My friend Susan Getgood is speaking on Tuesday’s Blogging with Integrity webinar, and I encourage everyone who is interested in learning what is best practice in terms of blogger outreach to check it out.

Susan and I worked together many moons ago when the dot-com trend was bubbling up, but she’s since gone on to become a leading voice in the marketing and communications blogosphere.

She is  co-founder and managing director of Blog With Integrity.  She blogs at Marketing Roadmaps and her first book, Professional Blogging for Dummies (Wiley) will be published in July 2010.

Blogging with Integrity serves as an independent, informational resource for the blogging and business communities. It works with the US government, individuals and organisations to promote the principles of the Blog with Integrity pledge.

Joining Susan on the webinar is  David Wescott, VP, APCO Worldwide and member of Blog with Integrity Advisory Board and a panel of bloggers including, Beth Blecherman, Tech Mamas, Michelle Madhok, SHEfinds.com and Tim Hurst, ecopolitology.org.

The webinar takes place Tuesday 6 April , 2010,  17.00– 18:30 BST and is sponsored by the Council of Public Relations Firms.

It’s US $95 for Council of Public Relations Firms members (You can register through the Council). Or pay the general public rate of US $150. Either way, it’s an excellent investment in getting to grips with blogger relations.

Register at brandsandbloggers.eventbrite.com

The Blog with Integrity pledge

• By displaying the Blog with Integrity badge or signing the pledge, I assert that the trust of my readers and the blogging community is important to me.
• I treat others respectfully, attacking ideas and not people. I also welcome respectful disagreement with my own ideas.
• I believe in intellectual property rights, providing links, citing sources, and crediting inspiration where appropriate.
• I disclose my material relationships, policies and business practices. My readers will know the difference between editorial, advertorial, and advertising, should I choose to have it. If I do sponsored or paid posts, they are clearly marked.
• When collaborating with marketers and PR professionals, I handle myself professionally and abide by basic journalistic standards.
• I always present my honest opinions to the best of my ability.
• I own my words. Even if I occasionally have to eat them.

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More than a hundred people turned up at Jaks on Thursday night for the Isle of Man’s first ever Twestival which has so far raised £1577.62 for the charity Concern Worldwide. Donations on the night amounted to £788.62; Barclays Wealth will match this amount to make up the total.

The event was only one of about 200 that took place in cities around the world as part of Twestival Global 2010.  Almost $350,000 was raised on the right around the world, and funds are still coming in.

“The Isle of Man Twitterati turned up to support this important cause and we had a lot of fun in the meantime,” said Sherrilynne Starkie, Twestival Isle of Man committee member.  “The money we raised here will go directly to helping build a school in the third world.”

Twestival (or Twitter Festival) uses social media to bring people together offline to rally around the important cause of education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness. All of the local events are organised 100% by volunteers and 100% of all ticket sales and donations go direct to Concern Worldwide’s education projects.

Twestival Isle of Man saw people paying a fiver for a chance to live out their rock star fantasies and sing with the band.  Party favourites Red! put on a fun karaoke sing along with more than 30 songs on offer.  Solo artist Chris Flood’s performance set the scene for a fun night of music.

Two members of the band, bass-player Paul Nicholson and drummer Ben Watterson are Barclay’s Wealth analysts, making Twestival eligible for the banks employee matched fundraising scheme.

Stuart Nelson, head of Corporate for Barclays Wealth in the Isle of Man said: “We are delighted to be able to match the money raised at the Isle of Man Twestival to double the fund raising effort.  As an employer, Barclays Wealth is committed to supporting and nurturing the charitable work of our team members and I am pleased to see more employees taking the opportunity to help both local and international charities.”

Twestival Local 2010 takes place in September and will support an Isle of Man charity.  Charities interested in taking part are invited to contact the Twestival committee.

This means that for every £5 ticket sold, another £5 will be added to the total.  Not only is 100% of all ticket sales and donations going to support Concern Worldwide’s educational projects, that amount will be doubled!

“We’ve had lots of people sign up on Facebook to attend the night and many more are tweeting their intentions to come out on 25 March, but these numbers are not yet reflected in our online ticket sales,” said Sherrilynne Starkie, a member of the Isle of Man Twestival organising committee. “Please be sure to book soon to ensure the value of your ticket gets doubled as a donation.”

Twestival (or Twitter Festival) uses social media to bring people together offline to rally around the important cause of education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness. All of the local events are organised 100% by volunteers and 100% of all ticket sales and donations go direct to Concern Worldwide’s education projects.

