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.

Dave has a background in computer science and computer programing. He’s worked for companies such as PayPal and Microsoft and was an independent consultant for a while. These backgrounds lead Dave to be a founding partner for 500 Startups.

Mark and Dave talk about the different areas companies must focus on before they start up. Dave believes companies who are looking to become the next big platform will not be successful because their focus is in the wrong place.

These two talk about what technicalities it takes to start a healthy online company. Dave shares stories of how he succeeded in 500 Startups and lessons that he’s learned. With endless opportunities and ideas, online start ups are a great way to be self-employed and creative. Knowing how to handle a business and what to expect can make the difference between a successful start up and a flop.

This Week in VC – 3.13.11 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.

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.

Jason says one way for users to produce better content is to simply enjoy having the the privilege of communication and to quit marketing. Octillo is a way for users to connect and share with other users who are producing valuable content rather than just marketing.

Frederick, who is also the CTO of Mashable, breaks down the bits and parts of Mashable as well as the goals for Octillo. The two discuss about how Octillo can help businesses transfer from analog to digital with greater ease. Also, emphasize the number of major corporations and companies who are investing into online communication and social media.

Frederick and Jason are at the top of the list when it comes to converting businesses to change their views about social media. Companies who are refusing to change their views about social media are loosing business. Thank goodness for guys like these to help lead the way to global business and communication.

Interview with Frederick, Jason, and Chris – 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.

This was a very special day for Chris, Kristie and myself, as we were finally meeting some of the chapter leaders we’ve known virtually for months, even years but had yet to meet in real life.  We had representation from more than 20 chapters across the U.S. and look forward to heavier attendance as this meeting becomes an annual event.

Chris shares his escapades from the evening prior and highlights from some of the top industry parties and best experiences, including visting the TechMunch opening party where he tried some delicious Texas wines at the Whole Foods Corporate Headquarters.

I go on to highlight one of Social Media Club’s newest initiatives, the Social Media Book Club.  We just had just introduced it on Saturday, March 12th, and our chapter leaders and professional members were very supportive of our newest program, with many volunteering to participate in book reviews.

For more information about the Social Media Book Club, visit the official post here.

Interview with Jessica and Chris – 3.12.11 from Social Media Club on Vimeo.

Rachel shares two new findings from their 2010 State of Community Management Report that will be released in the next few weeks:

• C-level Executives are overwhelming positive about social approaches but their internal culture has not yet caught up.
• Companies that have community managers are more mature.

One of the primary goals of Community Roundtable is to help the industry understand the role of the community manager, as a discipline and not just a role.

Jim points to General Motors, as a brand who has been very innovative in their approach to developing the community manager role within their company.  Christopher Barger, Global Director of Social Media for General Motors, shared during a Community Roundtable podcast, that GM invites employees from various departments within the company, trains them in social media for an extended period of time, where upon completion they return to their departments & they’re expected to be responsible for social media.

I highly encourage you to tune into Community Roundtable podcast and visit their site, as it is the resource I use to educate myself on new approaches and learn how to be a more effective community manager.

You can also follow The Community Roundtable on Twitter, @TheCR.

Community Roundtable – 3.14.11 from Social Media Club on Vimeo.

In this video, Cedric Giorgi speaks with TechCrunch Editor, Roxanne Varza about the rebirth of TechCrunch France. Most recently they hosted TechCrunch France Remix event that was hosted in November, which was a huge success and the symbol of a new start of TC France.

Interview Roxanne Varza (TechCrunch France)
Uploaded by techtoctv. – Discover more science and tech videos.

Thanks to Damien Cahen from Social Media Club France, for providing French to English translation of the above video.