The global event Social Media Week hit Chicago for the first time from 9/19 – 9/23/2011 and Catalyst Ranch was in on the action! With such great local events like “Journalism in the Age of the Tweet” and “The Power of Social Media for Social Activism”, we wondered where we might fit in. But with our passion for innovation and creativity, as well as invoking conversations no one else was having, we came up with the perfect event.
Because our staff ranges from Baby Boomer to Millenial, the topic of multi-generational relationships has been one we’ve been quite intrigued by. Many of our clients can relate, not only internally, but in terms of reaching out and connecting to different demographics. Marry those needs with the vast experiential usage of the different generations and we had the perfect panel for Social Media Week.
We sought to make our panel focus-group style, where the questions and content would be driven by our Twitter fanbase. When we posed with the question “If you had a focus group of social media pros & Millennials, what would u ask to benefit you or your business?” we didn’t realize what an overwhelming response we’d receive from our Twitter followers! We had enough crowd sourced talking points for three panel discussions, but were able to focus the discussion under the lens of how Gen Y wants to be interacted with and how they take their online action offline.
Our panel could not have been more eclectic and insightful! Moderated by our own Go-to-Guy (and Social Media Strategist) Danny Bernardo, social media pros Mark J. Carter, Sue Koch, and Tim McDonald led a lively and informative discussion with our twentysomething panelists. Our twentysomethings were diverse and at varied stages of their lives. Staci Diamond, in her late-twenties, had established herself quite well in the field of marketing and communications. Neal Ryan Shaw, in his mid-twenties, is well on his way to establishing himself in the world of theatre and journalism. James Coston was fresh off of a post-college internship at Golin-Harris and utilizing social media not only for personal reasons, but in his job search. Becca Dickson, a junior marketing major at DePaul, rounded out our panel.
Our Ranch regulars who have grown accustomed to our comfy and quirky environment would have been surprised by the sleek and tech heavy set-up we’d put on for this event. It is a testament to the versatility of our space and how we can cater to the theme of any event. It was a Ranch event, however, and our handy dandy Ranch Hands set up a delicious snack service for all the attendees to enjoy, including a very fall themed candy explosion!
You can still follow the Twitter conversation that was had before, after, and during the event if you follow the hashtag #SMWcatalystranch. Our attendees were live tweeting their learnings and following up conversations with our panelists. The reactions after the event were definitely worth noting. Check out these tweets from panelists Tim and James:
Some of our attendees had some great things to say. Check out these Tweets from Kyle Akerman, Mira Lowe, Douglas Lee Miller, and Joe Cajindos:
You can also check out more pictures from the event on our Facebook page.
Thanks to the generous donation of resources and talent from the TV Department of Columbia College Chicago, we will be able to post panel excerpts in the future, so be sure to either follow us on Twitter or subscribe to your YouTube Channel. In the meantime, check out this teaser video, comprised of visitor sourced video and images!
If you would like to see another panel like this at the Ranch, leave us a comment and suggest a topic!
