Social Fresh Charlotte was August 24th and was a huge success. Thanks to all who made it happen.

We had dozens of blog posts, hundreds of photos, thousands of tweets (5,000 the day of alone) and plenty of traditional print and TV press. Moreover, the attendee and sponsor feedback was tremendous. More than we could have asked for. Take a look at the day of schedule, speakers, and all the recap links below.

Want to speak at future Social Fresh events across the country? Add yourself to our sofresh speaker database.

Schedule

Charlotte Speakers

David Armano is part of the founding team at Dachis Corporation, an Austin based start-up delivering social business design services. He is both an active practitioner and thinker in the worlds of digital marketing, experience design, and the social web. Author of the popular Logic + Emotion blog, he has been invited to speak at events hosted by organizations such as Google, Microsoft, O’Reilly and Ad Age.Prior to joining Dachis Corp, David worked in the digital agency space for over 10 years with clients such as P&G, HP, WW Grainger, Allstate, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Fifth Third Bank. His work on Grainger helped the company earn the reputation of best commerce site according to BtoB magazine and his leadership on HP resulted in a Webaward.He also writes industry perspectives for Ad Age, BusinessWeek and is best known for his distinct brand of visual thinking, which can be found both on the Web and in presentations all over the world. David studied visual communications/computer graphics and graduated from Pratt Institute, where he was able to study under some of the brightest minds in the industry.

As an ambassador of email marketing and new media, Greg Cangialosi has built a reputation as a pioneer in today’s online landscape. He is a seasoned e-mail marketing veteran, developing and executing successful strategies for a wide and diverse client base. His organization supports the email marketing for brands of national and international scope, from leading Fortune 500 companies to performing artists such as U2 and Justin Timberlake. In addition to a focus in email marketing, he has also pioneered new media initiatives for companies including Verizon Wireless, GM/Pontiac, and Disney. Greg is a seasoned lecturer on the topic of email marketing and social media, and is also the lead author of “The Business Podcasting Book,” a primer on new media for marketers. Web – www.blueskyfactory.com / Blog – blog.blueskyfactory.com.

Keith Burtis stretches his social media skills as community manager for @BestBuyRemix. Best Buy Remix is an Open API Project for BestBuy.com. He is in charge of community building, blogger outreach, relations, and internal communications. Keith has been involved online, and in online marketing in one way shape or form for nearly ten years.

Jim Deitzel is Manager, eMarketing, Brand Communications for the Rubbermaid brand, @rubbermaid, blog.rubbermaid.com. During his six years with the company, Jim has been responsible for online marketing, website management as well as acting as chief blogger and strategist for Rubbermaid. Prior to joining Rubbermaid, he was marketing communication manager for Soft Play, and he has managed a graphics production department for a nationwide publishing company. Jim holds a BS in Communications from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1991. When not online, Jim is backpacking, camping or skiing with his family.

Olivier Blanchard is a Brand Strategist with 15 years of marketing management experience across a variety of B2B and B2C industries, from manufacturing and distribution to new media and consumer goods. He currently manages BrandBuilder Marketing, a brand consulting and marketing management firm based in Greenville, SC that helps companies combine traditional and new/social media to achieve their brand-development objectives. Olivier sits on SmartBrief’s Social Media Advisory Board and is currently developing a best practices framework for calculating real-world Social Media R.O.I.

Wayne Sutton is an independent new media strategist and speaks across the country at social media and technology events. For more than four years, he has provided counsel to business leaders ranging from founders of small start-ups and representatives of non-profit organizations to CEOs of large and small corporations. Wayne is an evangelists on social media strategy, Web apps, blogs and new ways to use mobile technology as both a marketing and a sales tool.

Laurie Smithwick appears, by all measures, to be hell-bent on living an over committed life. She co-runs, with her husband, the award-winning graphic and web design firm, LEAP Design. And in 1507 she joined two friends she met online to start Kirtsy.com, a user-generated content aggregator for online news (also known, colloquially, as “Digg for Chicks”). Today, Kirtsy is a thriving community and a profitable company. This summer Kirtsy is launching a nationwide “Hands-On…” campaign to educate women about social media. As a metaphor and also in real life, Laurie likes jumping into cold water without feeling it first. She does not like to brag. Nonetheless she is very proud of having been nominated for a Grammy award in 1998. She didn’t win, but she got to wear an awesome purple velvet dress that made her feel real fancy.

