Greg Verdino

Mark your twalenders: it's time for tweet chat times two

Next week I'll be co-hosting two (count 'em, two) tweet chats. If you haven't taken part in a tweet chat before or flat out aren't even familiar with the concept it's pretty simple: a bunch of tweeps interested in a specific topic all tune into Twitter at the same time and, using a designated hashtag to keep track of what everyone is yammering on about, engage in a rollicking joyride of realtime discussion.

Here's what you need to know about next week's events. First:

#socialmedia
When: Tuesday, March 2nd / Noon Eastern
Hashtags: #socialmedia, #sm49
Topic: The Next Big Thing is So Last Year

In the 49th edition of this popular and long-running chat series, we'll be tackling on of my favorite topics and biggest business bugaboos -- marketers' exuberant (and often irrational) obsession with the next big thing, the flavor of the month, the latest but not-necessarily-greatest shiny object. We'll plan to cover riff on three key questions:

• Why are marketers so obsessed with the next big thing even though so many turn out to be next big busts?
• How do you balance the benefits of strategic innovation with the risks of constantly chasing shiny objects?
• What’s the one social media “old thing” most marketers still get wrong?

Then the very next day, I'll be joining forces with Andre Yap and Amy Desmarais from Ripple100 to kick off a series of twice-monthly tweet chats that will inspire marketers to think about specific, practical ways they can apply micromarketing principles to their own businesses.

As you know, I'm literally writing the book on micromarketing. And the folks at Ripple100 are launching the world's first application service built to empower any organization of any size to become a micromarketer. As Andre Yap writes in his post about the new series, "every other week we dive into 60 minutes of micromarketing how-to’s. Not concepts, not thought leadership, not guru talk. Just how-to -- stuff you can do now. Every week we’ll pick a focal point: micromarketing for restaurants, micromarketing for political campaigns, micromarketing for holidays, micromarketing for women audiences, and so on."

Got it? Great - so here are the details you'll need to join us for the first chat:

#mm2010: How to Start microMARKETING in 2010
When: Wednesday, March 3rd / 1pm Eastern
Hashtags: #mm2010
Topic: MicroMarketing for Marketers

No it's not the next big thing. As someone wicked smart (me) has written, it's lots and lots of small things. And what better way to get marketers to start thinking about what micro really means and how to advise our clients on new micromarketing techniques than by challenging ourselves to apply micro approaches to our own businesses first. Our thought starters will include:

• Share an example of either a micromarketing or un-micromarketing campaign.
• As a marketer, what’s one way you’re going to do micromarketing for your practice or client -- in the next 4 weeks.
• What are the defining characteristics of micromarketing that make it different vs. other forms of marketing?

Check out the #mm2010 ripple to learn more about the upcoming chat, and to meet Andre and Amy.

Hope to tweet with all y'all next week.

Get an education about social media in education

If you're in New York for Social Media Week and plan to hit some sessions, be sure to check out The Future of Social Media in Education at noon on Friday Feb 5th at the McGraw-Hill building. It's a panel session hosted by McGraw-Hill and their GradeGuru startup, featuring GradeGuru's Yianni Garcia, Mashable's Adam Ostrow, Jatched.com's Mary Casey, a few others and of course me. Here's a summary of what we'll cover during our two-hour discussion:

How is social media changing the way college students learn? How are digital applications changing how professors teach? What are the most significant education technology trends of 2010 and beyond? Join a panel of education technology and emerging media experts to explore how the social web is transforming higher education. The event will also feature a preview of highly anticipated products from the McGraw-Hill Student Innovation Lab.

The session is free but space is limited, so if you're interested in social media, higher ed or learning more about what those pesky Millennials are up to now be sure to register in advance.

Can't be there in person? Tune in live on Ustream at noon eastern on Friday, February 5th.