Internet Geek Girl

During my visit to Orlando, Florida last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Ted Murphy at Izea headquarters. As Ted’s shirt insinuates, he likes “creating chaos.” His business ventures have a tendency to do just that. PayPerPost caused quite a stir in the last year, and his new company is getting loads of attention - for different reasons.

SocialSpark is Izea’s newest attempt at creating a marketplace between bloggers and advertisers. This time around, Ted has gotten it “right” (according to many - including Jason Calacanis) with policies that include: 100% disclosure, 100% transparency, 100% real opinion, 100% no follow. If you’ve got content, creativity and influence - check out SocialSpark and jump into the marketplace.

I have to give a quick shout out to Ted’s web2.0 reality TV show, RockStartUp. Ted and the team share their start-up journey with the world. As someone who has worked at quite a few start-ups, I’d have to say the show is spot on!

Don’t forget to check out my interview with Ted back at @sxswbloghaus in March.

Rock on Ted!

It’s time for Affiliate Summit East and InternetGeekGirl and friends are heading up to Boston on a party bus!

Affiliate Summit is all about networking, so why not network on your way to and from the event? Join some of the leading experts in Affiliate Marketing as they make their way from NYC to Boston (and back). Participants will receive special gifts, provided by sponsors, and have the ability to win prizes. Refreshments will be provided on the bus. The bus is a typical charter bus. Unfortunately - no wifi, but bring your aircards and phones as we will be twittering away.

Click here for event details and to sign up for the Party Bus to Affiliate Summit!

Please note that this is not being organized by the Affiliate Summit team, so if you have questions, please contact me.

We will leave on Saturday, August 9th from NYC sometime in the morning (exact location TBD). Mimosas anyone!?! We arrive in Boston with plenty of time to get settled in and attend the Affiliate Dinner (hosted by Schaaf Consulting). Remember activities start early on Sunday, so arriving Saturday is recommended. We’ll head back to NYC in the morning on August 13th (so you can stay over for Tuesday night festivities). Tickets are round-trip only.

As a friendly reminder, the hotel is filling up fast (or may be already filled). Here’s the URL in case you haven’t called yet: http://www.seaportboston.com/ The show code is AFS8.

Looking forward to another great Affiliate Summit East. See you in Boston.

In the last few weeks I’ve been chatting with my “girlz” about how important it is to me in both friendship and dating to find people who “get” the technology we’re using today… i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc. Not only that, but we all felt like we knew so many incredible single people – both guys and girls – who we would love to introduce to our other amazing friends. I’m here in San Fran / Silicon Valley – the “mecca” if you will – attending the Web2.0 expo, and I thought – there’s no time like the present to bring it all together.

Please join fellow technophiles this coming Monday, April 21st at 8 pm, for a fun, casual way to expand our rapidly-growing social circles, IRL! We’ve planned a laid-back evening with one goal: meeting new people. We all loathe the so-called “singles” events, so this is anything but – just grab a few awesome, like-minded folks who aren’t afraid to Twitter out their most ridiculous thoughts while sipping on an adult beverage (or four.) To make it even better, we’ve teamed up with Engage; they share our views on matchmaking our incredible friends & have kindly offered to sponsor the drinks for this event! What’s better than that!? Oh yeah, plus give away some really fabulous T-Shirts.

And, what better way to celebrate Web 2.0 than to feature some of the more prominent (and single) people helping to define the new Web. Stephanie Agresta (that’s me), Tara Hunt, Pete Cashmore, Willo O’Brien, Aubrey Sabala, and many more will be running around!

RSVP HERE!!

Twitter it.

Facebook it.

Pownce it.

Get it on FriendFeed or Tumblr or talk about it on Seesmic.

The Who, What, Where, When, Why
Who: Fabulous Singles and Their Friends Who Love Them

What: A Monday night kick-off event and videos throughout the week at Web2.0 Expo

Where: Harlot, 46 Minna St., San Francisco, http://www.harlotsf.com

When: Starts at Harlot on Monday night, April 21st at 8 pm

Why: Because we believe in Love 2.0!

PLUS, if you’re single happen to be at the Web 2.0 expo, come by and record a video with The TechSet (a collaboration between InternetGeekGirl and @briansolis) .  Check out the very Bub.blicio.us Post Brian did.  We’re meeting with interviews of the best and brightest SINGLES in social media sponsored by Engage throughout week. Send me a note to stephanie.agresta@gmail.com, to set up an appointment. I can help you get a discounted pass (or even a free pass) if you need one in order to come by to shoot your segment.

Lisa Nova and Danny Diamond blew thru the SXSW BlogHaus. Her YouTube Channel is one of the hottest out there. As I write this, the stats on the site are as follows:

Style: Variety

Joined: June 05, 2006

Last Login: 3 minutes ago

Videos Watched: 10,173

Subscribers: 87,705

Channel Views: 6,232,103

These two are quite the YouTube Team! I grooved on their energy and expertise. I also liked it when Danny grabbed the mike out of my hands. Thank goodness, he improved the shot.

It was an absolute pleasure and honor to interview Cathy Brooks, Executive Producer at Seesmic in the SXSW Bloghaus, sponsored by AMD and b5 media. Cathy served on the steering committee for the conference. In this video she talks about how she maximized the show - personally and professionally.

