June AlaBlogMeet Attendee Links

We had one of our largest AlaBlogMeets to date, with twenty guests!  We met today at Silvertron Café, and enjoyed conversations of every type, both of the blogging and non-blogging variety.  We had several newbies (who hopefully weren’t scared away), and guests who traveled from Jasper, Huntsville and Alexander City!

See how happy all these people look?


Yes.  You too could be that happy if you come to our next meet-up, which incidentally, will be held on Friday, July 27.  Mark your calendar now, and more details will be announced soon.

In the meantime, Social Media Day is being celebrated tomorrow with a tweet-up at J.Clyde – click here for details and to RSVP.  You will also be entered to win a $100 Gift Certificate to J. Clyde if you RSVP in advance!

If you’re looking for the new friends you met today, here is the complete list of attendees.  Please let me know if I left you off or if you would like any information changed.

Rachel – Grasping for Objectivity and Alabama Bloggers // Twitter: @ObjectivityRach and @AlabamaBloggers

Chris – Husband of Rachel, Contributing Writer and Editor for Grasping for Objectivity // Twitter: @RehpoChris

Amy – Ordinarily Extraordinary // Twitter: @AmyKiane

Chanda - Chanda Temple // Twitter: @ChandaTemple

Carol – Carol Marks Online and Girl Gad About // Twitter: @camarks

Javacia - Georgia Mae, The Writeous Babe and See Jane Write  // Twitter: @WriteousBabe and @SeeJaneWriteBhm

Wade - Wade Kwon, Birmingham Blogging Academy, and Wade on Birmingham // Twitter: @WadeOnTweets

Katherine – Grass Stains // Twitter: @Grass_Stains

Andrew and family – OkraCola // Twitter: @aabrasfield and @OkraCola

Brandi – Bryants of Bham // Twitter: @BrandiofBham

Carl - New Media Rules and Carl's Lost and Found // Twitter: @MediaGuyCarl

Kristan –Money Wise Shopper // Twitter: @MoneyWiseShop

Candice – Mom Most Traveled // Twitter: @MomMostTraveled

Sherri – yougotrossed // Twitter: @yougotrossed

Irene – No blog yet

Jamie – Jamie’s Rabbits // Twitter: @JamiesRabbits

Summer – Summer At Home // Twitter: @SummerAtHome

Reminder: AlaBlogMeet This Friday!!

This Friday is our next Alabama Blogger's Meet, and it looks like we've already got a fun crowd coming! Here's the information:

We are meeting on Friday, February 3. We will meet at 11:30 in the back room at Jim N Nick's in Homewood (Oxmoor Road). We're always around for a while, so if you can't get there on time, get there when you can!

Everyone is invited, and we always have a couple of new people at every meet-up, so don't be shy! We enjoy getting to know each other in real life and chatting about blogging, Birmingham, and pretty much everything else.

If you would like to join us, RSVP on this post or the original post. Be sure to help us spread the word - the hashtag is #AlaBlogMeet.

First #AlaBlogMeet of 2012!

Our next Alabama Blogger's meet-up will be on Friday, February 3. We will meet at 11:30 in the back room at Jim N Nick's in Homewood (Oxmoor Road). We're always around for a while, so if you can't get there on time, get there when you can!

Everyone is invited, and we always have a couple of new people at every meet-up, so don't be shy! We enjoy getting to know each other in real life and chatting about blogging, Birmingham, and pretty much everything else.

If you would like to join us, RSVP on this post. Be sure to help us spread the word - the hashtag is #AlaBlogMeet.

Hope to see you there!!

#AlaBlogMeet This Friday!

Our next Alabama Bloggers meet is being hosted by the fabulous Alison Lewis from Ingredients Inc!

Alison has been busy traveling to promote her new book, 400 Best Sandwich Recipes, but has generously made time in her crazy schedule to join us at lunch. Alison's blog always has a delicious recipe that is both healthy and kid-approved, so be sure to check it out!

The meet-up will be held on Friday, December 2 at Cantina Downtown. We will meet at 11:30, but feel free to come late if you need to - we're usually there for a while!

We always have a wonderful time at meet-ups, discussing everything related and unrelated to social media. And everyone is invited!! Help us spread the word on Twitter and Facebook - the hashtag is #AlaBlogMeet.

Please RSVP on this post or the original post by December 1 so that we can save you a seat!

