I spoke yesterday at an event produced by the Maryland Tech Council on ‘Growing your Business through Social Media’. The topic focused on using social media to create press. My focus was primarily on the evolution of the press release and the incorporation of social media elements into the form and practices surrounding the press release. I also made sure to throw some specific tips and tools in there. For anyone interested, I’ve uploaded a copy of my presentation (PDF).

I started out the presentation by asking the audience to define ‘social media’ in 30 words or less. One audience member offered a very eloquent (and accurate) response that spoke to the community-oriented aspects of social media.

Her response was flushed out by other audience ideas about the collaborative nature of social media and its integration of various forms of media. I added my own two cents, suggesting that increased domestication of production-oriented technologies was also a major driver of this movement.

In all, I felt it was a tremendous conference and really applaud the Tech Council for their efforts in pulling this together.

Read coverage of the event in TechBisNow.