Today I am in Denver and I am going to be speaking this afternoon about how to have fun with Community Management at Defrag. As much as it is a business, its not all stuffed shirts and processes.

I believe I was born to be a community manager. At some level at least. When I was younger, I used to be the one on my street that organized all the kids together in the games we would play. If I had my scanner and photo album here with me, I would be sharing pictures with you of a bunch of kids rein-acting the Beatles “Help” in her grandmother’s front yard.

In high school, I wasn’t a loner, I was a connector. I didn’t belong to one specific group (grits, yo’s, preps, or jocks). I had friends in all these circles, but I didn’t associate with any specifically. However, I was able to work with all of them to get things done. I learned how to produce videos from the ideas in my head, using my associations to get the finished product to air on local television.

In the Army, while stationed in Germany, I used the old spaces in our barracks basement to throw parties. We would have themes and the parties kept the soldiers on the base safe and without having to drink and drive.

After the Army I created my own music promotions company, Emerging Sounds. In which I helped bands connect with their fans and get noticed by major record labels. Which, I can proudly say, several of the acts I worked with did go on to get signed. Some with big successes.

In recent years, as a Government Contractor with Navstar, Inc, I have been a community manager in a real sense being able to work on the Intellipedia project.

Taking my life lessons learned, I have been able to observe how people interact with each other in person and online in much of the same way. My talk today is a glimpse into that world and the dance of the community manager.

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Finals in Washington DC

NBC had some great coverage about the event I judged as a preview for tonight’s finals. Take a look, I show up in the video at the end showing my love for STD!!

And Mitt Umlaut, I will be looking for you tonight

Full-screen

930
815 V St NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 393-0930

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I am pleased to announce that my company Navstar, Inc. will be sponsoring tonight’s Social Media Club DC – Mid-Summer Happy Hour [July 29, 2009 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (ET)] at Bar Louie in Chinatown, Washington, DC.

Larissa Fair – President

Twitter – @lyf108

Andrea Baker – Executive Vice President and Programming Director

@immunity

Anna Gabert and Travis Mason- Vice President & Sponsorship Directors

@annagabert @tgmason

Sarah Wurrey – Vice President & Promotions Director

@sarahwurrey

Nisha Chittal, Meg Roberts, Sara Burson – Event Managers

@nishachittal, @megmroberts, @saraburson

Maia Kotlus-Gates and Beth McNamee – Membership Managers

@maiakg, @bethmcnamee

Gabriel Key – Digital Scribe/Content Organizer

@gabrielmkey

Event Logistics:

Wednesday, July 29
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Bar Louie
701 7th Street NW #D
Washington, DC 20001
202-638-2460

Connect with SMC-DC

Washington DC has its own wiki-in-progress. Please visit: http://socialmediaclubdc.pbwiki.com/ for more details.

Washington DC Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/smcdc

Hashtag: #smcdc

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2419741913

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1820071&trk=hb_side_g

Friendfeed: http://www.friendfeed.com/smcdc

Sphere: Related Content

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The Girls of Shes Geeky NoVA at SxSWi

Update: This event has been postponed until Fall 2009

In honor of Ada Lovelace Day.

INVITATION TO ALL WOMEN!!

She’s Geeky is coming to Northern Virginia – the DC Area.
April 18th McLean Virginia (Tyson’s Corner).
http://www.shesgeeky.org/

Early bird admission is $40 until April 1 – $45 regular until April 11 and $50 after that.
Student admission is $20

We are inviting women from a divers range of industries together for a day of interactive learning and industry cross pollination.

To us Geekiness is self defined – from those with advanced degrees in mathematics, science and engineering. To skilled programmers who are in large enterprises, government or startups. To women who have taught themselves how to code the PHP on their side bars on their blog or just super enthusiastic users of technology.

Each city has a different mix of technologies – DC has a variety of fields
* the nonprofit and advocacy sectors,
* government, defense, aerospace, and intelligence
* Web portals – like AOL
* startups innovating

The range of topics discussed is diverse – in California you can see the list of sessions.
http://shesgeeky.org/wiki/Sg2009wc:Notes

————-
How does the unconference day work?

