Demystifying Advertiser Integration w/Social Networking/Utility Sites for Brands

Hi everyone,
First off, thanks very much to each of you for joining this group and showing such enthusiasm for casually and socially exploring anything and everything related to innovative and social media. These are areas that are of both personal and professional interest to me and I spend a substantial amount of my time with them at work and at home.

My entire career has been spent in youth, digital and mobile marketing. I am a strong believer that if you do what you love and you pursue everything in life with a passion, you will be successful in every category of life. I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to pursue my dreams and believe everyone should have that same latitude and shot.

But, enough about me. This group is obviously not about me, it’s about all of us and I am very much looking forward to hearing from like and not-like minded theorists, creatives, copywriters, social media neophytes and experts, artists, et al. Otherwise this group would end up being a bunch of agency-types talking to each other and that is not of real interest to me – I love meeting and engaging with anyone with a voice and passion and exploring how those interests intersect with evolving media and communications on mass and niche scales.

Here’s a quick stab at an agenda – looking forward to meeting each of you and please feel free to reach out to me on and offline to connect in the interim prior to our kickoff and of course beyond….
INTROS, BRIEF RIFF AROUND FORMAT OF GROUP AND GENERAL TOPICS GROUP WANTS TO EXPLORE, FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS, PARTICIPATION FROM ATTENDEES, ETC.

• Share of thoughts on successes and failures of brands operating in user-driven online and mobile social environments and properties.
• Case study reviews: Rather formal for a kickoff, but I will bring a few that I have worked on (MySpace Mobile app development for Cingular, E&Y Facebook page integration, interactive online and mobile app game development and engagement for Samsung and AT&T on Facebook and digital out of home)
• Probing questions to toss around: what drives user engagement from brands on SNS sites and how can this be taken beyond a stunt and extended to true sustainability? Is how media bought, sold and measured restricting model success and build from Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, et al?