Thursday, August 12, 2010

Prepping for Social Fresh

Today I registered for the Social Fresh Charlotte, a social media conference "targeted for marketers, focused on case studies."  I'm thrilled!  Last year's event was great, and I'm really looking forward to returning this year.  It'll be a long, exciting day full of great conversations and lessons learned.
How does this relate to Abandoned Allies?  I have big hopes for our indie film, and a gazillion ideas on social media activities to accompany the film's release--many of which would help people understand more about the Montagnards, the U.S. Special Forces, and the relative things happening today.

Finding a means to bring those ideas to life is a challenge, though, so I am looking forward to this social media conference in hopes that I might get some ideas or inspiration.  We have a zero-dollar budget for our film, a number of talented volunteers, and a world of possibilities.  I feel like this conference will help out immensely, not just for Abandoned Allies but for other future films, too.  So I have a lot on my list of goals for the conference.

Goals for Social Fresh Charlotte
My goals for this event include:
  • Spending quality time with my social media friends, as well as making new ones
  • Focusing my social media thoughts on efforts to improve Abandoned Allies (and future films)
  • Distilling this ever-growing list of social media ideas down to something more manageable / realistic
  • Finding a means to execute and implement these strategies given our current restraints: budget, man power, etc.
  • And learning about the latest things happening in social media today, including case studies from larger companies that prove successes and failures
Social Media Conference Preparation
In preparation for the event, I hope to update a lot of things: business cards, profile pictures, websites, blogs, etc.  There's quite a bit of work that goes into it, but when introducing yourself in person for the first time at a conference these things can help a great deal.  They help you make a connection with someone who's in the same room, which can be tons of fun.  Plus, there's no better motivation than a deadline attached to a conference to motivate you to make it a priority. 

During the Conference
If you're curious about the conference, follow the hashtag #sofresh online or personal Twitter stream, @cammicam.  I'll likely post something on this blog either the day of the conference, or a wrap up during the following days.  Anything in particular you want to hear about from the conference?  Let me know.

Join the Party
I'm very excited about attending Social Fresh Charlotte, and am looking forward to seeing so many familiar faces!  It'll be great to meet so many new folks, too.  These conferences are SO much fun, and I am thrilled that I will be there.

If you're thinking about social media for your business, film, or personal brand then this is a great conference to attend.  Register quickly, though, there were fewer than 100 tickets left when I last looked today!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Saturday Filming

We had such a great shoot in Durham on Saturday.  Since leaving the Durham Habitat for Humanity's kick-off event, I have not stopped moving!  I have a lot of content ready to share in future blog posts, which I hope to share with you very soon.

The Rahlan-Ksor family on the site of their future home.
For now let me thank the kind fellas who helped on location: Peter Bell (@petebelltv), Will Jones and Erik Shepard.  They were so kind to come out so early in the morning to shoot, and I am so grateful for their help.  What wonderful support!

I owe a big thanks to the people who offered to serve as crew, the people on location who permitted me to interview them on camera, all of the construction crew members who let us film them working, and employees of Durham Habitat for Humanity and Cree.

There is so much more information to share, which I promise will be posted soon.  I also have a number of additional people to thank.  There are so many great people willing to lend a hand in this community.