Special thanks to Kiar Olson, the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and Nicolet Bank for the invitation and sponsorship. I also want to thank the attendees for their great questions and super-active tweet-stream during my presentation.

My favorite tweet from this morning:

@myklroventine you don’t need a meat dress to have an online community! #smrock3

— Nicole Virant (@NVirant) May 22, 2013

Photos and video to come as I track them down. Hopefully they aren’t as, um… intense as this shot by Pamela Muldoon (who also made the journey from the Twin Cities). Slides below (although it’s not quite the same without the Van Halen into and lighting effects at the beginning).

Planning for the Encore: Building An Online Community That Begs For More
Social media is an invaluable tool for creating brand-centric online communities. Utilization of core engagement principles can be translated across multiple platforms. Recognizing, nurturing and engaging your members will open channels of authentic conversation that will amp up the volume of online communities of any size. By structuring your social media strategy with your eye on the encore, you’ll bring down the house by leveraging your online reach into real-life customer conversions.

It was definitely a life-affirming experience and had been on my bucket list for some time now. The tie-in with such a worthy cause was a great motivator.

Over 5 million people in Haiti lack access to clean and safe drinking water. The funds raised by my team will not only help build a well in Haiti, but teach the people in the communities where wells are drilled how to manage the wells themselves and how to maintain a community fund to repair and maintain them. This is not about relief but about supporting sustainable development and change.

My team, The Disco Dunkers (hence my leisure suit), raised over $8k! I’d like to thank all of my generous donors for helping me raise $311 of that total. I’m not sure if I’ll do it again, but I feel lucky to have been a part of such an amazing group of dedicated and passionate people.

Relive the experience through photos and video below…

Video

The official video of my jump (Courtesy of my jump buddy Erica Hanna & videographer Teresa Hanna)

We made the news too!

Shorter segment (Starts at 7:49) on a different network.

Photos

Check out more photos on Facebook

The Disco Dunkers! We raised more than any other team and also claimed the title for top individual male and female fundraisers.

With Erica, my jump buddy

No matter which camp you’re in I invite you to sit back, grab a cup of eggnog and enjoy. Happy holidays!


Christmas Presence 12
Warm & Cozy Holiday Tunes
Listen (via OpenTape) | Listen (via Spotify) | Download

1. Jingle Bells (feat. The Puppini Sisters) – Michael Bublé
2. Mistletoe – Colbie Caillat
3. The Christmas Waltz – Frank Sinatra
4. Let It Snow (Acoustic) – Christina Perri *
5. Wonderful Christmastime – The Shins
6. Sleigh Ride – Karmin *
7. Last Christmas – Glee Cast
8. Up on the Housetop – The Jackson 5
9. White Christmas – Corporal Blossom *
10. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear – Norah Jones *
11. Feliz Navidad – Brie Stoner *
12. Angels We Have Heard On High – Indigo Girls
13. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer – Ray Charles
14. I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm – Billie Holiday
15. Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Rufus Wainwright featuring Sharon Van Etten *
16. I’ll Be Home For Christmas – She & Him

* Not available on Spotify
Background by Calsidyrose on Flickr

Holidazed & Confused 11
The Other Side of Christmas
Listen (via OpenTape) | Download

1. Hanging From The Christmas Tree – Favours For Sailors
2. Welcome Christmas (Grinch Metal) – Robot Zombie Army
3. Drinking Up Christmas – Dwarves
4. Christmas Eve – Firefox AK & Tiger Lou
5. Jingle Bells Christmas Dubstep – StereoKillaz
6. Riders On The Sugar Plum (Sugar Plum Fairy vs The Doors vs Maroon 5) – DJ McFLY
7. All Alone On Christmas – Self Against City
8. Disco Santa (Santa Claus / N.O.E.L.) – Holiday Express
9. Bells, Bells, Bells – Star Wars Christmas
10. Super Sleigh Ride (Beastie Boys vs. “Sleigh Ride”) – DJ Whoquestion
11. Carol of the Belmonts – Doctor Octoroc
12. Boxing Day – Blink-182
13. Last Christmas (Live on Radio 1′s Live Lounge) – The xx
14. Candy Cane Children – The White Stripes
15. All I Want For Xmas (is Cindy Brady) – Joe Algeri & Friends
16. Don’t Believe In X-Mas – Trailer Trash
17. Sister Christmas (Night Ranger vs. The Temptations) – lobsterdust

All copyrights to respective writers, publishers, etc. Used without permission.

