Geoff Livingston and I decided to interview each other as part of the Q & A series leading up to BlogPotomac, to be held here in Washington DC on June 13, 2008. Our social media marketing unconference is rapidly selling out, BTW, so don’t wait if you want to attend. Register here.

We got a little more serious in our mutual interview than I intended. Namely, I forgot to mention that Geoff is a funny guy. I thought it would be a kick to work with him on the event; he hasn’t disappointed…

Question: Why are you co-chairing BlogPotomac?

Debbie: First, because Geoff was kind enough to ask me. But second and more important, I fervently want to see a coherent social media community develop in Washington DC, as it has in many other cities. When I say coherent, I mean offline as well as online. And not just the cool young geeks. But to include marketers and comms professionals of all ages in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Washington, as wonderful as it is, is a very dispersed place. Virginia, Maryland, Capitol Hill, in-town DC – they’re concentric circles that don’t overlap very well.

Like Geoff, I also want to give back to my hometown of almost 26 years.

Geoff:

I got the idea from BlogOrlando and Josh Hallett. I thought that was exactly what DC needed, a great social media marketing event to pull us all together. So I started mulling how to do it.

Because Debbie and I were becoming friends and I wanted this event to be represented by the area’s leading social marketing minds, it made sense to chair it with her. It’s been great working with her, and she has helped me see some aspects of social media I would not have been introduced to if not for BlogPotomac.

Ironically, the third and actually the highest top ranked social media blogger in the area, Rohit Bhargava, ended up being our opening night speaker. So the top three marketing bloggers in the region according to the AdAge 150 — all authors by the way (see here and here and here) — have come together to bring best social media practices to DC.

For me, it’s a service, and a way of giving back to a region that has been my professional home since 1994.

Question: Why aren’t you one of the speakers?

Debbie: Because Geoff and I agreed that we didn’t want or need the limelight with such a stellar line-up of speakers. Viget Labs, the third silent partner in this endeavor, who designed the logo and site, also felt that participating through organizing and creating the conference was the best way to move forward.

However, attendees will be hearing me throughout the day (Friday June 13, 2008) as I introduce our speakers along with fellow emcee Josh Hallett.

Geoff: I will actually be speaking in DC three times in June, and I attend a lot of events already. Aaron Brazell and I run our District of Corruption podcast, and my company is interim steward of the local Social Media Club. Locally, I feel I am accessible, and people have heard or are about to hear my schtick.

I felt the value was introducing local marketers to people they haven’t heard, but that I have been blessed enough to meet during my journey. I know that Debbie and Brian Williams from Viget Labs felt the same way.

I also felt having Josh Hallett there was really important as he started this whole BlogX thing.

As Livingston Communications is running the finances and operations of the event, having him emcee accomplished two purposes: Honor Josh, and free me to handle issues and make sure the event goes off smoothly. I will do the initial introduction of Debbie and Josh. The rest is pure service.

Question: What do you hope BlogPotomac will achieve?

Debbie: I’ve outlined my big picture goal above. More specifically, I’d like our attendees to leave with at least half a dozen specific ideas they can execute back at their offices, no matter what size their budget or how large or small their staff.

As they say… blog on. Or in this case… just do it!

Geoff: If everyone walks out understanding that social media is more than blogs and blogger relations, I’ll feel like a champ. I also hope people will feel encouraged and excited to go experiment. Lastly, I hope we make a little profit to donate to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

MediaPhyter Jennifer Leggio has the goal of raising $10,000 for Team in Training, the fundraising arm of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Team in Training funds medical research for blood cancer cures and provides patient and family support programs.

To help do this she has secured the time and creativity of some of the smartest folks in the marketing/digital/social media space. This includes two hours of my time donated by the team here at Livingston Communications. 

Auction Details: Two-hour phone consulting / brainstorming session valued at $1K. Bidding begins at $100. Full details are available on the Geoff Livingston eBay auction site.  This is a great way to get me on the cheap (at least until the auction hits $600 or so), and do good at the same time.