IoM Twestival will take place at Jaks Bar & Steak House, a popular music venue in Douglas. The main event is going to be a performance and karaoke singalong with band Red. Audience members will be encouraged to tweet feedback on the singers’ performances in Manx!

Singer/songwriter Anna Goldsmith with also perform and the evening will include a silent auction, raffle and other fun, fundraising activities.

Twestival is raising money to help educate the 72 million children in the world who don’t have the opportunity to go to school through the charity Concern Worldwide.

One hundred per cent of Twestival funds will go to project costs. This includes material purchases (curriculum, desks, pencils) as well as project activities such as construction of schools; rehabilitation of classrooms; teacher/management training; PTAs; HIV/AIDS school clubs; water and sanitation in schools; health education in schools; education advocacy; vocational/life-skills training for youth, farmers and women; and curriculum development for secondary school/university. Money will not be used for things like administration, overhead, reporting oversight, etc.

On Thursday 25 March, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together for Twestival Global 2010, a fundraising campaign for child poverty charity Concern Worldwide, and the Isle of Man is joining in.

Twestival (or Twitter Festival) uses social media to bring people together offline to rally around the important cause of education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness. All of the local events are organised 100% by volunteers and 100% of all ticket sales and donations go direct to Concern Worldwide’s education projects.

IoM Twestival will take place at Jaks Bar & Steak House, a popular music venue in Douglas. The main event is going to be a performance and karaoke singalong with band Red. The evening will include a silent auction, raffle and other fun, fundraising activities.  Further details will be released as plans are finalised.

The first Twestival Global was held last year in 202 cities to support the charity Water.  More than 1,000 volunteers and 10,000 donors raised US $250k+, which resulted in more than 55 wells in Uganda, Ethiopia and India having a direct impact for over 17,000 people. It was a remarkable achievement by volunteers working under short timescales and utilising social media tools like Twitter to make it happen efficiently.

This year, the focus is on education and the 72 million children in the world who don’t have the opportunity to go to school. Concern Worldwide was selected by the Twestival global team and local organisers because of its comprehensive and well-respected approach to education.

One hundred per cent of Twestival funds will go to project costs. This includes material purchases (curriculum, desks, pencils) as well as project activities such as construction of schools; rehabilitation of classrooms; teacher/management training; PTAs; HIV/AIDS school clubs; water and sanitation in schools; health education in schools; education advocacy; vocational/life-skills training for youth, farmers and women; and curriculum development for secondary school/university. Money will not be used for things like administration, overhead, reporting oversight, etc.

Twestival Local will take place in September 2010 and will benefit an Isle of Man charity yet to be decided.

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This is a cross-post from out new site sherrilynnestarkie.com. Please reset your RSS to the new site!

The Isle of Man’s International Business School has asked to me to speak at a lunchtime CPD seminar on 19 February 2010.   I will cover the basics…

• What is social media – an overview of platforms
• How is it used – marketing, communications, innovation and HR
• What are the benefits – to an organisation? to an individual?
• How to get started – simple steps

It’s only £15 including lunch.  It starts at 12.30 and everyone will be away by 13.45.   For more information or to book click here.

Mark your calendar!  I’m running a ‘Getting to grips with social media’ workshop on 30 March 2010.  Last November’s event proved very popular. It was sold right out and I’ve had several enquiries about running another one.  Here’s the deal:

Getting to Grips with Social Media

Learn:

• how the social Internet is changing how humans and organisations communicate and interact.
• about the various social networks, tools and platforms
• about blogging and the democratisation of information
• policies and best practices in social media
• strategies and tips to get your organisation involved

Workshops  include case studies on  local, UK and international organisations.

Understand:

• where social media fits into your organisation
• what social networks can (and can’t) achieve
• the risks and benefits of the social Internet
• the art of online conversation

Leave with a good grounding in how the social Internet works, the tools of the trade, and some ideas on how to get started.

The workshop will be held  9.00 to 13.00, 30 March 2010 in Douglas, Isle of Man. The venue is to be confirmed.  The cost is £75 per person and includes coffee, tea and nibbles.  Becasue the workshops are interactive, space is limited so book early to  avoid disappointment.  Email workshops(at)sherrilynnestarkie.com or Twitter @sherrilynne.