The sessions are put forward by the women who attend the event – and are diverse. They include expert topics about their particular expertise, hosting conversations about issues of interest both technical and personal (like how to balance work and family), exploring start-up ideas, introductions or deep dives to different programming languages or frameworks, sharing stories about what it was like to work in the early days of the industry, introduction to public speaking and many others.

Beginning at 9 AM each day, we start with a blank wall and, in less than an hour, through a highly participative process, create a full day, multi-track conference agenda that is relevant and inspiring to everyone there.

From there, we go to separate areas or rooms assigned to each topic. The session can be a presentation, inquiry about a question or discussion about an issue or technical field. or. One participant volunteers to record the proceedings.

The notes from each session are collected in the newsroom, then a book is compiled with all the notes from the conference and distributed to everyone who attended.

For this event, we have the pleasure of guest moderator, Jean Russell. This event is co-hosted by Amy Senger of LMI and myself, Andrea Baker, of Navstar, Inc.

—————–

Sponsorship opportunities for both small and large companies are available too.

If you have questions you can e-mail us at info@shesgeeky.org

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This year, I finally get to see the hype first hand. I will be going to SxSW Interactive starting this Friday. Last year I watched the overflow of Information spill out from the event from my office back here in Northern Virginia and said to one of my contract customers, “I have to go next year!” Too late to put together a panel or a talk (I would have done one on Community Management), I am going this year mostly to network and sink in as many talks and panels as I can. But the point is I AM GOING!

Thanking my lucky stars for much of the pre-planning information this year, as  I am working out much of my trip as I can in advance with the help of some non-SWirgins. I am flying on the Big BWI Blogger Boeing on Friday morning (Flight 2262) with at least 6 other twitter/bloggers. If you are also on this flight, let us know so you can join the group. I am also looking to either carpool or take public transportation to the airport.

To get prepared, I have been doing a lot of reading of my trusted friends and experts who have done this thing before. Aaron Brazell aka @Technosailor has a nice write up about what to expect, some considerations, and even packing tips.

Andrew Mager (@mager) from ZDnet has a guide he put together with his picks for sessions to attend, as well as parties and extras.

And if you are looking for parties and other thing related to the event, you might want to check out the growing list over at http://sxsw.razorfish.com/

I have also signed up for my.sxsw.com. The official social networking site of the entire conference. It was developed by my good friends over at the social collective (follow @bucchere for more details). We used this networking software before for WIREICES last fall and they have improved it a lot since our experience and hopefully with our feedback.

Mostly I will be hanging out with other SWirgins Amy (@sengseng) and Steve (@robotchampion). We’ll be at Amy’s salon on Spying 2.0 (see below) if anyone wants to come say hello.

If there are any other tips or things I should know about please do not hesitate to let me know. I will be trying to twitter and live blog as much as I can during the event, but if my laptop becomes an anchor, there might be more twittering and less blogging until after the event.

I haven’t finished picking out my interested events and some are subject to chance, since some are at the exact same time as others I am interested in, but right now here is a brief list:

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Announcing She’s Geeky NoVA edition. Kaliya, Amy, and myself are organizing the first ever local She’s Geeky event to the DC/MD/VA area on April 18, 2009.

LMI – 2000 Corporate Ridge, McLean VA, 22102

Registration

You can find a ride coordination wiki page here.

If you are a geek and you are a girl, then you qualify to attend. The event is self-organizing by those who attend. An event inside DC proper off a metro line is being planned for later in the year for those who are not able to attend this event. But save the date and I hope to see you on April 18, 2009.
Follow the names above on twitter for more She’s Geeky news as it happens, as well as @shesgeeky for official news.

Update: This event has been postponed until Fall 2009

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High School

Oakland Mills High School sign

As probably some of you other geeks could relate, I hated High School. I wanted nothing to do with it. I started 9th – half of 11th at Oakland Mills High School. I hated math and never remember anything about class except for getting a perfect score on the Maryland Functional Math test, one of only two students in the county that year, IIRC. I also hated science. I put my head down in class everyday for the 1st semester proclaiming, “why do I need science, I’m going to be a famous singer ?” I realized soon, that the reason hated math and science is that the day in middle school you pick your HS classes, I missed. I was in classes that were too easy and annoying. So the next semester, I figured out the system of grading and set the curve over 100%. When I wasn’t working at the Ice Rink after school, I would hang out with my stepfather bonding by watching Star Trek:The Next Generation. I had a uber-crush on Wesley Crusher, who we all know is just a geek by following him on twitter @wilw and his blog.