You might also enjoy: 2011 mixes | 2010 mixes | 2009 mixes | 2008 mixes

Amber Carter(@ambercolorlife), blogger at An Amber-Colored Life , SMBMSP#52 panelist and the author of the new book(s) All the Things You Never Knew and Certain Things You Ought to Know.

Also, we share our geek gift ideas. Not to be missed!

Click the link below to listen…

Listen and download past episodes at smbmsp.org.

It’s Give to the Max Day! Thousands of Minnesota nonprofits and schools will come together today to raise millions of dollars online in just 24 hours. Your support can go even further as many have obtained special matching funds and every donation you make gives your favorite nonprofit or school the chance to win even more money from GiveMN.

Here are the groups I’m proudly supporting and why. Please consider making a donation to any or all of them in any amount (although donations for $10 or more will be eligible to win through GiveMN incentives). The clock is ticking, don’t wait. Thank you!

Cheerful Givers
Cheerful Givers provides toy-filled birthday gift bags to food shelves and shelters so that parents living in poverty can give their child a birthday gift. They’ve made 567,386 birthdays happier since 1994. I’ve been lucky enough to be a board member for many years and seen their impact firsthand. But it’s not hard to imagine how it would feel to be a child without a present on your birthday. Cheerful Givers distributes their gift bags to area food shelves so they get to the families and kids who need them most. Each $10 donated provides a toy-filled birthday gift bag for one child on their special day.

Cheerful Givers GTMD donation page »

Camp Odayin
Camp Odayin provides a residential camping experience for you people with heart disease, where campers discover outdoor, athletic, and creative activities in a safe and medically-supervised environment. My daughter (who was born with a severe heart defect) has been a camper for the last few years and it has quite simply changed her life. The opportunity to be around other children with “special hearts” has done much to help her understand her own heart defect and shaped her sense of self. Donations not only help support Camp Odayin’s activities (residential camp, day camp, winter camp and family camp) but subsidize the costs for campers ensuring that financial constraints will not be not a factor for kids across the country who can benefit from this experience.

Camp Odayin GTMD donation page »

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. Fulfilling a child’s wish provides a joyful and meaningful experience that benefits both the child and the family. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota has granted more than 3,000 wishes. My daughter’s wish to go to Disney World this past summer was one of them. The local chapters of Make-A-Wish are crucial to their ability to function nationally. They provide much of the funds to offset costs of local children’s wishes and helped to make our trip truly unforgettable.

Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota GTMD donation page »

The Madison Claire Foundation
The Mission of the Madison Claire Foundation is to enhance the lives of children and families living with physical and developmental disabilities by giving them the opportunity to play alongside all others through the building of universal playgrounds. A key project of the foundation is to build Madison’s Place – a universal accessible playground where children of all physical and developmental abilities can play together to foster friendships, acceptance and understanding. I was recently honored to be named a social media ambassador for the foundation. I couldn’t agree more with their premise that playgrounds should be for everyone.

Madison Claire Foundation GTMD Donation Page »

Who are you supporting today? Feel free to share in the comments.

Rick Mahn (@rickmahn), Senior IT Architect – Deployment Technologies and founder of Social Media Breakfast – Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Bryan Person (@bryanperson), Director of Customer Success at Lithium Technologies and founder of Social Media Breakfast.

Click the link below to listen…

Listen and download past episodes at smbmsp.org.

I’m releasing them into the Public Domain. They are free to use or share any darn way you like. And if you haven’t yet, get out and vote!

Right-click (PC) or control-click (Mac) to grab the image.

Profile Pictures/Avatars

Cover Photos 

If you haven’t heard, it’s Movember. Thousands of men in US and around the world will grow moustaches (or Mo’s) this month to raise funds and awareness for men’s health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives.

I believe that men need to be more proactive when it comes to our health so I’m taking the plunge this year and attempting to grow my own Mo. I’ll be posting daily photos of my progress on my Mo Space page. While you’re there please consider making a donation in any amount. Thank you!

Rick Mahn (@rickmahn), Senior IT Architect – Deployment Technologies and founder of Social Media Breakfast – Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Bryan Person (@bryanperson), Director of Customer Success at Lithium Technologies and founder of Social Media Breakfast.

Click the link below to listen…

Listen and download past episodes at smbmsp.org.