Online networking the latest fashion in career building
Looking to climb the corporate ladder 140 characters at a time? General Motors and Southwest Airlines are looking for a few good Twitter and Facebook fanatics to help them sell more Buicks and cheap airline tickets. You can even drink beer while you brainstorm.
On Nov. 18, both companies will serve as case studies for an "Apprentice-like" business competition at the Cubby Bear bar in Wrigleyville. Hosted by former Sears interactive marketing exec Hope Bertram, the Windy City Social Marketing Challenge will divide attendees into teams to come up with social media marketing plans for each company. Winners will be recognized online for their contributions and equipped with hundreds of dollars in prizes. Thankfully, Donald Trump will not be involved.
"We like to use crowdsourcing as a way to come up with taglines and product names," said Christi Day, communications specialist with Southwest Airlines.
The term "crowdsourcing" generally refers to when corporations ask their customers or the community at large to come up with business ideas traditionally generated by employees and contractors. Ravenswood-based online retailer Threadless is a pioneer in the practice, while West Loop-based CrowdSPRING last year raised $3 million to fund a Web site that invites graphic designers from all over the world to bid on contract work.
Corporations are increasingly seeing the benefit of accessing cheap and original ideas from the masses.
"The channels have changed so much, and now there are so many touch points to get information across," Day said.
Bertram, 41 and a native of Deerfield, founded Windy City Social last year after being laid off from Sears.
"On a whim, I decided to throw a meet-my-friends party," she recalled. "More than 300 people showed up from my evite."
What began as a hobby is now a full-time job creating and managing several mostly tech-related professional networking and educational events per year. Bertram pays the bills from attendee admission fees and sponsorships. Windy City Social also offers training courses on using Facebook and Twitter for professional advantage.
In anticipation of the marketing challenge, Windy City Social will host a panel conversation Tuesday night at English pub in River North. Social media pros from organizations ranging from Garrett's Popcorn to popular Facebook application developer Where I've Been will be on hand. For more information, visit www.windycitysocial.com.
While social networking service Foursquare has only tens of thousands of registered users, the company's mobile focus and corporate DNA help it to stick out from the hundreds of companies trying to build the next killer application. Founded in New York City and backed by Twitter investor Union Square Ventures, Foursquare (found online at Foursquare.com and via iPhone and Google Android applications) helps you find friends and contacts in your immediate vicinity.
Residents and visitors to Chicago can earn honorary badges for sharing their experiences at places ranging from the Wiener Circle to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Comments and status updates on Foursquare are also integrated with other social networking accounts. Local activity on the Foursquare is limited, so if you are looking for somewhere online to hide from all your Facebook friends this is the place. At least until everyone else discovers it.