Here’s a video from the Q&A at November’s workshop:

Sherrilynne Starkie, Chris Gledhill, CI Mark Payne

Thanks to the more than 50 people who came out last week to Super Third Thursday, this year’s first meeting of the Isle of Man Social media club.  Our speaker was CI Mark Payne of the West Midlands Police who is the driving force behind the use of social media in Britain’s police services.

“My top tip in terms of organisations engaging in social media is that it’s much better to ask forgiveness that to seek permission,” said CI Payne. “Social media are very intuitive and you’ve got to let go some of the control. Let your people talk. Trust them. And let people talk back to them.”

The West Midlands Police service is established on several social networks including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. In addition, CI Payne is a regular blogger.

The idea behind this is very simple.  CI Payne explained, “Police are often criticised for being difficult to get hold of, or not listening to what local people are saying. We try all kinds of ways to communicate with the public, meetings, newsletters, traditional media, talking to people we meet and anything else we can think of. There is clearly a huge amount of conversation taking place online and, where people are talking about policing or crime issues, we want to be part of the conversation.”

Super Third Thursday was sponsored by PDMS (disclosure) and the West Midlands police are a client of the web development company. Managing Director Chris Gledhill said, “Super Third Thursday was really fantastic. It showed the West Midlands police can engage with the public in a totally different way. ”

Here CI Payne fields questions from the crowd:

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Last night’s  Isle of Man JCC’s Property Outlook event was sold out. No wonder! Black Grace Cowley’s Nic Cooper and Tim Groves teamed up to deliver a comprehensive, state-of-the-market-presentation. It wasn’t the rosiest of pictures; but it wasn’t all bad news either. Thanks to Barclay’s Wealth whose sponsorship made the event possible.

It was  a fun, girlie night out and we  got to enjoy this fantastic, new Island facility.  At the same time we were able to support the Mayoress’ Charity Appeal and two important Island charities, the Hyperbaric Chamber and Arthritis Support.

On 21 January 2010, we are kicking off the New Year with Super Third Thursday with guest speaker Chief Inspector Mark Payne of the West Midlands Police.

Chief Inspector Mark Payne is responsible for the smooth running of one of the busiest police press and public relations departments in the UK. West Midlands Police is also one of the most progressive in relation to social media use including its aptly named ‘plodcast’ which provides an insight into the work of the force and the varied employment opportunities for police and support staff.

Launched in 2006, the regular and free audio downloads attract more than 20,000 listeners. More recently the force has begun uploading crime prevention advice and behind the scenes videos to YouTube and launched a Facebook site offering news and appeals, videos and crime alerts as part of a wider strategy to reach young people.

CI Payne will discuss the social media campaign, the challenges and successes his team has faced and will be happy to answer questions from the floor.

Social Media Club brings together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaboraters.

Essentially the people who create and consume media who have an interest in seeing the ‘media industry’ evolve for everyone’s benefit. We are more than just USERS, we are the reason the tools exist – we are the people who communicate our thoughts and ideas near and far. Join us and let’s shape the future together!

PDMS, the Island’s largest software developer has kindly offered to sponsor this event, so it’s free to attend. But it’s bound to be popular so book early to avoid disappointment.

Super Third Thursday will be held at 12.30 at The Claremont Hotel in Douglas.  A finger buffet will be served.

There is no fee to attend but prior booking is advised.  Email smc(at)strivepr.com to reserve your place.

Warwick has more than 40 years’ continuous experience in the betting and gambling industry.  He is currently chairman of the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) and has previously served as chairman of the Bookmakers’ Committee to the Levy Board. His firm, Global Betting and Gaming Consultants (GBGC),  is an independent, specialist consultancy dedicated to providing data, research and advice to the international gambling industry.

The Isle of Man Junior Chamber of Commerce is a group with an extensive range of business-related activities and events organised throughout the year. Members come from a wide and interesting range of  backgrounds covering every aspect of Island business – tourism, trades, finance, agriculture etc.

Generally, people wanted to understand social computing better and get a handle on how their organisations can benefit.  Participants knowledge and experience of social media ranged from ‘I’ve never even looked at Facebook‘ to ‘I’ve run effective social media campaigns’.  But regardless of  the starting point, everyone learned something directly relevant to them.  Including me.

It was clear to me that now is the time:  social media is gone mainstream.

Here’s some of the Q&A from yesterday’s workshop.

