Hacking Hash Tags (Twitter)

Did you know Twitter can be a great way to "stay in the know" when you can't attend a conference? You don't even need a Twitter account. As long as you have the conference hash tag, you can find out the latest buzz.

creative commons licensed (BY) flickr photo by marek.sotak:
http://flickr.com/photos/30032901@N04/3275031724

Submit your proposal for the 4th Annual Social Media Conference today

This year's conference will be on Friday, November 7, 2014 in Fort Worth, Texas.

The conference consists of the following tracks:

Track 1 - Scholarship of Teaching and Training with Social Media (STSM) Sessions - K-12 & College/University
Track 2 - Practical Application of Social Media (How to..) Sessions
Track 3 - Brainstorming/Crowd Sourcing Idea Generation Sessions
Track 4 - Higher Education and Social Media (Student Services/Academic Affairs/University Marketing)
Track 5 - Scholarly Research and Social Media Sessions (Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches) Track 6 - Business and Non-Profit and Social Media Sessions

You do not need to be an academic to submit a proposal.  If you are an expert user of a social media platform (Twitter, blogging, etc.) and you'd like to share your skills, you're welcome to submit a proposal.  If you are a small business owner, or part of a non-profit organization, and you have a unique perspective on social media, please share your knowledge.

You can submit a paper, a panel, or a training session proposal.  If you are a student in Communications, Marketing, or a related field, presenting at a conference is a fantastic way to impress potential employers and network with people in your industry.

For more information, visit our conference website.  You can also take a look at the video and Storify from last year's conference.

Social Media News Round Up for April 28-May 4

Welcome to our occasional feature, the news round-up, where we give you the latest and the greatest in social media. This week's round-up features Snapchat, Amazon, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Snapchat update
Snapchat has recently added video and texting updates but apparently not all of their users have access yet.  The update allows users to text inside of Snapchat and video-call friends.  Our sympathies go out to this teacher, who tweeted about her students' behavior during the Snapchat update:

https://twitter.com/bravesearth/statuses/461944811373617152

Amazon and Twitter team up
Amazon will now allow shoppers to add items to their cart using Twitter.  According to CNET, "Starting today, Twitter users can link their accounts to an Amazon account, and automatically add items to the shopping cart by responding to any tweet with an Amazon product link bearing the hashtag #AmazonCart. Customers never leave the Twitter feed, and the product is waiting for them when they head over to Amazon."  Read the full story.

Twitter lit up with #amazoncart tweets on Monday morning.

Police departments use Pinterest to help solve cases
According to NPR, "A quick search on Pinterest shows about 85 boards from police departments around the country — including Kansas City, Mo., police — who have used Pinterest to help solve burglary and robbery cases, locate missing people and educate parents about street drugs their kids may be using." Read the full story.

A quick search of  the phrase "police department" on Pinterest yields many results.