The goal of the 2010 WIRe conference is to propel the Intelligence Community (IC) beyond the static use of tools toward a more dynamic point of cultural transformation and repurposing of the ways that we utilize online intelligence. As we investigate the differences between how the IC and the rest of the world use social media, we will pinpoint best practices across the social networking spectrum and examine how constantly evolving Web and social media tools impact the intelligence mission.

Who Should Attend:
The 2010 WIRe conference will foster networking opportunities for members of the IC, Department of Defence (DoD), military, and academic communities, as well as Government contracting and industry representatives.

This event is completely unclassified.

Just announced: WIReCamp — a networking & open brainstorming session during the WIRe conference next week! Bring your fresh ideas 4 #gov20

This moderated networking event will take place during the conference between 12-5pm each day. I am looking forward to moderating the event. Hope you can come with your ideas.

I will be attending this event, always moving forward in making Government more efficient and less redundant.

I am also looking forward to seeing Dion Hinchcliffe and Marcia Conner speak as well as the progress for the Apps for the Army and IDEO presentations.

If you are in the United States Government, Contractor, or state or local… DHS included, please think about registering and attending. Its not too late.

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This is a very personal post and because I believe in transparency, I would like to share the following…

I have been anxious to get back to blogging, public speaking, and writing for some time. But as some of you might know if you follow my personal and semi-professional twitter feeds, that I have been dealing with a multitude of personal crisis which have for the moment subsided. This absence is the reason I was unable to attend Gov 2.0 Camp in LA, which I was really looking forward to attending.

In mid-December 2009, I decided to finally put my health first and get a Gastric Bypass (RNY). I have been struggling with weight issues since my honorable discharge from the Army in 1998. I am a disabled American Veteran and I had suffered multiple injuries while in service. As such, these injuries and the medicine to help me cope contributed to a weight gain I was unfamiliar with. I spent 2/3 of my life being mostly underweight. Encouraged by family to eat more — I was never a big eater.

In 2008, I learned I had developed Osteo-Arthritis in both of my knees not only as a result from carrying too much weight, but as a result of how physical I once was before all the injuries. My damage from the injuries were common for a woman who had been a runner/basketball player, as I was both before and after high school. In early 2009, I had learned I had multiple esophageal ulcers, a hernia, and GERD. All of which my doctors attributed to stress. Not to mention adding to the problems of comorbidity. I decided this was my final straw and the weight had to come off.

I started looking into Weight Loss Surgery in 2007. But all the surgeries seemed too severe. I tried again weight watchers and other online monitoring tools. I would lose some, but it always came back. In Spring 2009, I started seeing a professional nutritionist in McLean, whom I have recommended to others. She put me on the right track and got me ready for surgery.

Many of my friends have been asking me questions of my progress and asking for pictures. I promise you that is coming. I am planning a public reveal at the WIRe Conference next week at the Gaylord National on February 24-25. As of this post I am 43lbs lost at day 63 of recovery. I have already been fitting and wearing clothes I bought myself and never had a chance to wear.

In other news, my family has recently gone through a very sad loss. My Aunt Claudia Romeo, who was also my Godmother and very close to my heart passed away on February 7, 2010 after being summoned by the Angels to end her battle with Acute myeloid leukemia (AML). She was a careerist in the Foreign Service of the US State Department. Two weeks before her death, we were told that she would not be with us much longer and so during the first of the two snow storms, we were able to say our last goodbyes and tell her how much we loved her. The service for her memory was held this past Valentine’s Day at our family Church, Oxon Hill Lutheran. So please take a moment to kiss and hug your loved ones. They can never hear this enough.

All in all, you can tell that I have had a trying two months mentally, emotionally, and physically. I have been battling personal depression and weakness when it comes to dealing with my recovery and the loss of someone so close. Luckily, friends and colleagues have been so supportive in this time of confusion for me. I am also lucky that last year I met someone special in my life that finally can be a partner to me rather than just a boyfriend. So Joe Higgs, you have been a rock, a nurse, and a HUGE help when it comes to making life a little easier.

And back to my weight loss adventure and new life, an even MORE public reveal will be this year at SxSW in Austin, TX. I may not be able to indulge in the drinking and the BBQ (maybe just a taste), but I will be able to participate in many sessions and reconnect with the online relationships I have been fostering for years. So if you happen to be in Austin for Geek Spring Break as well, please come find me — I know it might be harder to spot me, since there is less of me to go around

I am now back to work full time (if snow days allow for it) and I am focused on a real busy spring in public appearances, writing, and working with my wonderful customers. So my sincerest apologies, if you have called, emailed or tweeted looking for me in the past two months. I look forward to renewing our connections.