Chris Harrington is developed and implemented the @VoteWoz Twitter campaign, a grassroots effort to organize people through social media to vote for Steve Wozniak on the Dancing for the Stars competition. The @VoteWoz campaign was a huge PR success, gaining national press in the USA Today and other publications. The @VoteWoz Twitter account accumulated over 160,000 followers in a few short months. Chris is also the Technical Director of advertising and PR agency Luquire George Andrews in Charlotte, NC.

Mike Rundle is the creator of Beak, an innovative new Twitter desktop app exclusively for the Mac. Mike is a designer and developer living in Raleigh, NC. He designed his first website in 1996, and got paid for his first website in 1502. Since then he has worked on a number of great projects, started the award winning blog network 9rules, and is currently a UI Engineer at Bronto Software.

Gia Lyons has been developing, providing consulting services for, or selling socio-collaborative solutions since 1996. She spent four years as a collaborative application instructor and developer, another eight years as a socio-collaborative technical specialist and evangelist, serving large organizations in the U.S. Midwest. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Communication from the University of Tulsa. Gia joined Jive Software in June 2008 as a strategic consultant and co-community manager for their social media business community, Clearstep. She works with Fortune 1000 companies in their efforts to implement and grow social media, both inside and outside the corporate firewall. She enjoys connecting her clients to one another in sort of a Customer Reference 2.0 way. She also makes a habit of turning her clients into friends via Twitter, Facebook, GTalk, and the occasional happy hour.

Jeffrey L. Cohen is a B2B marketing and social media strategist. Jeff has more than 15 years experience in business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing (B2C), on both the client and agency sides. He is a contributing editor at SocialMediaB2B.com, where he blogs about social media in a B2B environment, citing current examples from large and small companies and providing advice for those looking to start B2B social media campaigns. He is also a photographer and blogger who blogs about social media, marketing, photography and his kids at DigitalPapercuts.com. His latest project is an online video show with Kipp Bodnar focused on North Carolina Wine, NorthCarolinaWine.TV, where they are using video and other social media tools to built out a large digital footprint and create a recognized online brand from scratch.

Kathleen Hessert – After nearly a decade as an award-winning television anchor, reporter and talk show host, Kathleen Hessert changed competitive arenas. She started Sports Media Challenge, a nationally renowned speaking, training, and consulting firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hessert’s social media expertise gained international acclaim with the launch of client Shaquille O’Neal on Twitter. Her strategies resulted in Shaq’s gaining nearly 1 million Twitter followers with a reach of close to 12 million globally. Sports Media Challenge has also entered into a partnership with ESPN to create a daily feature called “BlogBuzz” on their premiere show “SportsCenter.” BlogBuzz powered by Buzz Manager™ is the first such feature to showcase the voice of fans through blogs. Clients have included Madison Square Garden properties, the Texas Rangers, the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers, The PGA Tour, Super Bowl MVPs Peyton and Eli Manning, and NASCAR’s Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon.

David B. Thomas is Social Media Manager at SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services. Dave started his career in 1989 as a reporter and photographer for The Chapel Hill News in Chapel Hill, N.C. Since then he has worked in marketing communications for a variety of companies and clients, mostly in technology. Before coming to SAS in 2007, he worked for Yep Roc, a leading independent record label, where he directed web and social media marketing and launched the web store. Dave has been actively involved in social media since 1994 when he joined his first Internet forum, and began blogging in 2002 when he wrote the daily update for the Iceland Airwaves music festival. Dave’s first job at SAS was in the Corporate Public Relations group, where he assisted journalists who wanted to learn more about SAS’ work/life balance, award-winning employee benefits and sustainability activities. He also oversaw the Fortune 100 Best Companies award application process. Born in New Jersey, Dave came to North Carolina as quick as he could, and graduated from Guilford College in Greensboro with a degree in English.

Nathan Gilliatt is the principal of Social Target, a research and consulting firm focused on helping companies establish social media intelligence capabilities and management practices. Nathan is a recognized expert in the social media analysis market and the author of the Guide to Social Media Analysis, the worldwide buyer’s guide to tools and services for listening to social media. Nathan specializes in making connections across functional boundaries, taking advantage of a background that includes both technology and business management roles in research, education and corporate environments. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Nathan also holds an M.A. in communications management from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California.

Kipp Bodnar is Social Media Marketing Manager at Howard Merrell & Partners, a full service marketing and advertising firm in Raleigh, NC. During his career Kipp has successfully developed and implemented social media campaigns and plans for clients in business-to-business and business-to-consumer industries. In addition to his work at the agency, he is the publisher of SocialMediaB2B.com, a multi-author blog dedicated to providing examples and thought leadership for B2B companies planning to incorporate social media into their marketing strategy. Kipp also blogs on technology and social media at his personal blog DigitalCapitalism.com. He also co-hosts TalkSocialNews.com a daily video podcast on social media with Wayne Sutton.

