FastCompany is making waves and getting a ton of attention right now with their Influence Project. Whether that project is good, bad, worthwhile or worthless, the people behind FastCompany are profoundly influential even though a pictogram probably won’t ever display their influence. One of the charming people of influence from FastCompany paid us a visit last year: Ellen McGirt.

Ellen not only knows social media, she also knows the people behind social media—she’s had conversations with Mark Zuckerberg, Chris Hughes, and the folks who conceived and executed MyBarackObama.com.

Thank you to Bobby Rettew for both the original video and for recently pulling it out of archives and recompressing it for us. Thank you, too, to Robbin Phillips and our friends at Brains on Fire for making it possible for Ellen to be with us. Finally, thank you to Richard Peck and the folks at Table 301 for making the morning at Soby’s so memorable.

What does it take to actually rank well in Google? Is there a secret formula that only SEO “experts” know?

Some search marketing “experts” like to portray Search Engine Optimization as complicated black magic, when the truth is this: a handful of basic essentials make any site competitive in search rankings – yes, even yours! On July 7th, John Ellis will demystify SEO for us, and provide current, indispensable knowledge for every business owner, blogger, techie and marketer!

Upstate SC native and now Nashville resident, John Ellis is a recognized industry leader in search marketing. He is a hands-on search consultant with years of in-house experience, and can be found throughout the year at conferences and events speaking on SEO & PPC.

This FREE event will be BYOL – Bring Your Own Lunch – held at Jackson Marketing Group, from 12pm to 1:30pm. This 90-minute program will allow for John to go into detail as well as have time for questions afterward. Bring your notebook, your thinking cap, your marketing guy and your web gal!

More information from John can be found at JohnWEllis.com and on Twitter @JohnWEllis.
Brought to you by Social Media Club Greenville with support from the GSA Technology Council and Tech After Five.

Slides from Aaron Von Frank’s talk at Social Media Club Greenville’s May meeting.

Be sure to join us on Facebook so you don’t miss another great meeting next month: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42980322582&ref=ts

Passion. Purpose. Practical participation: it’s what’s on tap for our monthly meeting for April.

Our monthly meetings have featured some fabulous content presenters by enthusiastic, entertaining, and educational friends. Next time we get together, you’ll be the presenter.

Community dynamo Jonathan Shanin will outline what he’s accomplishing and hoping to accomplish with his non-profit organization, Aid-Joy. As a non-stop bundle of energy, he’s already doing a great job. BUT, Aid-Joy is not leveraging social media. That’s where you come in.

On April 12, Jonathan will give us a quick overview of Aid-Joy, tell us what’s working, what’s not, and what he’d like to do. We’ll have a moderator who will engage you and your fellow SMCG members to work through a social media brainstorming session that’ll lead to a specific, focused action plan.

What you’ll get:

1. Inspiration
2. Hands-on experience
3. Insight
4. Fellowship
5. At least two new contacts that might lead to something meaningful for you

We’ll be meeting at the Greenville Hilton Garden Inn.

Video Provided by BobbyRettew,llc

Update 2-9-10 (Doug):

Slides from Richard Peck’s presentation:

Slides from Amy Wood’s presentation:

Slides from Russell Tripp’s presentation:

Slides from Kim Madden’s presentation:

Got a favorite tool you’d like to talk about? Here’s a chance to present your cool tool to everyone at Social Media Club Greenville. The big bonus is, you’ll come away with a video of the meeting you can embed on your website. (That’s to Bobby Rettew, LLC, we’ll have a video of the whole meeting available for you.)

If you’d like to make a 7-10 minute presentation on one specific social media tool you’re finding useful, would you please take a moment to complete the form below?

Our next meeting will be Monday, February 8, 2010, from 8:00am to 9:00am at the brand new NEXT Innovation Center at 411 University Ridge. We’re hoping to have 4-5 presentations from our membership.

An informational meeting to hear what our elected officials think of social media, how they’re using it, and their expectations for future use.

Social Media Club meeting downtown Greenville at Michelin on Main brought a great crowd to enjoy an open conversation between Trey Pennington and Bob Inglis, all wrapped around politics of social media.

Would you please take a moment to complete a survey in preparation for our upcoming meeting with our representative? Thanks.

What are politicians doing to leverage social media? In January we’ll talk with our politician, SC Fourth District Representative Bob Inglis, about his experience with social media so far. We’ll also get his take on the future of citizen governance and how, if any, social media will recreate the way politicians engage with their constituents.

We won’t be talking public policy. Instead, we’ll focus on the principles and practices behind engaging with people in the political sphere. It should be a solid learning experience for people of all political commitments. The moderator will work hard to ensure we stay on track discussing information to build our whole community.

Thank you to Bobby Rettew of the newly minted and launched Bobby Rettew, LLC for doing the video work for our January meeting. Thanks, too, to Jeffrey Jacobs and the folks at Michelin on Main for providing the meeting space. One more thanks goes out to Costco for help with the food.

Please pre-register
Pre-registration is $8.00
Registration at the door is $10.00

Tempted to click that shortened link to compare your IQ? Maybe not so smart. Stay safe on Twitter and the rest of your digital world with Security Tips from Doug Cone of NullVariable Web Consulting.

Wondering if you should catch the Wave, Google Wave, that is, for 2010? Russell Tripp of Infusion Web & Video gives us an definition and overview of the lastest SNO (shiny new object).

Thank you to Reggie Williams and her crew from GreenvilleHD.com for shooting the footage for our upcoming Social Media Club Greenville video promo.

Thanks, too, to our friends at Hyatt Regency Greenville for sponsoring our venue and breakfast!

[note: this video was shot and post-production services provided by Trey, a rank amateur videographer with old, old equipment. Our professional, Bobby Rettew, was called out of town and wasn't able to film. We are SO looking forward to having Bobby back next month!]