Who do YOU think should speak at our April event?

Hey, howdy, hi.

We need your help!

We received some great submissions from folks wanting to speak at our April event. After carefully reviewing our submissions, we’re looking for your input to determine who the final three speakers will be. Please see below for our potential speakers’ topics. Then you can give your vote to one of these fine people. We’ll pick the top three to speak at our event! Voting is open until April 2.

Andrew Krzmarzick

Bio: Andrew Krzmarzick is the Community Manager for GovLoop, the innovative online community connecting over 50,000 public sector professionals. He’s passionate about making government better and serving citizens more effectively via fresh approaches to technology, career advancement, generational diversity and flexible work environments.  Andrew’s insights have been featured in the Washington Post, Huffington Post, Federal Computer Week, Government Executive, Federal News Radio and more

Topic: How do we really learn? In classrooms? From books? Maybe that’s still true. But I’m increasingly convinced that most of our learning comes from Google searches and tweets and other online chats with friends. So why isn’t that learning legitimized? Why do we go deep in debt and waste years of our life learning from people who think they know it all…when it’s our colleagues in cubicles who have the information we really need? How do we bust that current academic paradigm and convince our bosses that social media tools — and the experts we meet there — are a trustworthy source of education that helps us do our jobs better (in some cases, far better than the old “sage on the stage” model)?

Video: example of past speech – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOvq7L7-fWo

Tamika Newhouse

Bio: Having launched her publishing company at the age of 21, Tamika Newhouse went on to gain a major book deal without an agent. She heads up her own marketing group exposing books titled, AAMBC and is currently writing her sixth novel.

Topic: I want to share how social media has changed the dynamics of publishing. Making it more personal and interactive social media has opened up many doors on how to profit. People will learn how to become unique in this business, stay current and relevant, and be creative on the internet without spamming.

I want to show people how to locate readers, find like minded individuals, brand themselves, and how to make money through publishing.

Video: http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=1061f34556bf6303e67c4b3&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Patrick Pho

Bio: I am a millennial, social media flack, blogger, stage manager, videophile, and Quarter Life Crisis enthusiast. I write about how social media and other forces are changing life for Generation-Y. I also cover the Washington Wizards and theatre for We Love DC.

Topic: Traditional Media is currently going through the biggest period of change ever in its existence. The “Old Media” of Newspapers are in steep decline while Social Media and Blogs represent the face of The “New Media.” The forces in play are not only affecting how we report and consume news but how we are changing as a society in the new techno-savvy millennial age. I would present these “Forces of Change” that the old and new media are dealing with through the perspective of a seasoned online media analyst and local news blogger that is contributing to what many are calling the death of news.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KqZm2YHb1k

Jason  McCool

Bio: Actor/musician/professor Jason McCool comes from a long line of people who have been asked, “is that your real last name?” Originally from Brockton, MA, Jason holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (jazz trumpet) and the University of Maryland (historical musicology), has been a professor at Montgomery College since 2007, is a co-winner of the Helen Hayes Award, and is a member of Actors’ Equity. He is an active promoter of the vibrant #DCarts scene, and consults with local arts organizations on best practices in social media.

Topic: In 2010, I was awarded a grant from the Cultural Development Corporation of DC to devise and produce an original piece of theater entitled “OMG: A Theatrical Experiment About Big Questions.” I put together a core team of five collaborators, and along with additional singers, dancers, and actors, and in April 2011, we put up an original play based on staging crowd-sourced responses to the following questions:

1) How do you define yourself?
2) What makes you feel most alive?
3) What are you most proud of?
4) What gives you hope?
5) What does life expect of you?
6) If you have an image of God, what is it?

Approaching people on the streets of DC, and via social media channels of Twitter and Facebook, we cobbled together a 60-minute theatrical presentation which included video projections and original music, and had a terrific response within the DC community. Given the positive reaction to our process, our core team of three producers would love the chance to open up these important ideas about identity and “non-dogmatic spirituality” to a wider DC audience, and speaking at SMC-DC would potentially offer that. As artists we look to engage a larger community outside of traditional theater-goers, and we’ve found that social media is a terrific way to do this.

Note: There’s some information about the project up at www.omgdc.wordpress.com, though what’s there doesn’t really reflect our final product on stage.

Video: example of past speech – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8rktqgIaHc&feature=youtu.be

Aaron Estabrook

Bio: I am a Hoosier with a passion for digital media and social marketing. Huge fan of art, the Beatles and the Indianapolis Colts. Currently trying to intertwine philosophy and social media to better understand how we shape our lives online.

Topic: Question: Is there such a thing as ethics in social media?

It seems professional marketers are exploiting the anonymity that social media provides, hiding behind dummy accounts and fake interaction. The focus of my talk will highlight the growing trend of “black hat” or “shadowed” marketing on various social networks.

These techniques are powerful and are proven to work, but at what cost?

Should marketers, advertisers and PR professionals be held to a higher standard on Twitter, Facebook and beyond? Should there be some type of regulation? What are the ramifications of these actions?  Should these techniques be taught to students and is it considered unethical? Is it lying?

I would like to explore this idea and pose these questions to a larger audience of engaged lovers of social media.  Philosophy, ethics, social media…”I’m the App for that!”

Margarita Noriega

Bio: Originally from San Diego, I moved to Washington, DC to study international relations at George Washington University. I stayed in DC to build my professional experience as a political and industry research analyst for a variety of topics and clients. My passion to help people access information they can use to better their lives.

Topic: While most people in Washington, DC understand how social media has changed political fundraising, many don’t know how it’s changed fundraising for charities. Social media campaigns can raise large sums using requests for small individual contributions, highlight underrepresented local issues, and can even draw international attention. We don’t need to donate directly to charities anymore: we can attend happy hours we’ve seen on Facebook, PayPal a few dollars to someone in a 5K, give money to a Kickstarter campaign, use a mobile application, QR code, or SMS to send money using our phones, and click on ads to send a few virtual pennies. This raises security (i.e., fraud) concerns as much as it does open a new landscape of outreach opportunities. My talk will highlight successful campaigns, how they differed from traditional fundraising, and how fundraisers and donors can avoid incidents of fraud.

So which of these fantastic people would be your top choice to speak at our April event? We’ll pick the top three to speak. Voting closes on April 2, so cast your vote now or forever hold your peace.