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You can send your resume to me (abaker at navstar-inc.com). All new job postings are listed on our website. I am also pleased to announce that starting this new year, we offer health, dental, and vision coverage for domestic partnerships.

Navstar, Inc Job Order #1327

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Since I am the Vice President of Social Media Club – DC, I thought it fitting I post my most recent findings in a blog post.

I have no knowledge of these positions other than I have found them on various sites. Please do not email me to apply. I am not responsible for expired links or job posting.  However, if I happen to know you in real life and have worked with you in some capacity, I will be happy to provide a reference.

• Social Media Coordinator

• Social Media Manager

• Social Media and Community Outreach Manager

• Social Media Manager at Rosetta Stone

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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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I have been blogging in some shape or form since 1999. I started blogging about concerts I attended and the occasional hi-jinks that ensued with my work as a music promoter. Over the years, I have transitioned to community management and supporting the Federal Government with Enterprise 2.0 best practices. Part of being a good community manager is to have a voice that can be heard above the rest of the noise of discussion in regards to presenting policy and guidelines, as well as mitigating wiki edit wars.

As such, I leverage my blog internally in my company and with the customers I support to organize the chaos. Blogs are an effective way to place a conversation or announcement you would normally send to a large email recipient list and can prevent those long chains of “reply all”.

This workshop is a follow-up to my previous talk at the last Potomac Forum I spoke at in August 2009, Hints for Communicating in Social Media.

To see the steps I have covered in my talk, please check out the wiki on GovCollab.

Blogs I contribute to on the open internet aside from this one:

• navstar-inc.com/blog – @navstar
• smcdc.wordpress.com – @smcdc
• Capital Beltway – @thebeltway

I am also a guest blogger for ZDNet and Social Computing Journal on topics of Enterprise 2.0 and Government 2.0. Occasionally, I am also asked to guest post on blogs, which I consider an honor and will link on my website. If you would like me to be a guest blogger on your site you can contact me via twitter (@immunity) to connect for more details.

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During my talk, I will be asking the following questions to those in the audience to think about:

• What is your mission?
• Who is your target audience?
• How do you communicate now?
• What social media tools are right for you?

What is the Difference in all this 2.0 Stuff?

Internal vs. External Communication

Excusing my crappy excuse for drawing on a flipchart, you can see from my “illustration” above what the difference with all the buzzwords that are floating around. This is the main focus of my talk that I give when talking to people who are interested in knowing more, have heard the buzz and think they need “Facebook” or “Twitter” as their answer. But it may not be that simple. I previously discussed this back in April on a guest post on ZDNet, “You Were Never 1.0, but Get Ready for Enterprise 2.0“. Fortunately what I wrote then still holds true months later.

My aim is to prepare organizations, be it business or Government to make a knowledgeable transition into effective communication and workflow using Software as a Service or other Web 2.0 applications in an Enterprise manner. While there is much good being done by Social Media/Web evangelists — myself included, those intrigued should not get caught in the glamour and glitz of something new for new sake, but strategically plan around what the problem is that an organization is trying to solve. The “Jeopardy Method”, of giving the answer then ask the question/dilemma seems to be how things are getting done now. When the case should be — the question/dilemma is “Our Organization is Having a Problem Communicating externally, internally, capturing workflow, answering requests for information, etc… and we need to fix that by?” Identifying the problems, in detail before you have a solution in mind will help you choose the right tool for the job.

Sounds a little old school right? It should — using social media is just a new way of doing old business. Now project costs are lower because the software is not dependent of End User Licenses and pricey volume purchases. Now, you can find the best fit to solve the problem and then customize it yourself, or with a company that specializes in customization of known solution like Mantech and Jive’s software. For example, Jive Software develops and provides the software  platform that Mantech customizes and supports onsite for their customers. The result, “A-Space”, a social networking and productivity site for the US Intelligence Community.

So I am sorry for the late night post, but I was just told tonight that C-Span will be recording and covering live the conference at the Reagan Building, I am a little nervous and definitely will be coloring my hair tonight. After my presentation, I will publish my slides (which I normally don’t do slides), for review. Addtionally, I will add, I do have a finished White Paper on “Enterprise 2.0 for Government” available by request.

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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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