lacy » LunaWeb

Memphis Entrepreneurs Draw National Attention

Posted by lunaweb on September 29, 2008 No Responses »

Sep 292008

The Memphis entrepreneurial community has been drawing some high-profile attention recently, fueled by several recent events put on by everyone with the LaunchMemphis group.

The first event to give Memphis some much-deserved national attention was the LaunchMemphis TechFuel night featuring Business Week writer, Yahoo! TechTicker host, and blogger, Sarah Lacy. Sarah, being a Memphis native, was already familiar with the local business climate. After interacting with a full host of entrepreneurs during the stop on her User Generated Book Tour, Sarah wrote an epic blog post about what Memphis is doing right.

The Geoff Livingston tweetup on the 22nd was the second event to spawn great press from a better source. Geoff, author of Now is Gone and top ranked PR blog The Buzz Bin, met with a group of Memphis entrepreneurs and Social Media proponents at Quetzal cafe, where he got to know several members of the business community, and shared some great conversations everyone there. Afterwards, The Buzz Bin interviewed LunaWeb President and LaunchMemphis co-founder, Dave Barger, about the future of entrepreneurial Memphis and Social Media. You can see the post here.

If you missed Sarah and Geoff, there’s still more on the horizon in Social Media. Upcoming on the calendar is the Social Media Breakfast on October 1. As well as Barcamp Memphis on November 7-8

It’s an exciting time to be a Memphian! Let’s keep up the good work and continue to make Memphis great.

Sarah Lacy Brings UGBT to Memphis

Posted by lunaweb on September 19, 2008 2 Responses »

Sep 192008

Last night’s TechFuel event with Sarah Lacy was one to remember! The latest stop on Sarah’s User Generated Book Tour, which brought her back to her hometown, started at 5:00 at the EmergeMemphis building downtown and didn’t end until the last of the crowd dispersed at 10:00.

After some initial meet-and-greet time, the evening started off with some quality time with the internet celebrity. Sarah spent about 20 minutes talking about her experience in Silicon Valley, sharing moments from her book, Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0, and answering questions from an eager assembly. After that… the party started.

The group dispersed to the next room over to mingle over drinks and food, while Sarah signed books and gave advice to some very eager Memphis Entrepreneurs. For 3 straight hours, with the support a single Heineken, Sarah spoke to every single person who approached her at the event. Some of these conversations were simply humorous anecdotes of Silicon Valley personalities, while others were filled with unflinchingly delivered, hard, straight-shooting advice to entrepreneurs who willingly took the kind-hearted criticism she delivered.

The next LaunchMemphis event will be with PR guru Geoff Livingston at the Quetzal coffee shop on Monday the 22nd from 7-9 p.m. Geoff is the author of Now is Gone and high-profile blog writer. Join the Facebook event for more details!

LaunchMemphis Rocks Social Media in September

Posted by lunaweb on September 11, 2008 3 Responses »

Sep 112008

September is poised to be a HUGE month for the Social Media and Tech community in Memphis! Within the next two weeks, Launch Memphis is putting Memphis on the map by hosting three major events featuring innovation and online celebrity.

First on the agenda will be the Sarah Lacy TechFuel event on September 18. The high-profile blogger and author of Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0 is returning to her hometown of Memphis on her way through her User Generated Book Tour. This will be a great night for bloggers, techies, and anyone just looking to network and learn. Best thing is… it’s free.

On the 22nd, just four days after Sarah hits Memphis, Geoff Livingston stops by for a night with the Memphis locals. Geoff is one of the premier “blogging gurus” on the web and the author of Now is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs. He has also received some well deserved praise from the likes of the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post for his work in Social Media.

Last, but most assuredly not least, is the Innovators Luncheon with the Leadership Academy on September 25th at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn. The theme is “Innovators,” and will feature a panel discussion by some of Memphis’ most established and promising entrepreneurs.

You can get details and RSVP information on all these events on the Launch Memphis site.

This is also a great time to get involved in the planning process for Barcamp Memphis! The un-conference is set to be held on November 8th, but planning meetings have already been underway. There are chances to make your voice heard by suggesting speakers, topics, and, of course, getting your name out there by donating to the all-important swag arsenal. Visit the Barcamp Memphis wiki to get involved!

Memphis Social Media Breakfast #6

Posted by lunaweb on September 3, 2008 3 Responses »

Sep 032008

The 6th Memphis Social Media Breakfast was one of the best yet! A group of about 12 people from all different levels of SM backgrounds gathered at Mantia’s restaurant in Mid-town Memphis, enjoyed some great breakfast, and shared new info from the Social Media realm.

As this month’s breakfast started out, LunaWeb President and CEO Dave Barger began the meeting in an open conference style, with all the attendees making requests to hear about the topics that were affecting them most. Topics of conversation ranged everywhere from how to employ Facebook for your business, to new software launches like Ubiquity and Google Chrome. There was also a great deal of interest expressed in the Launch Memphis Tech Fuel event hosting Sarah Lacy’s User Generated Book Tour on September 18 at Emerge Memphis.

After some engaging conversation with a well-informed crowd, Daniel Pritchett gave an incredibly helpful presentation about Social Median and did a demo of some of the sites’ features, as well as giving some demo insight into the capabilities of Ubiquity.

The crowd really made this Social Media Breakfast a great one, and kudos to Mantia’s for being a great host for these events. The next breakfast will be on October 1st at the Crescent Club. Check for the event to show up on the Meetup page. We’ll see you there!

@LunaWeb

The Social Expedition Podcast

The Social Expedition Blog