Andrea in Pompei, Italy

At the end of junior year, I had obtained all my credits for graduation, except for English and Gym. In fact, I failed English when I moved to NJ because I stopped going to class. I was further along at OMHS and was frustrated to have to reread books I had covered years before. I also thought the teacher was a real witch. So Senior year was a blast. Since I couldn’t get my mom convinced I should just drop out and get my GED or home schooled, I returned with a new scheme and a different persona. I sold the Chrysler and got my uncle’s 1978 Ford 150. It was “Dukes of Hazzard” Orange and I loved it. It stood out in the parking lot that is for sure.     

Imagine this but really, really orange and no motorcycle

I took video production, public speaking, several classes of singing, gym, drama, & two English classes. I was able to work out a deal with my English teachers for 11th and 12th English to turn in the same paper for each assignment but with more stringent grading criteria than the other students. It had to be longer, have more sources, and footnotes. So I adhered and got A’s in both classes from doing the same amount of work. The problem was that English and Public speaking were the first three classes of the day and I have never been a morning person, ever (we’ll by force in boot camp, but that’s the next installment). I would stay up really late with my best bud (we’ll call him CS). CS and I would stay up and listen to hours on end of music just being silly. He made these cool adventures up and we’d go on them spontaneously. He was my rock in New Jersey. When I would finally come home, I would not want to sleep, so there I would be up to 4-5am, getting in a nap before heading off to classes. 

So a typical day would be mostly just spending time singing in school all day long. I was in Advanced choir where I sang tenor with 3 others, only one was male. I sang in schola, which was an all female A Capella group, and I fronted the Jazz Band. Since my range was vast and I could hit the low notes, I was the first person at the school to sing for the Jazz band. It was a success I think, because we would do gigs on the weekends outside of school. I remember one winter performance in front of the entire school. I sang “When I Fall in Love” in front of a darkened room and was so nervous, because I kept wondering if they thought I was singing about someone. The whole school knew I was in love with my best friend.

Another class I was fond of was Video Production. Our school had one of those weekly news reports that aired on local cable. But aside from the “news” we did all sorts of video shorts as entertainment. I had won a “Rosie” named after our teacher Richard Rose, for one of my shorts. I also remember spending hours on the couch in studio just goofing off trying to come up with ideas for my next piece. CS was in the class with me, as he was in Statistics and Analysis. It was really hard to think when he was around. 

I also recall the time when Jon Stewart came to talk to our TV production class, as his younger brother was in one of my classes. I am only guessing he some how arranged for this little interview to happen in our studio. This was obviously before the Daily Show, This was The Jon Stewart Show. To be honest, at the time, even though he was funny, I thought he was really cocky. He was only at MTV at the time, but something stuck with me about him. So I have followed his career over the years and bought his book, “America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction”. 

The Jon Stewart Show w/Claire Danes

I also enjoyed drama classes as my class was very competitive. I had drama only every other day, because I was able to convince my guidance councilor to put gym on the opposite days. Because I looked and acted older, I got the more obscure parental roles and really enjoyed my parts. I was the mother in the “Marriage of Bette and Boo”, a girl (can’t remember which) in “Stop the World I Wanna Get Off”, and my award winning slap to my fake daughter Kelly Hutchinson in “The Rhymers of Eldritch”, where I played the disappointed mother, Evelyn. 

I was also an athlete all through High School At Oakland Mills, I played field hockey as the goalie my freshman year. But after an accident the summer before sophomore year, I stopped playing and became the team’s manager. I also played tennis and was quite good, making it to the state championships in singles my freshman year, but pulled out of the tournament to have surgery on my scalp. In the winter months, I played basketball, the only sport I continued while I was at Hightstown. My senior year I played both JV and Varsity as their was a rule you could play up to 5 quarters a day and we didn’t have that many girls to cover both rosters.