Alexander Barbara is the founder of EasyTweets, a powerful web-based marketing and reputation monitoring tool for Twitter. Alexander is a life-long computer enthusiast who has been living and breathing internet marketing for the past five years. His diverse technical background includes software development, industrial engineering, advanced mathematics, driving submarines, and operating a nuclear power plant.

Spike Jones – After graduating from Baylor University with degrees in Environmental Studies and Journalism, Spike Jones traveled the country and before landing in the Southeast at Brains on Fire, a word of mouth and naming identity company. He began his career there as a copywriter, crafting compelling stories for such clients ranging from BMW Manufacturing to Dagger Kayaks. And while he still enjoys story-building, his purpose now is to embrace the kindred spirits that approach Brains on Fire looking for identity and word of mouth help. In addition, his responsibilities include creative and strategic input in building remarkable experiences that marry a company’s identity with word of mouth tools and techniques. Two recent projects for Rage Against the Haze, South Carolina’s youth-led anti-tobacco use movement and Fiskars Brands have received international recognition for their innovative approach in embracing the power of word of mouth.

Adam Covati is the creator of idek.net a url shortening service that provides marketing metrics. He also recently beta-launched pici.me, a twitter photo booth for events. He has been building and managing websites for over ten years and thinks he has this internet thing pretty much figured out. For the last 5 years, he has been working on marketing software for both the online and offline world. Adam lives in Durham and spends his days as a Product Manager at Bronto Software.

Ryan Boyles – As the community manager for IBM’s Project Zero, Ryan is immersed in the intersecting worlds of Agile software development, social media evangelism, web application developers and open communities. Project Zero is the community driving innovation of IBM WebSphere sMash, through continuous feedback and transparent development. Ryan is one of the founding organizers of Triangle Tweetup and most recently organized the Raleigh Twestival to benefit Charity:Water. Clearly obsessed with mobile and declarative living, Ryan may or may not be creating his own web reality TV series anytime soon.

David Shauger is a workflow Solutionist focusing on integration of business communications using VoIP, CRM, CMS, DAM and Social Media tools. Based in Atlanta, GA, David has been Vice President of Sollos Technology Solutions since 1999 and offering his expertise to Atlanta businesses since 1989. David Shauger also works as an evangelist for Socialwok.com, an on-demand enterprise social platform for organizations to use rich media feeds to do group collaboration and social media marketing.

Tessa Horehled, Strategic Marketer at Drive A Faster Car LLC, specializes in educating companies on how to integrate social media into existing marketing strategies and advises on how to measure, optimize and build current social media efforts to increase value and develop strong relationships. Managing digital marketing and online communities since 2001, Tessa has worked with both large and small entertainment, retail, technology and non-profit clients and corporations.

Corvida Raven is the author of Shegeeks.net, Blog Editor of Mr. Tweet, and one of The Most Influential Women in Technology. Corvida has been a speaker at SXSW and Blogher. She has been blogging about technology for 5 years. Her passion is technology, the web, mobile, and social technology. She is also a Co-Founder of The SocialGeeks Roundtable Podcast, a popular industry podcast that features a roundtable of several savvy social media pros, including Wayne Sutton and Louis Gray.

Rick Burnes is Inbound Marketing Manager at HubSpot, a leader in marketing software for small- and medium-sized businesses. He is the editor of HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing Blog, which is consistently featured on the AdAge Power 150 top media marketing blogs. He also manages InboundMarketing.com, a site for marketing news, jobs and conversation. In addition to this work, Rick develops videos, research, case studies and webinars on new approaches to online marketing.Prior to HubSpot, Rick was co-founder of Faneuil Media, a startup that provided inbound marketing solutions for local businesses. From 2001-2004 Rick worked at NYTimes.com, where he managed the launch of new sections, including search and theater. He started at The Times two months before 9/11 and spent his first year working on the Pulitzer-Prize-winning Nation Challenged section. He has also worked at Google, The Moscow Times and The New Bedford Standard Times.

