Throughout the history of the Internet, we’ve seen an explosion of new, relatively frictionless communication channels, broad access to the means of media production, and a blurring of the distinctions between professional and personal media. We’ve seen an ascendance of many-to-many communications resulting in “out of control” communications, flatter hierarchies, and the emergence of new, agile forms of social and political organization. The rise of networked communications and the appearance of robust platforms for social networking has been accompanied by an increasing tendency for groups to self-organize — and the proliferation of entities referred to as leaderless or “headless” organizations. In May’s SMC presentation, we’ll consider how these headless organizations have evolved, discuss some examples, and talk about challenges, limits, and potential future developments.

Jon and David are principals of Social Web Strategies, an Austin business consulting company that focuses on the social web and its impact on business transformation.

Pizza and soft drinks served at 6:00 p.m. Program begins at 6:30. The meeting is free, but we ask you to register because space is limited.

Special thanks to Joshua Baer and Datran Media for sponsoring this month’s meeting.

If you blog for a business, or blogging is your business, or if you just want to hang out with a great bunch of bloggers, then make plans to join the group for dinner on Monday night, June 4, at Guero’s Taco Bar on South Congress.

Format:

5:30-5:45 gather for conversation in the bar area
At 5:45, transition to the dining room and continue the conversation

Note: Please bring cash to settle your bill. The restaurant does not do separate checks for large groups.

Glenn Ross, who blogs for the American Cancer Society’s Central Texas Relay for Life, said: “We’d like to discuss the future of this group and how members can benefit from attending [besides the beer ]. One idea that has been proposed is to become a special interest group (SIG) of the Austin Social Media Club. Other ideas consist of breaking up into smaller roundtables and discussing various topics.”

Every now and then, you need to get out from beind the computer and meet some like-minded folks. Monday night’s meetup of the Austin Business Bloggers is a great opportunity for that.

• Kevin Dill, president of Austin-based Press Release News Network
• Omar Gallaga, tech journalist and blogger for the Austin American-Statesman
• Clint Howell, account executive for BusinessWire, Austin/San Antonio
• Michael Pranikoff, director of emerging media for PRNewswire, Washington, D.C.

Thursday, May 17, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
ZACH | Zachary Scott Theatre Center

For more details on the panelists, click here.

To go straight to the registration page, click here.

Please note: we anticipate this event will be a sell-out, so please reserve your space as quickly as possible. The $5 registration fee helps to cover the cost of renting the venue.

“As a non-profit,” David said, “it’s usually very hard to find technical people like this.”

Been there, done that — so I know exactly what he means. Let’s help David out, okay? Here’s the job description. Pass it along to your connections who might know a qualified candidate.

Afterward, we divided into small groups and used what we learned from John’s presentation to craft a social media strategy for ten fictional dotcoms.

A number of very creative ideas emerged from the group reports.

Ideals to Spark Ideas handout (PDF)
10 Fictional Dotcoms (PDF).

To point out the serious nature of popular tech blogger Kathy Sierra’s online death threats and violent sexual harrassment, many blogs are taking an anti-cyberbullying stance today. Count me among the group.

While I do not have a formal comment policy on any of my blogs, I would not hesitate to delete any comment I feel crosses the line, either legally or ethically.

Where that invisible ethical line is drawn is an individual decision; but I strongly believe we have a responsibility to our readers to make our corner of cyberspace a welcoming, safe place where freedom of speech is celebrated, open debate is encouraged—and cyberbullying is not tolerated.

Add VON07 as a Twitter friend for updates. Also check these blogs for info and video uploads: Jeff Pulver of Pulver Media; Chris Brogan of Network2.tv; and Jim Long of Verge New Media.

Space won’t be an issue this time, but don’t wait until the last minute to register. In order to prepare for the meeting, we need advance notice of how many are coming.

Please note that we’ve added a minimal cost — just $5 — to help defray the costs of the meeting. Register and pay online here.

Don’t miss John Moore’s fast-paced presentation on Seven Ideals that Spark Ideas. Come prepared to put on your thinking caps — we’ll break into small groups for brainstorming after the Marketing Medic challenges us to come up with new ideas to get word-of-mouth buzz going about you, your product, or your company.