My very first Social Media Club (RVA) event.

Or, My New Obsession With Twitter.

I get home and the first thing I do is reach for a box of cereal. That's right, I'm having dry cereal for dinner, despite the amazing shmorgasborg set out by the very generous Mekong. I had a polite amount of food there, very little of which was vegetarian friendly- but no red meat, thank goodness. Since I'm not willing to cook, and I've been off meat since returning from a 2 week stint in Argentina (two words: cow brains), dry cereal is my DIY alternative to "real food".

So, as it turns out, there is something called #SMCRVA. For those of you who aren't local, "RVA" is our lovely abbreviation for Richmond. The SMC part? Social Media Club. That's right. Social Media. Club. These online junkies (of which there are many) have banded, organized, and gathered, not only forming a CLUB but having real-life events, too. Yes, real life.

Tonight the event featured a panel a local businesses who have used social media to advance their bottom line. As you may have heard, businesses are having a great success with social media, getting the message out, furthering the brand, and having a consistent and trackable audience.

You probably know Facebook, but you may not be as familiar with Twitter. For me, Twitter is the latest and greatest addiction. It's like crack, but more social. Twitter is often described as a"micro-blogging" site, but it's anything but blogging. It's essentially a series of Facebook status updates, which are limited to 140 characters. Folks use this medium to Tweet about "what they're doing right now"- they say funny things, or share interesting links, or inform audiences of products or promotions, etc. They ask questions, they get answers, they share, remark, comment, message, argue, whine, laugh, bemuse, etc. Perhaps the most challenging and frustrating part is also the best part- posts are short and sweet.

So when my boss asked if I would like to join her at the Social Media Club Richmond event, and offered to buy my ticket, curiosity got the best of me. Sure, what the hell! I said. I like my boss, and it's one of those "you should network" things, and what better way to network than to meet all those people you follow on the internet all the time when you should be working?

At first I was amazed. All these people, drinks in hands, chatting it up like a singles mixer at the local Synagogue. We filled out our nametags at check-in, picked up some free candy bars and stickers, and made our way to the bar. My boss began introducing me to people I should know, have heard about, and will probably hear about or work with at some point in the future. We got our drinks, and I snickered at the sign by the bar about Tweeting and drinking at the same time (but not doing either while driving). As conversations began, I scanned the room, looking to see if I could recognize anybody by their 1/2 inch squared icon photos. I read name tags (which were not only filled out with names, but Twitter monikers as well!) in search of folks I might be following. I was giddy that there were so many internet dorks in the same room.

Then I began to get distracted. At the most inopportune moments, the single girl in me comes out and says, "hey those guys are cute. I wonder if they're single?". I began checking out the menfolk, looking for rings (and hoping for none). Then the voice of reason chimes in. "You're here with your BOSS. Stop being such a hornball. You're not going to hook up with anyone anyway and you know it so just STOP". My eyes shifted across the room. Good looking fellow over there in a tie. That one over there made eye contact with me. Maybe he thinks I'm cute. Some days I don't think about this stuff. Other days, it's all I can do to wear a sign over my head blaring the words "ALONE".

As the panel discussion got under way, I noticed the audience kept their cell phones out. There would be no "please turn off your cell phones" warning here. This was about social media, and darn it, we had to tell the world about it- as it was happening. Got your phone out? You're not rude, you're just twittering. Don't forget to tag that #smcrva.

It was good to put some faces to names, including @younghouselove (writers of younghouselove.com), to whom I blurted "Oh my god I LOVE YOUR BLOG" upon being introduced, rather than keeping a subdued, professional "nice to meet you" tone. "I want you guys to do my living room SO BADLY it is such a disaster!" They were polite, and gracious, and awesome, of course. Twitter/Blogger celebrity- I was star struck. I'm still wildly curious about @thecheckoutgirl, and I failed to find her tonight. Perhaps she didn't have a name tag on? Her blog is hilarious and snarky and wonderful. I also saw and briefly spoke to/overheard many other who I will be adding to my Twitter follow list.

All in all, a good night. A few things I learned:

- Social Media is a great business tool because, hey, it's FREE ADVERTISING
- Some people maintain more than one Twitter account. How do they do it?
- Most of us are still pretty new to this business/social media thing. Except Mekong. They're pros.
- We should add our twitter name to our business cards- yes, that is where all this social media stuff is going.
- My type-a-day blog is not as awful as I think it is, and there are people other than my immediate circle of friends who do, in fact, read it.

Who's boring? I'm boring.