For those that attended our How to Optimize Your Business Social Profiles lecture last night, you know precisely how awesome both Jason Loehr’s presentation and the discussion it sparked really were. Everything from basic LinkedIn best practices to Google Plus’s as-yet-unreleased Direct Connect features to the inner workings of Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm was covered. If you missed the event, you truly missed out.

Not to worry, though. Jason’s Social Optimization presentation deck is available online. Read, download, and pass it on. Hurry, before Facebook changes their interface or Google updates their SEO mechanics again!

Image by KEXINO via Flickr

Google+ just unveiled their answer to Facebook’s business-and-brand-centric Pages called…heh…Google+ Pages. Facebook just got its hand slapped by the FTC for privacy violations, so yet more interface and policy changes are at work over there.  Meanwhile, LinkedIn is still the most business-centric of all social networks, which may be why no one ever talks about it.

So where, and how, should businesses list themselves on the social web? Glad you asked, because the Louisville Digital Association is stepping up to answer on Wednesday, Nov. 16 with How to Optimize Social Profiles for Business, a lecture on best practices delivered by members of the LDA board. We’ll cover how to:

• Use the Facebook page of your business to attract more fans and customers
• Set up a Google+ profile for your business
• Optimize your company’s presence on LinkedIn
• Apply best practices for business profiles for your individual social media profiles as well

The knowledge will be dropped at the DeVry University campus (our sponsors for this event), 10172 Linn Station Road, Suite 300, Louisville, KY 40223. Networking begins at 6:30 p.m. and food from Firehouse Subs will be provided.

Seating is limited (as are the free munchies) so reserve your spot here.

Ryan Szrama, founder and lead developer of Drupal Commerce, will be headlining a panel of local open-source all-stars at the KY Open Source Society (KYOSS) meeting at 6pm tonight at LVL1, 814 E. Broadway. If you’re not heading to the Kickstarter Crowdfunding workshop (or the Pixies concert), you owe it to your FOSS-fostering self to stop buy.

John Hicks, president of KYOSS, pitches us thusly:

This panel is going to be a fine assemblage of talent representing a full range of open source projects. Be sure to be there!

• Ryan Dzrama – Founder and lead developer of Drupal Commerce
• Scott Ullrich and Chris Buechler – The two forces behind pfSense, the leading open source firewall
• Jeff Squyres – Cisco developer who leads the Open MPI (Message Passing Interface) project.
• Mike (Stew) O’Connor – Developer and committer for Debian.

(If you’re involved in an open source project, you’re welcome to join the panel!)

6:30 p.m.: Nibble and network
7:00 p.m.: Panel on Open Source Projects
Later: Huddle and scheme (also, SIGs may want to meet)

More good news: Chris tells me the new Level 2 Meeting Room is ready to be used, so it looks like we may be christening it tomorrow night! (With improved acoustics and that fantastic library (thanks, Raj et al.) this new space promises to be awesome!)

See you there!

You heard the man: See you there!

TUESDAY NOV. 1, 2011

[9am - 10am] Louisville Metro Inventors Council’s (LMIC) November meeting

Where: Nucleus – 201 E. Jefferson Street Louisville KY

Description:

Louisville Metro Inventors Council’s (LMIC) November meeting will take place at Nucleus (201 E. Jefferson Str.) and will feature John Weinrich, VP of Business Development for Advanced Business Solutions, who is dedicated to helping inventors and entrepreneurs re-invent themselves and the world around them.

[8pm - 10pm] LVL1 Open Meeting & Making

Where: LVL1 Hackerspace – 814 E. Broadway, Louisville, KY

Description:

LVL1 Open Meeting and Making at 8pm. All are welcome to come by. Checkout what projects are going on and geek out for a little while!

