than a lot of links to other websites.

Also, Doug talks about the mobile app version of ask.com called “ask around.” Unlike the website, the “ask around” app focuses on realtime conversations located nearby the user to help answer questions and get opinions. Users can join conversations about specific topics in realtime with other users only a few feet away.

One of the qualities that makes ask.com so original and unique is the amount of work it takes to create a strong algorithm. The idea of ask.com is to get people to ask questions and receive quick answers. Doug explains this can be tricky since some people don’t ask questions the same way. Some people use incomplete sentences and rather than a complete question format. Creating an algorithm that could recognize both forms of the format was tricky and confusing.

Chris and Doug go into a lot of detail about the process of ask.com and the future for the company. The mobile app is only one piece of the puzzle for Doug. He has a lot of big plans and more questions to answer.

Interview with Chris and Doug Leeds from Social Media Club on Vimeo.

Jordan has been a web developer for 15 years and feels that we need to find an alternative to the save button. Jordan talks about the different ways of computer malfunction and the human error of not saving. One of the problems of not saving properly is the actual position of the save button. When making changes to different applications online, the save button isn’t until the bottom of the application.

Jordan believes data should be saved automatically by using AJAX (Asynchronous Java Script and XML). AJAX will allow changes to websites the user makes to save automatically without having to click a save button.

Saving work is always a must but the technology is becoming outdated. Human error will always happen but by finding ways to save automatically, many headaches will be spared and more money will be in companies pockets.

Kill the Save Button – 3.13.11 from Social Media Club on Vimeo.

Tom began working with the homeless while installing video cameras on the vans for Mobile Loaves and Fishes. After his part of the project was over, he began brainstorming ideas of how he could help the homeless start social networking. For 40 Days, Tom interviewed many homeless people in Austin and encouraged them to share their stories. Shortly afterwards, Homeless Coach began to take off thanks to a donated RV and businesses donating technology.

The ultimate goal for Tom and Homeless Coach is to reverse homeless by targeting specific goals. By giving the homeless a chance to build social networks, Tom is doing more than providing food and clothes for the unfortunate people on the streets.

Interview with Homeless Coach Tom Baum and Social Media President Kristie Wells from Social Media Club on Vimeo.

Jake discusses  with Jen Reeves from the Missouri School of Journalism about the numerous free websites that can analyze your social media footprint online. These websites are a good way to prove to your client, company, or boss that people are noticing your work online.

One thing to keep in mind while looking at the analytics from these resources is there’s not a standard result set that social media managers should obtain to. The best way to know if you’re succeeding is to set goals at the beginning of the project and use these resources to determine if you have reached the results desired.

Jake and Jen give great advice for new social media managers and discuss the challenges many face while starting out.  Free resources, constant dedication, and building a strong network of other social media managers can help strengthen your career and give you the confidence to help a company build a strong reputation online.

How Social Media Managers can Harness Free Resources from Social Media Club on Vimeo.

Kelly explains that when companies set social media rules, they should focus on how employees should behave online rather than how they shouldn’t. Also, employees should understand they represent the company brand at all times while online.

Kelly and Julie discuss the importance of training employees before they engage online in order for them to know and understand the boundaries of social media. Another great way companies can help employees make good social media choices is to encourage them to constantly remind them of what they can post online about the company brand.

When you work for a well known company, you have to understand you represent that company at all times. Knowing limits and boundaries can not only help you keep your job, but gain respect from fellow companies and co-workers.

Keeping Co-Workers in Line – 3.12.11 from Social Media Club on Vimeo.

Lucretia tells a story about a mommy blogger posing as an employee for Toyota and claimed the company wanted her to violate a few FTC regulations. The story blew up on Twitter, but luckily an employee working for Toyota looked into the story and was able to prove the lady was lying.

Knowing how to handle situations like this is important and necessary because they can happen frequently. Keeping constant watch over what comments are being said online can be helpful and damage control can begin much sooner.

Interview with Lucretia Pruitt – 3.11.11 from Social Media Club on Vimeo.