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Looking to the future Tony confirmed that social media will become  key corporate communications channels in 2010.  “We talk about the Internet revolution as something that is going to happen.  But it has already happened. Research shows that adults in the UK already get 50% of their finance and business information through the Internet. Twenty per cent of people in the UK look at forums and blogs.  It’s not something for the future, he said.  “The revolution has actually hit us. So if you’re in business you need to get on LinkedIn.”

Here’s the man himself:

Warwick Bartlett will be the speaker. He’s going to provide an insight into the current situation of eGaming on the Isle of Man and will also discuss future issues for Island as an eGaming jurisdiction.  Warwick has more than 40 years’ continuous experience in the betting and gambling industry.  He is currently chairman of the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) and has previously served as chairman of the Bookmakers’ Committee to the Levy Board. Warwick is a frequent speaker and panellist at gambling conferences around the world. His firm, Global Betting and Gaming Consultants (GBGC),  is an independent, specialist consultancy dedicated to providing data, research and advice to the international gambling industry.

Venue: Cushag Suite, Hilton Hotel, Douglas
Date & Time: Wednesday 25th November at 6.00pm
Food/Drink Buffet, Tea/Coffee
Cost JCC Members £9, Non-Members £12

Book by emailing  events(at)jcc.im

It’s all happening at the BIC’s unit at the Tower Shopping Centre in Douglas (first floor above the cafe).

18 November

• 10.00 – 11.00 Business Start Up workshop.  Thinking about starting a business?  This workshop is for you – learn how to evaluate your idea, identify resources and what starting a business entails.
• 11.00 – 12.00 Drop in session for any queries about the IOM Business and Innovation Centre, pop in to discuss your ideas and see how we can help.
• 13.00 – 13.30 What Is Business Incubation? A short talk to inform you about what incubation is and how it can benefit early-stage and pre-start up businesses.
• 14.30 – 15.30 Ideas to Reality Workshop – Bring your business or invention ideas – no matter how crazy they seem – to this workshop for some initial process guidance on how you can drive them forward.
• 16.00 – 17.00 Drop in session for any queries about the IOM Business and Innovation Centre, pop in to discuss your ideas and see how we can help.

21 November

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We’re still keeping it under wraps for now, but here’s a hint:  we’re looking at how the police are using  social media to  build relationships with young people.

Are there any issues or examples you’d like to explore in particular?  Let me know.

In the meantime, let’s have a regular meet up next week, 12.3o,  19 November at Paparazzi’s in Douglas.

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Image via Wikipedia

The Isle of Man Junior Chamber of Commerce will welcome Chief Minister Tony Brown at a special meeting next week to discuss the Island’s unprecedented financial crisis after its budget was slashed by 24 per cent by the UK  Chancellor Alistair Darling last month.

Darling has confirmed that the UK government is slashing £140 million off the Island’s £572 million annual budget by reducing a 400-year-old customs revenue-sharing agreement.

The Honourable Tony Brown MHK Chief Minister has agreed to provide insight into the situation and will be happy to answer questions from the floor.

Venue:  Shearwater 2 & 3, Hilton Hotel, Douglas
Date & Time:  Wednesday 11th November at 6pm
Food/Drink:  Buffet

The cost of this event is £10 for members and £12 to non-members. To book your seat contact rich.davies(at)RBSCoutts.com.

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Katie Delahaye Paine is one of PR’s leading measurement experts. She is the founder of KDPaine & Partners and, prior to launching the firm in ’02, she was founder and president of The Delahaye Group, an industry leader in business and communication intelligence.

Katie was an initial founder of the Institute for Public Relations special commission on measurement and evaluation. She served as the US liaison to the European Standards Task Force to set international standards for media evaluation. And she’s a Research Fellow at the Society for New Communications Research.  In short, she knows her stuff.

I first became aware of Katie last year when we were both panel guests on an FIR live phone in show.  Since that time I’ve been reading her blog and have become a big fan.  I like her down to earth style of writing and, it turns out, her presentation style is much the same.

She says, “Social media measurement doesn’t require new standards or new methods, just a new mindset. How the best measurement tools today are some of the oldest. Relationship surveys, content analysis, correlations and statistical analysis have all been around for decades, and we really don’ t need much more than those.”

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve always been against measuring tactical output and believe that the focus should be on the achievement of core objectives.  All too often, companies fail to grasp this and instead want to see Advertising Value Equivalencies (AVEs) or to have detailed activity reports including every phone call made and email sent.   Sadly, all this does is take PR professionals off important work while delivering little relevant insight.

What is important is engagement.  And engagement should be defined by linking social media interaction to hard business or organisational objectives.