WEDNESDAY NOV. 2, 2011

[9am - 11:30am] Design Centered Manufacturing Workshop

Where: Galt House Hotel – 141 N 4th Street Louisville, KY 40202

Description:

Join a panel of Innovators and Entrepreneurs at the Design Centered Manufacturing Workshop from 9am to 11:30am. Panelists include strategist Stuart Rosenfeld, entrepreneur Heather Howell, Lou Lenzi of GE Appliances, and Drura Parrish of PR&vD. Registration is FREE but required: http://manufacturingdesign.eventbrite.com/

[11:30am - 2pm] Venture Connectors Luncheon

Where: Galt House Hotel – 141 N 4th Street Louisville, KY 40202

Description:

To RSVP and pay for the next luncheon of The Venture Club, please fill out the below form. Then click on the “Submit” button. Visitors/Guests will be charged $45, our normal luncheon fee. Walk-ins will be charged $50. Members’ dues cover all luncheons. Members may bring guests at$40. For members or guests, we do request notice of cancellation the Friday before the scheduled luncheon. This is because we must make our reservations with the hotel well in advance of the meeting. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE AT 589-6868. https://www.ventureclub-louisville.org/luncheons-and-events/monthly-luncheons/rsvp-for-luncheon

[4pm - 9:30pm] Startup Slam – Lexington Road Trip

Where: Southeast Christian Church, Parking Lot B – 920 Blankenbaker Parkway, Louisville, KY 40243-1845

Description:

If you all remember, the last Start-Up Slam held in August began the first leg of our mission to connect both the Louisville and Lexington Startup Communities. There was literally a bus full of Lexington startups and entrepreneurs who traveled here to meet and greet with many Louisville startups and entrepreneurs. Now, the opportunity is here for the Louisville startup community to complete the round trip by going to Lexington and communing with the Lexington startups. All this is in an effort to bridge both entrepreneurial communities and create synergies that otherwise haven’t existed. Thus, if you don’t know a lot about what’s going on in Lexington, use this as a fun, risk-free opportunity to meet, greet, and learn about our partner to the east! SAVE THE DATE! We will be traveling BY COMMERCIAL BUS to Lexington on Wednesday, November 2nd (details are below and at the event registration page). The bus will travel beginning at 4pm – there is a small fee of $25, but did I mention that this INCLUDES DRINKS! Register, spread the word, and bask in the growing entrepreneurial spirit of Kentucky! (Note: There is a capacity limit of 55 people for the bus BUT even if you don’t go on the bus, please join us in Lexington). Event Registration Page: www.start-upslam.eventbrite.com

[5:30pm - 8pm] Startup Slam – Lexington

Where: Natasha’s Bistro & Bar – 112 Esplanade, Lexington, 40507

Description:

Bringing Louisville and Lexington entrepreneurs together to build a stronger tech community! Attendees include: local entrepreneurs, business owners, investors and others in the startup community. If you need more specific details on the bus, please contact Tendai Charasika: tcharasika@greaterlouisville.com and 502-625-0140

http://start-upslam.eventbrite.com/

THURSDAY NOV. 3, 2011

[10am - 11am] STARTUP WEBINAR: Hitting the Target – Learn Proven Ways to Discover & Keep Your First Customers

Where: Online

Description:

FREE Registration: http://bit.ly/HittingTheTarget Featured Speakers: Randall Stevens (Serial Entrepreneur & Founder of Punndit.com) & Steve Huey (COO of Inc. 5000 and Recently Acquired Learning House.com) As an early-stage, startup company you will have the opportunity to learn from serial entrepreneur Randall Stevens proven ways to discover your first customers early and in parallel to your product development lifecycle. These keys to success will empower you to be more confident that you are building a product that your first customers find valuable enough to pay for. A leader in product development and COO of recently acquired The Learning House, Inc., Steve Huey will discuss what to do after you have launched your product to market and what it takes to keep your customers by delivering the products they expect.