#AlaBlogMeet MOVED Due to Strike

Tomorrow's Alabama Blogger's Meet has been relocated, due to Cantina being closed because of the strike. We will still be meeting in Hoover, though - at The Fish Market on Highway 31. We hope to still see you there at 11:30!

Reminder: #AlaBlogMeet This Friday!!

We will be meeting next on Friday, October 14 at 11:30 at Cantina in Patton Creek. If you need to be late, no problem - we're usually there for a while!

If you've never joined us at a meet-up before, you are absolutely welcome, whether you're already blogging or just thinking about it. We usually discuss a number of topics, both of the social media and non-social media nature. And no matter what we end up talking about, there's always plenty of laughter!

If you'd like to join us for lunch, please RSVP on this post or the original post by October 12. And help spread the word - the hashtag is #AlaBlogMeet !

Hope to see you there!

October Alabama Blogger's Meet-Up!

***UPDATE: This Alabama Blogger's Meet has been relocated, due to Cantina being closed because of the strike. We will still be meeting in Hoover, though - at The Fish Market on Highway 31. We hope to still see you there at 11:30, or when you can make it! *****


It's been a couple of months since we've had our traditional monthly meet-up, and I've missed you all!

We will be meeting next on Friday, October 14 at 11:30 at Cantina in Patton Creek. If you need to be late, no problem - we're usually there for a while!

If you've never joined us at a meet-up before, you are absolutely welcome, whether you're already blogging or just thinking about it. We usually discuss a number of topics, both of the social media and non-social media nature. And no matter what we end up talking about, there's always plenty of laughter!

If you'd like to join us for lunch, please RSVP on this post by October 12. And help spread the word - the hashtag is #AlaBlogMeet !

Hope to see you there!

ALsocme Tech Tweet-Up September 21!

One of the chief purposes of Alabama Bloggers is to encourage relationship building between area bloggers, and specifically to offer opportunities for bloggers to meet in person. Although the social media world is a fabulous place to make friends, those friendships grow exponentially when you actually speak face-to-face. It is for this reason that I am so excited about The Alabama Social Media Association (ALsocme). They offer excellent opportunities to meet other social media professionals and hobbyists within the state, as well as increasing knowledge and awareness of social media. If you haven't been to an ALsocme meeting yet, I highly encourage taking advantage of this next one!

It is scheduled for September 21 from 5 - 8 pm. This event will be a wonderful opportunity to network with people you've already met via social media and meet new people, as well as learn more about social media as it relates to Birmingham.

Mayor William Bell will be presenting a short address on the state of technology in the city from 6 - 6:30, and there will be networking time before and after.

This event is sponsored by Wesban Financial Consultants, and dinner will be provided (and free!) from the amazing Birmingham Landmark, Ted's Restaurant.

Tickets are free, but attendees must register at alsocme.com. I hope to see you there!

Pratt City Tornado Relief Needs

We will be going this Saturday from 10 AM to 1 PM to help Tornado Relief at the Scott School Relief Center in Pratt City. If you would like to join us, all of the information can be found here. However, if you're unable to join us but would still like to help, the Relief Center is in desperate need of canned goods. They also need paper goods and cleaning supplies, but their supply of canned goods especially low.

If you can drop these items off in Pratt City at any time (off of the Arkadelphia Road exit of 59/20), it would be greatly appreciated!!

The address for Scott School is 1517 Hibernian Street - it is right off of Highway 78.

Also, please help us help them by getting the word out about their needs on Twitter and Facebook!

Thank you, and let me know if you would like to join us on Saturday!

Tornado Relief Blogger Work Day THIS SATURDAY!!

This Saturday, August 13th, from 10 AM to 1 PM, we will be having a Blogger Work Day to help with the ongoing Tornado Relief Efforts. We would LOVE for you to join us!!

We will be meeting at and working at the Pratt City Scott School Relief Center. I have talked to the director there a few times and she is very grateful for our offering to help and excited to have us!

We will be doing various tasks including unloading delivery trucks, sorting donations and placing them in the right rooms, helping tornado survivors go through the rooms and get what they need, and manning the donation rooms. There should be tasks available for every level of ability.

Pratt City

If you would like to join us, simply register by Clicking Here. If you can't come for the whole time, no problem - come when you can!

The address for Scott School is 1517 Hibernian Street - it is right off of Highway 78.