Here’s a personal example.  I really do love Aleksandr Orlov, founder of Compare the Meerkat. I’m a Facebook Fan and always check out new videos and other content published there.  I think the campaign is clever and entertaining.  But, I’ve never visited comparethemarket.com and have not purchased any insurance through the service.  Am I engaged?  Not if the whole idea of the campaign is to sell car insurance, that’s for sure.  Not yet anyway.

Katie makes a lot of sense because she focuses on the fundamentals of organisational communication; not the cool technology nor fun gizmos.  She was kind enough to post the slides from her talk here.  You can buy her book here.

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Chris Neil, co- chair of the cabinat  told a local reporter that he thinks the time from age 20 to 40 is busy.  “You’ve got people who are starting their careers, their families and buying their first houses. In modern times, we can get very disconnected from the community,” he said.

To add to the challenge of fundraising, there’s definitely a concern that philanthropy is not something of the new demographic, said Neil.  “The concern is that the core base of donors will retire and that base funding for charity will start dwindling away,” he said. “Unless we start now by engaging the demographic and raising awareness of what’s going on in the community, that’s going to be lost.”

This is the reason that the charity has embraced social media as a primary communications channel too. It’s use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social platforms has been extremely successful is bringing the younger demographic into the United Way fold.

If last night was anything to go by, it’s working.  Although I fall (slightly) outside the target audience in terms of age group, I brought along two 20-somethings who proclaimed Schmoozefest to be a great night out.  I look forward to finding out how much was raised.

But missing one meeting, although unfortunate, does not spell the death of Third Thursday.  In fact, we have a sponsor for November and right now I’m working on the details of a Super Third Thursday. So mark 18 November on your calendar and watch this space for news about this exciting event.

Maybe you are trying to figure out Twitter, of have just established a Facebook Fan Page.  Or maybe you’re a seasoned blogger with a long history in Digg.  Everyone is welcome to come out and chat about the online world and how it’s affecting how we live and do business. 

We meet at 12.30. Everyone buys his own lunch and we are usually all back at our desks by 14.00.  It doesn’t cost anything to join, (but the price of your meal) and there are no forms to fill out. All you need is an interest in social media and the online world.

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Time was, when asked this questions, I’d start to recite deadlines, copy guidelines and descriptions of newsroom teams.  But that was before the Internet changed everything.

Now print journalists are producing video reports and podcasts.  Radio and TV journalists are blogging. And then there are bloggers, who many say are a law unto themselves.

So how does today’s media work?  The only definitive answer is:  All the time.

What are the deadlines?  As soon as the story breaks. Who should we be pitching?  Depending on the story. What do journalists need to cover our news? Just about every kind of content you can lay your hands on, and add to that access, exclusivity, transparency and truth.

Simples!

Well maybe not.  In the online world, an organisation’s relationship with journalists is more now complex than ever before.  It takes time, thought and expertise to navigate the media landscape.  And as soon as you think you are finding your way, the route is bound to change.

<shameless plug>

To find out how the media relevant to your organisation works, why not come out to our one day workshop Getting to grips with PR, 06 October in Douglas Isle of Man.

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It occurred to me that we might as well, at the same time, offer some help and pointers for people in business who are not PR specialists but find themselves involved in doing PR for their employer or their own business.

So please have a look at the info here and let me know if you’d like to reserve a place at either or both of these one-day workshops.

The event was supposed to be a social, getting-to-know-you event, and that’s certainly what it was.  The noise level in the room was incredible! But the network isn’t just a talking shop.  We’ve put a lot of work and thought into our mission and have set some tough objectives for the group:

Women in Business mission

• To inspire and foster entrepreneurial spirit, business capability and confidence in women of all ages in the Island.

Women in Business values

• Supporting a healthy work-life balance
• Doing business with integrity and honesty
• Encouraging entrepreneurship and professional development
• Creative business solutions
• Celebrating diversity and individuality

Women in Business objectives for the next five years:

• Become a recognised forum for the exchange of ideas, contacts and support for women with entrepreneurial and/or business aspirations.
• Support the development of women’s enterprise, business initiatives and professional development.
• Aim to increase female attendance at business events on the Isle of Man.
• Provide role models and mentoring for women, with the aim of passing on inspiration and know how others through facilitating and promoting access to coaching, business support, learning, networking and business opportunities.
• Raise awareness of the important role women play in the Isle of Man business community through celebrating and showcasing business success and achievements.
• Foster links with off Island organisations that might bring business opportunities.
• Increase its membership, which will be inclusive and open and will include self-employed and employed business women as well as those involved in academic or arts vocations and young people with business aspirations.