[8pm - 10pm] White Star Balloon Group

Where: LVL1 Hackerspace – 814 E. Broadway, Louisville, KY

Description:

Come and be a part of the citizen science project to conquer the global stratosphere, using our own robots.

SATURDAY NOV. 5, 2011

[1pm - 5pm] LVL1 Freeduino Workshop

Where: LVL1 Hackerspace – 814 E. Broadway, Louisville, KY

Description: Solder together your own Freeduino! Seating is limited!

Tue Oct 25, 2011

• 8:30am – 10:30am GKIC Embrace Social breakfast
• 6:30pm – 7:30pm LVL1 Labs
• 6:30pm – 8:30pm MyMobileVille monthly meeting
• 8pm – 10pm LVL1 Open Meeting & Making

Wed Oct 26, 2011

• 5:30pm – 7:30pm Quantified Self Meetup – Open Mic Night

Thu Oct 27, 2011

• 9am – 4pm KSBDC Social-Mobile-Local seminar
• 6pm – 7pm How to use social media to promote your events
• 7pm – 8pm Power wheels meeting
• 8pm – 10pm White Star Balloon Group

Fri Oct 28, 2011

• 7:30am – 8:30am IdeaMorning Breakfast with Brooke Vaughn & Jason Pierce

Sat Oct 29, 2011

• 6pm – 10pm Sumobot and halloween party

For more event info, check out the Louisville Tech Events Calendar.

Image by HowardLake via Flickr

Today is the first annual Geeksgiving, a (hopefully) yearly online drive by LDA members to raise awareness of, and donations for, a worthwhile Louisville charity. This year, we’re rallying support for the Home of the Innocents, which provides care and shelter for homeless and medically fragile children in and around Louisville.

To participate in Geeksgiving, we’re asking for exactly two things from every member of the Louisville Digital community:

1. Donate to Home of the Innocents
2. Spread the word about Geeksgiving

Donations

The Home of the Innocents is in desperate need of several critical items, as detailed in this Amazon Wishlist:

http://amzn.com/w/2HRN0XV8F0VO9.

Pick a few items, punch in a credit card, and you’ll have made a world of difference in the lives of Louisville’s most vulnerable children. All donations should be shipped to:

Home of the Innocents
1100 East Market Street
Louisville, KY 40206
502.596.1025

Can’t decide on which of the several items to give? Cash is a perfectly acceptable substitute. Monetary donations can be made here:

https://www.homeoftheinnocents.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=272.

A bit short on cash? No worries. The Home of the Innocents also welcomes donations in kind of any new or gently-used items from this needs list:

http://www.homeoftheinnocents.org/Page.aspx?pid=274.

Items in bold are most needed, but all donations are graciously welcome.

Spreading the Word

Take the three links above, and blast them to every follower, friend, connection and contact you’ve got in your address book or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ (or even MySpace) profiles. Blog about it. Chat about it. Skype about it. Even call people on this antiquated device called a telephone. Whatever it takes to get the word out that the Home of the Innocents is in need of our assistance. Between noon and 9pm today, there should be no one you know who doesn’t know about Geeksgiving.

 
 Tweet
 
 
The Louisville Digital community is capable of greatness. Today, let’s harness that potential for the greater good.

Let’s all celebrate Geeksgiving.

For those of you planning to volunteer in person for Geeksgiving at Home of the Innocents tomorrow, here are details via HOI’s Linda Medley:

Attached is a campus map for dissemination.  “Geeksgiving Central” will be in the Kay & Jim Morrissey Advanced Therapy Center (North end of campus) in the therapy gym.  We will have signs posted for those volunteers who come and go from Noon until 9:00 p.m.  We have a series of user names and passwords for your convenience and will be testing connectivity and speed well before you guys are due to arrive.  And of course we will be available throughout that entire period to provide information and help with trouble shooting should the need arise.

Volunteers can park on Mellwood, which runs parallel to the Advanced Therapy Center.  There is also parking in front, and across from the ATC.  If that seems tight then feel free to park in Lot A wherever there is availability.

