It was great for those perky early birds, but it was also fun for the cannot-function-till-9 am crowd.

A lively group of about 35 people met on February 21st at the Rudy’s on Loop 360 South to enjoy social media breakfast tacos and conversation with Boston visitor Bryan Person (or @BryanPerson on Twitter.)

After a strange interlude of attacking landscape workers - how often does a speaker have to shout to be heard over mowers and weedwhackers in February?! - Bryan and the attendees exchanged ideas about teaching others the advantages of two-way Web communications.

A familiar lament heard from those who want to get started in social media: “I don’t know how to do it and I don’t have time to do it.”

It’s true that there is a bewildering list of tools for engaging in online conversations, and for many it seems easier to just ignore social media/Web 2.0 and dismiss it as a fad.

Here are some of the suggestions from Bryan and the breakfast group to help other evangelists:

1. Do not (do not!) start out talking about the technology. Talk about the purpose.
2. Figure out what you want to achieve, then find the online tools to move you (or your business/organization) in that direction.
3. Never count anyone out. Never assume that someone is “too old” or “too set in their ways” or “too clueless.”
4. Explain that the Internet has evolved from broadcast mode. It reflects back to us.
5. PR/advertisers: you cannot control your message or brand (you never could, really) but you can influence how you are perceived by how you interact with community. Don’t fear the heat.
6. People are conversing about your business. Wouldn’t you like to find out what they are saying?
7. Organizations may need an enormous cultural shift to use these tools to their best advantage. Worry about that shift before you worry about the technology.
8. For individuals who are intimidated by blogs, suggest that they look for blogs that are associated with publications or Web sites that they already know (mainstream magazines or newspapers, for example.)
9. Find out what a newcomer is passionate about offline, then help him or her find online content (blogs, forums, Twitter friends, videos) that matches that passion. It makes learning about the technology a lot more fun, and less intimidating.

Several breakfasters brought up the problem of information overload.

Bryan mentioned that he recently “wiped his RSS feeds” and started over, re-adding feeds only if he really wanted or needed their content. One person mentioned going on an “RSS diet.”

Suggestions included accepting that you can’t keep up with everything; we have to learn new ways of being social and absorbing information.

You can’t have lunch and dinner with everyone all the time. You can’t go up and down Sixth Street every night.

Be selective in your RSS feeds, don’t try to make every conference and be assured that you’ll catch many good links if you have a broad group of friends on Twitter.

Thanks very much to Bryan, and to all the folks who came out at 7:30 am to enjoy each other’s company and learn more about social media.