The Austin Social Media Breakfast series series is organized by Amie Paxton and SMB founder Bryan Person; it brings together social media experts, newcomers, and enthusiasts for a morning of eating, meeting, sharing, and learning.

Marketers, PR pros, entrepreneurs, bloggers, videobloggers, podcasters, students, new-media enthusiasts, Twitterers, community managers, recruiters, and online social networkers are all welcome.

The event itself is free to attend, though attendees pay for their own food and drink (coffee, tea, breakfast tacos, pastries, etc.).

Featured discussion
Tim Walker: "Is social media really all that new?"

Those of us active in the social media realm sometimes talk about it as though it’s all-new and all-different, an unprecedented development in the history of human communications.  But for all the new technology that the social media employ -- and all the unique opportunities they bring -- they’re not quite unprecedented.  In fact, in many ways today’s social media parallel the earlier development of other media, from books and radio to the mimeograph and the fax machine.

This short talk will take the SMB audience on a funny (and painless!) tour of the history of modern media, reaching as far back as town criers and Gutenberg’s press to unearth some important lessons that we can apply to our own day. As we discuss similarities and contrasts between older and newer media, we’ll gain new insights into the use, finances, control, technological limitations, and social impact of all types of media.

Speaker bio

Tim Walker is a special projects editor at Hoover's, where he's covered several industries -- including electronics manufacturing, heavy industry, and international banking -- since joining the company in 2000. Tim has also published more than 100 essays, profiles, and reviews in periodicals, including the Austin Chronicle and the Austin American-Statesman.

Tim holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Texas, where he was a Dedman Scholar, and a master’s degree in history from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where he was a Rotary Scholar. He is now a doctoral student in U.S. history at the University of Texas. Tim lives in Austin with his wife and children.

Agenda

7:30 - 8:00 Event begins. Food, drink, and mingling

8:00 - 8:45 Presentation and follow-up discussion/Q&A

8:45 - 9:30 More mingling. Event ends.

Links

• Genuine Joe Coffeehouse website
  
• Official Social Media Breakfast website
• SMB FriendFeed room

Making media?

Please use the tag SMBAustin.

Questions?

Please contact

Amie Paxton at paxton - DOT amie - AT - gmail - DOT - com
--- or ---
Bryan Person by e-mail at bperson - AT - gmail - DOT - com