Cathy is full of amazing energy, and an inspiration to entrepreneurs and artists in the Valley and beyond. Plus - as one of the leading female experts in social media and content, we give her huge props. Seesmic is still in closed beta, so go to the site and request an invite - or email Cathy directly (if you’re an instant gratification kind of guy or gal): cathy (at) seesmic (dot) com.

Watch the video until the end you’ll get to see the fab shirt she’s wearing. We love ya Cath!

Chris Brogan is a prolific writer, thinker, blogger and a generally amazing guy. He gets the BPP. He loves his family, he inspires the social media world, and he works really hard. Check out his insights from SXSW 2008. To use Chris’ words - it was a kick as time!

Scott Carroll gets it. Scott lead the AMD staff and their sponsorship of the SXSW BlogHaus 2008. The influencers gathered to generate content, play games and generally create all sorts of good energy. Thanks to AMD for all their support! Kudos goes out to b5 media, PodTech and The Conversation Group as well.

([The SXSWi 2008 schwag bag, designed by Hugh MacLeod. Photo courtesy of Laughing Squid.]

SXSW Interactive is off and running. Characterized by some as “Spring Break for Geeks”, the best and brightest in social media and online strategy have descended on on Austin, TX (which we all know is the killer app - see picture above).

It’s 10:15 AM - the bloghaus isn’t officially open yet, but already we’ve got a bunch of cool people hanging: @davidparmet @maggiefox @gapingvoid @heiko @technosailor @1938media. They just keep streaming in!

Sponsored by AMD and b5media, the room is full of rock stars, refreshments and rebel blogers.

PLEASE COME BY: Get to the 3rd FLOOR and then look for ROOM 7. You can also check out EVERYTHING on sxswbloghaus.com and on the Twitter channel.

The BlogHaus TV Channel on Mogulus will also be live streaming throughout the day.

It’s a furry of activity. Social objects everywhere. Come join in on the fun.

Social media has the power to heal. From the Frozen Pea Fund to the stories of support and friendship that pop up on Twitter - I see daily examples of how important this medium has become to our social fabric.

Lance Armstrong and The Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) team have long used the Internet to drive grassroots support for their charitable efforts. Many of you know that I’m all about LIVESTRONG. Well - Lance is on the road again, and he and his team of awesome volunteers will be in New Orleans on January 29th and 30th, helping to build new homes for cancer survivors and their families. Working with Habitat for Humanity (HFH), the LAF team will relocate New Orleans-area families who have faced the twin challenges of fighting cancer and displacement by Hurricane Katrina.

Can you believe it’s been almost two and a half years since Hurricane Katrina and there are still so many people lacking basic shelter? To use a favorite geek phrase: WTF?!? This is truly one of the great tragedies of our collective journey these last few years. I hope that our country elects a President that can start showing true leadership and unite us in efforts to improve ourselves and the world. Let’s not wait until November. Let’s start using our energy, skills, resources and talent TODAY to help those around us and send out positive vibes every where we go. Please make a donation to help Lance, LAF and HFH build homes for cancer survivors in New Orleans. Even $10 makes a difference.

There is no question that social media has the power to transform markets, communities, culture, and news. And let’s not forget the impact it has had on plain old socializing. Like all powerful tools, it can be used to harm and to heal. I choose HEAL. I hope you join me in the effort to make things just a little bit better. I realize we all don’t have time and resources to give of ourselves every day, but every little bit counts so please give something, no matter how small. Your support can come in many ways. The LiveStrong Facebook App (which Scott and Jeff Rozic developed) has over 80,000 users! That’s 80,000 small acts that have added value and support to hundreds of thousands of REAL PEOPLE. Please do whatever you can: yes, give some $, but also consider adding a social cause app on your facebook profile, telling a friend about your favorite charity, putting frozen peas in your avatar, VOTING, smiling at a stranger, bringing food to a food bank, hugging your family! Spread the LOVE.

Lance, Susan, Chris B (my house buildin’ pal), and all the cancer survivors out there that are using the Internet to help others HEAL - we are with you!!

Happy New Year friends. May 2008 be filled with good karma and many blessings. And may we all be new and improved every year.

I realize it’s a bit late into the year here for New Year greetings (or is it)? I was chilling in Florida for a bit, and I’m just getting back into the groove. But I couldn’t be more excited for 2008. Stayed tuned for many exciting announcements in the coming weeks.

But let’s start here, with Karma - Twitter Karma to be exact.

Let me explain because this is truly great social media story.

Dossy is my Twitter friend, he’s also a rad developer who lives here in New Jersey (go Jersey!). Back in December I was musing on Twitter about how I wish I had a tool that easily allowed me to figure out who is a reciprocal twitter friend and add followers to my list. As many of you know, I really love Twitter and more and more, I find it to be the most satisfying of all social networks. [Facebook is getting spammy - let's fix that people]. And surprise, surprise, Dossy made it happen. He built the thing!! I’m honored to have helped select the name btw. How very cool. Here’s the full announcement on Dossy’s blog.

I am amazed by the inspiration I find on Twitter, and the swirl of ideas that live in the petri dish of our online social networks. One person’s 140 character phrase is another’s software feature. Give to receive my friends, and please go give Twitter Karma a WHACK!

Peace Out!