Thank you for your continued efforts of tornado relief!

The hashtag for this is #AlaBlogVol. Thank you!!

Tornado Relief Volunteer Day Saturday August 13th!

Social Media has already done so much for our state's disaster relief recovery - it has been amazing to see our community step up and make a historical difference in the relief process. I am proud to say that Alabama will be a model for how to handle disasters going forward, especially with regard to how to maximize the value of Twitter, Facebook, and blogging in the wake of tragedy.

Thank you all for the part you've played in that!

With that in mind, many of us have want to do help, as so much help is still needed. So our next meet-up will be a Tornado Relief volunteer day!!

We will be meeting from 10am to 1pm on Saturday, August 13th. If you can't come for the whole time, no problem - come when you can!

I am talking to the amazing volunteers at Scott School and at the Christian Service Mission to see who can best utilize our group on that day. Depending on the group size and the needs at that time, we will be at one of those locations serving our neighbors. I will be emailing the registered attendees as more details are available.

Pratt City

As far as what we will be doing entails, we will either be distributing donated items, helping in the Christian Service Warehouse, or doing whatever we can to lessen the load on the tireless volunteers.

If you would like to join us, simply register with the Eventbrite event either below or at the Eventbrite Page.

Online Ticketing for Alabama Bloggers Tornado Relief Work Day powered by Eventbrite

So whether you're a Blogger, on Twitter, or none of the above, join us and help serve our community!!

Thank you for your continued efforts of tornado relief!

The hashtag for this is #AlaBlogVol. Thank you!!

ALsocme Educational Meeting July 27

Have you made it to an ALsocme meeting yet?

If you have, you already know that you want to make it to another! If you haven't, well, it's about time!!

Their next meeting will be on July 27 at 11:15 am at the Hill Event Center. Lunch is FREE and will be provided by Urban Cookhouse.

The relationship-building alone makes it a worthwhile event (and the food, of course), but they are bringing in Atlanta-based social media expert, Daniel Davenport of THINK Interactive, to talk about using location-based services (Foursquare, Gowalla, and Facebook Places). It's sure to be a fascinating discussion.

If you want to attend, be sure to register ASAP at alsocme.com - space is limited and it usually fills up fast!

Rocket City Blogger Meet-Up!

Are you in North Alabama? Have you been looking to meet up with some other local bloggers? Carol Marks has organized a social media meet and greet in Huntsville!

I cannot stress the value of meeting in real life - it deepens online relationships, helps you discover similarities that you didn't know you had, and greatly enhances your social media network. I highly recommend attending if you're in the area!

The meet and greet for the Rocket City Bloggers will be on Wednesday, July 20th, at the Books-A-Million (at Parkway and University) at 6:30PM, or get there when you can.

If you can attend, let Carol know on her post!

The hashtag for this event is #rocketcitybloggers and #huntsville.

Upcoming Event - So You Think You Can Blog?

Have you heard about See Jane Write? It's a wonderful new women's group started by the accomplished and inspiring writer, Javacia Harris Bowser. Javacia is determined to help foster the art of writing among the women of our state, and in doing so, has organized some wonderful panels and discussions about writing, tweeting, and social media.

The next event, scheduled for Thursday, July 28th from 6-8 pm, is titled "So You Think You Can Blog?", and, as the name suggests, is going to be all about the art of blogging.

I am honored to be on the panel for this event along with two fabulous bloggers, Laura Kate Whitney of Magic City Manifesto and Jen West of The Jen West Quest. The three of us will be discussing blogging and all of it's aspects with the help of Javacia as our moderator. We will also be taking questions from the attendees, and there will be plenty of time to visit and network before and after our presentation.

The event will be an amazing opportunity to meet some of the ladies that you may have already been interacting with via Twitter and blogging, and to meet some great new friends as well.

We would love for you to join us for this event! It is a free event, but registration is required at the Eventbrite page.

---

So You Think You Can Blog?
Presented by See Jane Write
July 28th, 6-8 PM
Homewood Public Library
1721 Oxmoor Road
Homewood, Al 35209
Free tickets available here

ALsocme Tech Tweet-Up Postponed, #AlaBlogMeet Still on for Wednesday!

The ALsocme Tweetup on July 13th has been postponed, due to Mayor Bell's need to make a trip to Washington to meet with FEMA regarding tornado relief for Pratt City. I will let you know when this event has been rescheduled.