Of course there are other consultants you could buy, if you are really excited…

Other Social Media Players Participating

Chris Brogan uses social media and technology to build digital relationships for businesses, organizations, and individuals. He has merged his experience in technology (enterprise IT and wireless telephony) with his passion for social media, such that he’s showing organizations how to use these tools inside the firewall, as well as to build authentic conversations between coworkers, customers, and even competitors. Brogan is cofounder of the PodCamp unconference series (with Christopher S. Penn), exploring the use of new media community tools to extend relationships and build value.

Auction: Speaking engagement anywhere in the U.S. valued from $5K-$10K. Bidding begins at $700. Full details available on the Chris Brogan eBay auction site.

Joseph Jaffe is one of the most sought after consultants, speakers and thought leaders on new marketing. He is president and “chief interuptor” at crayon, a strategic advisory group that helps companies “join the conversation” through the power of community, dialogue and partnership. He has spoken to audiences in North America, London, the Netherlands, Turkey and South Africa and to companies including Yahoo!, JWT, Modem Media, Conde Nast and iVillage. In 2007, Jaffe authored the book Join the Conversation: How to Engage Marketing-Weary Consumers with the Power of Community, Dialogue and Partnership.

Auction: Dinner and brainstorming session in the New York / Connecticut area valued at $10K. Bidding begins at $1K. Full details available on the Joseph Jaffe eBay auction site.

Aaron Strout is vice president of social media at Mzinga, a Burlington, Massachusetts-based provider of online communities and social networks for businesses. In his role, Aaron focuses on blogging, podcasting, webinars, blogger relations, and evangelizing the benefits of social networks for business. In addition to his knowledge of the interactive and new media landscape, Aaron has more than 15 years of online marketing and advertising experience, with a strong background in integrated and online marketing.

Auction: Two-hour phone consulting / brainstorming session valued at $1K. Bidding begins at $100. Full details available on the Aaron Strout eBay auction site.

Greg Verdino is a recognized expert on business and marketing innovation, emerging technologies and Web 2.0. Equal parts marketer and futurist, Greg has made a career of identifying key trends and helping companies turn disruptive changes into a real, sustainable business and marketing advantages. He works as Chief Strategy Officer at crayon, a strategic advisory group that helps companies ‘join the conversation’ through the power of community, dialogue and partnership. He has been profiled in and quoted by a wide variety of business and news media including Advertising Age, Adweek, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Marketing News, New York Times, Newsday and the Wall Street Journal, as well as on television news outlets including CNBC and Fox News Channel.

Auction: A 60-minute keynote speech or 1/2 day workshop anywhere within the U.S. or Canada valued from $5K-$7.5K. Bidding begins at $700. Full details available on the Greg Verdino eBay auction site.

Twitter is the hot social network du jour. But for the life of me, I am having a hard time figuring out why. It keeps crashing (as it did again this weekend) and the experience is lousy. And no, Twitter can’t blame Joyent for its problems anymore. This social network clearly has structural problems that go beyond hosting.

Quite frankly, the live interaction leaves something to be desired, too. Yes, it’s outstanding for real time conversation and discussion. These values have been well discussed, here and on other blogs.

A new wave of users have joined Twitter, and etiquette seems to be wavering. It can be awful receiving personality attacks, unsolicited pitches, spam, and yes, even unwelcome advances (Someone recently sent me a rather unexpected and unwelcome home made movie link). Most of these situations are resolved with an unfollow, but they seem to keep coming. And while completely reasonable given the public microblog, it can be unnerving when people can cite tweets of mine from days, even weeks ago. It’s caused me to be more cautious about what I tweet.

The whole Twitter experience leaves me wanting to run away sometimes. Quite frankly, the duel combo of increased outages and unwelcome community behavior has caused me to do just that on increasingly frequent occasions.

If things continue on the current trajectory, Twitter’s hotness may be very temporary. FriendFeed is continuing to gain traction, and of course another social network can rise to fulfill the needed micro echo chamber of conversation. The competitors must be gearing up.