Click here to find out more about the Women in Business in the Isle of Man.

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Following on from the success of our first ever Super ThirdThursday in February everyone is invited to attend our lunch meeting 19 March 2009.  We revert to ‘regular’ format for this one, so that means we all meet at Paparazzi in Douglas at 12.30.  We had a record turnout last month so I hope all those newbies can also come.

The Isle of Man Social Media Club is all about sharing the learning and best practices of the social web, that is blogs, networks, podcasts, Facebook, Twitter, all the rest.  Anyone who is interested in journalism, publishing, communication, art, media, teaching, learning, Internet and marketing is welcome.  In short, anyone who is curious about how modern humans communicate should come along.

On this occasion, I won’t be able to attend.  I’m going to be at SXSWi, an excellent conference for social media enthusiasts, and be there at the April meeting to tell you all about it.  In the meantime, Blogger Extrodinaire Owen Cutajar has volunteered to chair March’s meeting in my stead.

On the subject of Super ThirdThursday’s, the plan is to have them quarterly. I’d love to hear your suggestions for speakers and/or themes for May.  Please let me know your ideas.

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This week we had the Isle of Man’s Social Media Club’s first ever Super ThirdThursday!  Thirty people turned up (that’s about twice as many as usual) to learn about the club, and I was delighted with the turn out.  There was an excellent mix of bloggers, tweeter and Facebookers, and there were a number of ‘just curious’ there too.

I gave a brief presentation about what the club is all about. Chris Gledhill, managing director of PDMS, the island’s largest firm of software developers, explained the new DTI initiative Manx Graduates. We had a good discussion about  how public sector organisations can benefit from using social media to engage stakeholders and about the various risks involved, both perceived and real.

The next ThirdThursday takes place 19 March, back at our usual meeting place, Paparazzi in Douglas.  But based on the success of this week’s event, you can bet we’ll be having more Super ThirdThursdays.  A potential sponsor the next one has already come forward, and I’ve got a few ideas about who we can invite to speak. But I’d love to hear from anyone who’d like to take part or support the Isle of Man Social Media Club events.  I feel we’re really gaining momentum now!

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First of all, you don’t have to buy your own lunch because Strive PR is sponsoring the event!  Yup that’s right, free lunch!   Secondly we are lucky to have a guest presenter. Chris Gledhill, managing director of PDMS, is going to tell us all about the Isle of Man’s own social network, manxgraduates.im, which was recently launched by the DTI with the support of the DoE.  The site helps connect Isle of Man employers with Manx workers living here and further afield, and encompasses many of the same features as Facebook and LinkedIn.

Take up so far has been strong with lots of employers and candidates registering. Chris will explain the networking strategy and how it aims to solve some real economic and social challenges for the Isle of Man.

It’s open to everyone, and like I said before, lunch is on us.  Please let me know if you can come, so we can confirm catering arrangments.

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One thing is clear, we need to make a few changes to breath some fresh life into this initiative, so that’s what we are going to do.

Next month, we’re going to change the venue, have a guest speaker, offer free lunch, and basically turn the whole thing on its head.  So mark 19 February in your diary now as the launch of the new Isle of Man Social Media Club ThirdThursday.

The Third Thursday initiative has four main aims.

We want to share knowledge and experience.  Each of us has a different perspective on social media; we’ve learned different things. Our meet up is a great way to exchange ideas and information and have a nice social lunch at the same time.

We want to expand the use and understanding of social media generally. That’s why anyone who is curious about online communication and networks is welcome, whether you’re interested because your kids are on MySpace or your employees are congregating on Facebook, or you want to find out how to blog your travels.

We want to promote ethical behaviour online.  Issues such as privacy, plagarism, fraud, reputation, freedom of speech, libel and others all need to be explored and discussed.  We’d like to do our part in raising standards.

We want to encourage adoption of industry standards. By raising awareness of Creative Commons, data protection, best practice we’ll improve the credibility of social media and make the blogosphere a safer place.

But most of all these meet ups are just a great way to meet people who share your hobbies and interests.  You’ll definitely learn something new.  You get to actually meet people you’ve corresponded with online.  You’ll make new contacts too.

Please come!  Tweet me if you can make it @sherrilynne. Or even use email or the phone if you like