Released on = August 16, 2006, 3:55 pm

Press Release Author = Brian Solis/ FutureWorks Inc.

Industry =

Press Release Summary = SILICON VALLEY, CALIF., August 16, 2006 --
SocialMediaClub.org (SMC) officially launched today for the purpose of elevating
Social Media to a higher level of professionalism. The organization will bring
together different groups of social media practitioners such as bloggers,
podcasters, publishers, journalists, students, artists, developers, marketers, and
PR professionals.

Press Release Body = SocialMediaClub.org was formed to share best practices,
establish ethics and standards, and promote media literacy around the emerging area
of Social Media. SMC was founded by Chris Heuer, serial Internet entrepreneur and
executive director of the not-for-profit BrainJams.org.

According to Heuer, "This is the beginning of a global conversation about building
an organization and a community where the many diverse groups of people who care
about social media can come together to discover, connect, share, and learn."

SMC hosted its inaugural event today in Silicon Valley to organize its first local
chapter and to begin work on the hRelease, a Microformat standard for modernizing
the traditional press release for a Web-centric world. The New Media Release Google
Group was established in June to discuss the future of the Press Release among PR
professionals and other interested stakeholders. The meeting will move the efforts
from its initial discussions, as outlined on the hRelease Wiki donated by
SocialText, to deliver the initial draft of the Microformat.

Since the launch of its blog one month ago, SMC has received tremendous industry
support which has enabled Heuer to expand the team with prominent industry veterans
including, Tom Foremski of Silicon Valley Watcher, Howard Greenstein, one of the
co-founders of the WWWAC List, Internet visionary Mitch Ratcliffe, Brian Solis,
founder of FutureWorks, Inc. and PR2.0, Sally Falkow, president of Expansion Plus
and Falkow, Inc. and in-demand speaker and author, angel advisor Timothy Taylor of
Taylor, Inc., Jennifer McClure of SNCR, and many other leaders of this emerging
industry.
SMC will also host several Founders Circle Events with the first series planned for
New York City, London, Miami, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Toronto, Seattle, and
Los Angeles. The half day BrainJams-styled unconferences will focus on "The Rise of
Social Media" and the specific needs of each local community for establishing a
local chapter of Social Media Club.


SMC will also host several Founders Circle Events with the first series planned for
New York City, London, Miami, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Toronto, Seattle, and
Los Angeles. The half day BrainJams-styled unconferences will focus on "The Rise of
Social Media" and the specific needs of each local community for establishing a
local chapter of Social Media Club.

Images:
http://www.socialmediaclub.org/blog/wp-content/themes/squible/images/logo_smc.gif

Technorati Tags: hrelease, Social Media, socialmediaclub, Tom Foremski, Silicon
Valley Watcher, Howard Greenstein, Sally Falkow, Chris Heuer, Brian Solis,
Constantin Basturea, brainjams, futureworks, PR2.0

Contact:
Lisa Christopher
FutureWorks
408-428-0895 Ext. 106
lisa@future-works.com


Web Site = http://

Contact Details = Lisa Christopher
FutureWorks
408-428-0895 Ext. 106
lisa@future-works.com