We are still meeting for lunch this Wednesday, June 29th, for #AlaBlogMeet - details can be found here. Hope to see you there!

June Meet-Up on Wednesday!!!

Don't forget about our Alabama Bloggers Meet-Up this week!!!

The details on our June Meet-Up are as follows:

We will meet on Wednesday, June 29th, at 11:30am at Jim N Nicks in 5 Points South. Katherine of Grass Stains is our host this month, and has already reserved a room for us, so there will be plenty of room for everyone!

Please RSVP on this post or the original post so that we know to expect you. The hashtag is #AlaBlogMeet.

As always, everyone is welcome - whether you've ever been to a meet-up or not!


Jim N Nicks
1908 11th Ave S
Birmingham, Al 35205

Alabama Social Media Association: Biggest Event Yet!!!

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED - MORE INFO WILL BE PROVIDED WHEN IT IS RESCHEDULED.





Mark Wednesday, July 13th on your calendars and get your reservation ASAP - ALsocme is hosting a tweetup that you won't want to miss!


The tweetup is FREE, including food, and will be at Old Car Heaven in Avondale. Dinner will be provided by Ted's Restaurant, a Birmingham landmark eatery for nearly 40 years.



Hundreds of Alabama Social Medialites will be there, and Mayor William Bell will be giving a brief talk about the state of technology in Birmingham. There will be social / networking time before and after his talk, so you will have plenty of time to meet all the people with which you've been tweeting and blogging!


To RSVP, go to alsocme.com and scroll down right below the mailing list option, and fill out the EventBrite form. I hope to see you there!!


This event is sponsored by My Green Birmingham.

June Meet-Up!

I've missed you guys!!

As you know, our April meet-up was scheduled for April 28th, the day after the tornadoes. We canceled for obvious reasons. Since then, I've been trying to find a date that would work for a blogger tornado relief work day for our next meet-up. However, no Saturday in June worked out for me, and I've not quite had enough interest in it yet to make it a go.

SO.

We're going to go ahead and have a June lunch meet-up, and hopefully at lunch, one of the things we can discuss is a Tornado Relief Work Day for a July meet-up. But even if you can't come to our June Meet-up, let me know if you're still interested in volunteering with a group of bloggers!

The details on our June Meet-Up are as follows:

We will meet on Wednesday, June 29th, at 11:30am at Jim N Nicks in 5 Points South. Katherine of Grass Stains is our host this month, and has already reserved a room for us, so there will be plenty of room for everyone!

Please RSVP on this post so that we know to expect you. The hashtag is #AlaBlogMeet.

As always, everyone is welcome - whether you've ever been to a meet-up or not!

I look forward to seeing you all again!!

Jim N Nicks
1908 11th Ave S
Birmingham, Al 35205

A Few Notes about Tornado Distaster Relief...

1. Instead of meeting to eat for our next #AlaBlogMeet, I want to organize a blogger work day to help with tornado relief. We can either help sort through donations, help deliver donations, help prepare and give out meals to relief workers, or help with the cleanup. I'm thinking a Saturday in Mid to Late May would work best.

a) Would you participate if you were available?

b) What date would work best for you?

c) What would you recommend that we do to help?

2. I rarely cross my two blog's paths, but since we're all bloggers here, I highly encourage you to educate your readers on how to help with the tornado relief, and specifically how to use Social Media to meet specific and immediate needs. I wrote a post on my other blog about that very thing here - please help in spreading the word about how to help by writing about it on your blogs!

3. Kristen Heptinstall of al.com is compiling lists of blogger's responses to the storm. If you've written about the tornadoes, tweet her at @KristenHeptin.

April Blogger Meet-Up THIS THURSDAY!!!

Don't forget about April's Blogger Meet-Up This Thursday!! We already have a great group of people that are planning on coming, and we'd love for you to come as well! RSVP here or on the original post if you plan on attending - we look forward to seeing you there!

Time to mark your calendars to come to April's Blogger Meet-Up!! If you haven't been to one
April's meet will be on Thursday, April 28th at 11:30 am Cantina in Patton Creek. Our host will be Carl (@MediaGuyCarl) of New Media Rules.

Come out to join us!! And be sure to RSVP on this post by April 27th so that we know to save you a seat!


Cantina
181 Main St. Hoover, AL (205) 560-0500 (map)