The end of High School became a whirlwind as I already knew I wasn’t going to go to college. The summer before my Senior year, I joined the Army and spent my last year in High School trying to enjoy it, knowing that all I had to do was graduate. I hated school and I felt the Army was the best thing for me, because I wouldn’t have to go to any more classes. (A lesson I learned differently, in the next installment). 

The coolest moment was graduation, because of the size of our class (I think like 400 seniors), our graduation was held at Jadwin Gym on the Princeton University campus. My father was so proud of me. He put the invitation on display at work, as it read as if I was graduating FROM Princeton University. 

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The Yahoo in Me

My humble beginnings as a geek girl come from a supportive father, mother, and stepfather. Through my childhood, as the first kid, first grandchild, and just all around ham for attention, I had a network of family to support my desires to know more about everything. So please forgive this long story in advance. I wanted to share with you more about me, so my readers can understand my drive. This will be a three-part series blog.

Elementary School

Despite moving all over Prince Georges (P.G.: Pretty Ghetto/Plead Guilty county – just some of the nicknames) and Charles County in Maryland, I always came back to Brandywine Elementary School. This is where I would be challenged by the same group of kids through 6th grade. There were about ten of us who were picked to be in the “talented and gifted” group of classes. This was before the “Tag” program sent you away to a special school. I wrote reports on Halley’s Comet, Hurricanes and Tornadoes: What to do When They Find You (after a visit from NBC4 Weatherman Bob Ryan). We dissected a grasshopper in 3rd grade. I remember one day in 3rd, January 28, 1986, I refused to do my homework based on some logical argument in my head, so my teacher decided my punishment would be to go to her husband’s 5th grade class and complete my assignment there. Instead of being embarrassed for being called out to an older kids class, I was actually able to witness the Challenger explosion on live TV. I wouldn’t have seen it if I had not been so stubborn.

Alicia (left) and Andrea (80s on the bottom, 90s on top)

In part of 4th – part of 6th, I went to J.C. Parks in Waldorf where I joined a statistics and analysis math class and participated in Olympics of the Mind (before the PC name change). I remember our thesis was on Cro-Magnon Man. All through school I was involved extracurricular in music and theater. I was in the “King and I” and “Brigadoon” at Charles County Community College, while my Father and Aunt always had leading roles. In school I performed hand bells, chorus — as a soloist, band (flute and Suzuki-method violin), as well as the lead in the “Pied Piper” musical which we performed on the White House ellipse for President Reagan. I did play the flute live. All the while, my father would take us to concerts to meet the A-list musicians of the 80s, like Tina Turner, who I was for Halloween one year.

I also remember somehow even though my parents didn’t make a lot of money, we had Intellivision, Atari, and a Texas Instruments computer. That was a black and green screen kids. No color. I learned to write my first codes for programming my own games. It was tedious hours of coding, but I remember it was fun when the results came out.

Middle School

Middle School was weird, because I started it in 6th grade for about a month in Waldorf, but moved back yet again to Brandywine elementary during my parents divorce. I was upset about coming back to PG county where 6th grade was still elementary. I was already accustomed to having my own locker. But returning meant being back with my old friends from kindergarten through 4th again. I remember my 6th grade teacher told my mother as I was at the top of my class, that I could accomplish anything I put my mind to and it was a good thing I hadn’t discovered boys yet.

I graduated elementary for the second time with the Presidential Academic Fitness Award. I then moved to Columbia, Maryland (a new place for the new family – Howard County) for the rest of Middle School (Oakland Mills) and part of HS. I continued in acting and singing, and a even soloist again. I remember winning the school’s talent show with my father’s arrangement of John Lennon’s “Imagine”.

I still played in the band, but switched from flute to percussion where I really enjoyed the Tympani. I think this switch to the rhythm section lay the ground work as I was discovering industrial and electronic music embracing New Order, Depeche Mode, and KMFDM. This was a time of adjustment as our family went from three kids to six to eight kids in just a few years.

…Coming next, The High School Years…

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