For those with particular aspirations of (or aversions to) appearing on television, Mayor Greg Fischer is expected to visit the Geeksgiving command center at Home of the Innocents between 6 and 7pm tomorrow, likely with the local media in tow. Plan your presence accordingly.

As always, you can help Geeksgiving from anywhere, but if you’d like to sit shoulder to shoulder with some fellow geek-givers, we’re certainly glad to have you.

BONUS: Louisville’s own Gyroskope will be hosting a Geeksgiving Afterparty at 9pm at Butchertown Pub & Studios, 1335 Story Avenue. Any and all Geeksgiving participants are welcome.

Leia the Riveter courtesy RedBubble

As part of Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer’s Give A Day week of service, the Louisville Digital Association is spearheading Geeksgiving, a pledge drive to generate donations and support for the Home of the Innocents. From noon to 9pm, a group of LDA volunteers — which can and should include you — will be using online tools to urge our citizens to donate goods and cash to one of the Derby City’s most deserving charities.

In other words, for nine hours on Oct. 19 we’ll be tweeting, blogging, Facebook-ing and G+-ing our fingers off until our various and sundry online followers have stocked Home of the Innocents with all the supplies it needs to keep Louisville’s most vulnerable citizens safe, warm, and able to face the holiday season with some measure of dignity and comfort. (We’ll even resort ot LinkedIn, AOL and MySpace if we have to.)

If you’d like to be part of the Geeksgiving team, register here. All it takes is a commitment to spread the word during the nine hours of Geeksgiving (and hyping the Geeksgiving event in advance). Work from home, the office, pretty much anywhere you’ve got Internet connectivity. If you’d like to be part of the in-person team working from Home of the Innocents during Geeksgiving, contact us. We’d love to have you there, sharing the strength of Louisville geeks united in service to a good cause.

It’s time to show Louisville what the power of Geekdom harnessed for good can accomplish. Register for Geeksgiving today.

A lot of so-called experts claim to have “written the book” on social media, but only the LDA’s own Jason Falls could have written this book. And to prove it, Mr, Falls is throwing a party in honor of his own blessed tome, and you’re all invited. Quoth the press release:

Social Media Explorer will host a Louisville celebration for Jason Falls and Erik Deckers in honor of their recently published book No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing on Thursday, Oct. 20 from 7-9 p.m. ET at Avalon on Bardstown Road in Louisville. Everyone is invited but the first 50 people to register for the event and show up will get a FREE COPY of the book!

Enjoy appetizers and networking with the Louisville social media, technology, marketing, public relations and entrepreneur communities as we celebrate the book with food, folks and fun. Falls and Deckers will sign copies, so bring yours if you have it.

Admission and appetizers are free until they last. There will be a cash bar.

Register at http://nobslouisville.eventbrite.com

If the party is half as entertaining as the book it’s celebrating, we’re all in for a memorable experience. See you there.

Image by Gustavo Pimenta via Flickr

It’s easy to talk a good game about using the power of the Internet to change the world. On Oct. 18, you can have lunch with someone who has actually done it. Quoth the press release:

Mayor Greg Fischer invites you to come learn how a simple concept from a young high school teacher turned into one of America’s greatest new ideas.

Charles Best, then a social studies teacher fresh out of college, sensed that many people would like to help distressed public schools, but were frustrated by a lack of influence over their donations. He created DonorsChoose.org in 2000 so that individuals could connect directly with classrooms in need. It has led to $86 million in direct donations to classrooms and teachers—and donorschoose.org is now coming to Louisville.

This is a brown-bag lunch-and-learn session. Bring your own lunch. Soft drinks, coffee provided.

The lunch goes down at the Green Building, 732 East Market, from noon to 1pm on Oct. 18. No word on reserved seating, which usually means first come, first served. Be there or be a right orthogonal quadrilateral.