Bert DuMars is Vice President E-Business and Interactive Marketing for Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL) a global marketer of consumer and commercial products that touch the lives of people where they work, live and play. Mr. DuMars is responsible for directing and coordinating eMarketing, eCommerce and Social Media Marketing initiatives for Newell Rubbermaid’s externally-facing online efforts. During his tenure at Newell Rubbermaid, Bert has launched several web properties including the Graco Baby Blog, Rubbermaid Blog, and the Sharpie Blog

Jason Silverstein leads Observer Interactive, the online division of The Charlotte Observer, and is accountable for overall performance and distribution of all company online initiatives. Since coming on board, he’s helped rebuild and redesign every single company online product. In its first year, the new CharlotteObserver.com won 2009 NCPA best website (its first ever in 11 years) and was one of three finalists for the EPpy best large newspaper site, finishing behind the much-larger WSJ.com. Observer content also has moved into various social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, and the company is developing FB apps, offsite widgets, and Kindle distribution.Prior to moving to Charlotte, Jason spent seven years in various roles at Yahoo!, working in the audio/video division on such properties/products as Music, Video, flickr and News.

Sarah Pinnix is author of Real Life, an energetic blog focusing on women and moms. She is Owner and Editor of High Country Mom Squad, an online magazine connecting Northwest NC moms with family news, events and busineses. She co-founded the “virtual fitness” website and community WiiMommies.com. Sarah is currently host of the interactive WebTV show “Get Real,” and co-host of the Wii Mommies internet radio show.Sarah is officially launching “Talk of the Town” social media workshops in Boone NC this September, and has worked with several brands, companies and tourist destinations on marketing campaigns and social media consulting. Her work includes campaigns with EA SPORTS Active fitness, Nintendo Personal Trainer Walking for the DS, Ocean Isle Inn Beach Resort, Little Debbie, Uprinting.com, Frito Lay/Subway, Broyhill Inn and Conference Center, Chick-Fil-A of Boone NC, River House Inn, small businesses, and non-profits.

Social Fresh Charlotte Recap: All the Juicy Details

Killer photos via @abellmas of Bellmas Photography

All the green shirts (volunteers) above did an amazing job helping the event run smoothly. Huge thanks to them.

Slides

• Social Business By Design – Keynote, David Armano
• Basics Of Social Media Roi – Olivier Blanchard
• Social Fresh prezo – Spike Jones
• Social Fresh Rubbermaid Presentation – Jim Deitzel
• A Digital Journey – Keith Burtis
• Employees are Social Media Marketers, Too! (they just don’t know it yet) – Gia Lyons

Blog Posts/ Press

• Business folks flock to learn about social media – Jeff Elder, the Charlotte Observer
• Social media are like sex – Jeff Elder, the Charlotte Observer
• Social Business Design @ Social Fresh – David Armano (keynote), Logic + Emotion
• The Social Photographer – Armando Bellmas
• Social Fresh, good friends, and the definitive Social Media ROI presentation – the Brand Builder
• Social Fresh recap and prezo – Spike Jones, Brains on Fire
• Social Fresh Notes and Presentations – Jason Peck, Take a Peck
• How do people share info online? – Corey Creed, The Jungle Map
• Social Fresh Wrap-up – Jeff Elder, @Charlotte
• Chocolate at Social Fresh Charlotte – Homemade Chocolate
• Some Great Social Media Links – Brett Banter
• Live from Social Fresh – Jeff Elder, @Charlotte
• I’m at Social Fresh in Charlotte – Gavin Baker
• Takeaways from Social Fresh – @curtmercadante of Merc Strategy Group
• Why Face to Face Always Wins – @DJwaldow of BlueSkyFactory.com
• Being Social IRL – personal lessons from #sofresh – @SmashADV

Video

“Marketers are screwed,” Spike Jones of innovative marketing firm Brains on Fire says at Charlotte social media conference Social Fresh. (via @JeffElder)

Mostly small interviews so far, the full presentations are coming soon.

Sessions

• Social Media B2B Panel at Social Fresh
• Social Media ROI by Olivier Blanchard [excerpt]

Other Videos

• Gia Lyons at Social Fresh Charlotte (August 2009) via @DJwaldow
• Walk through in Social Fresh lounge #sofresh via @TyDowning
  
• Interview with Blue Sky Factory CEO Greg Cangialosi via @BrandonUttley
• Interview with Mike Rundle via @BrandonUttley
• Social media guru David Armano on business via @JeffElder
• Interview with Laurie Smithwick of Kirtsy.com via @BrandonUttley

Photos

• Official #SoFresh Photos via Armando Bellmas
• Social Fresh social media conference via the Charlotte Observer
• Custom orange flavord truffles via the Secret Chocolatiers