Although you're going to have to get on the waiting list, you probably want to make plans to somehow finagle a space to the June 9 Richmond Social Media Club shin-dig. The first of the club's events was a sell-out social at Morton's the Steakhouse earlier in May, but the June event promises some real fireworks as a panel (consisting of the dapper Jason Roop of Style Weekly; the ever-earnest Ryan Nobles of WWBT fame; the mysterious Ian Graham of upstart RVA Magazine; and tired, old me) tackles the issue of social media head-on.
The good news is that it looks to be a humdinger. The bad news is that all 150 tickets sold out in something less than a day. Organizers promise they are exploring ways to add more seats (follow the drama on Twitter -- search #smcrva or visit http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23smcrva). Stay current with the Richmond Social Media Club at their fancy Facebook page.
The topic of the panel discussion is "New Media and the News" and I imagine I'll be the fellow on stage saying that content still matters; context still matters; consistency still matters; and that smart publications -- online or in print -- are a rare bird these days. Oh, having a clear voice as a writer never hurts, either.
Having said that, I'm not so sure I'll be as far out in left field as I might imagine. I just wish people would drop the "social" and the "new" and the "nouveau" when they talk about news.
