Madison Interactive

MadInteractive 4th Event Invitation – Music Bloggers

tlekan — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:39:05 +0000

Madison Interactive, a group for people who work on public websites – both for work and for play – in the Madison area – is hosting its fourth free event. Whether you’re uploading articles to a local media website or just tending a personal blog, we want you to join us and share your experiences. And to make it all even more interesting, we’ll also be having a brief panel discussion with some local online folks who focus on writing about music in Madison.

Please pass this note on to everyone you think might be interested and leave a comment on this post if you’re coming.

Panel Discussion Details:
MadInteractive Panel No. 4 – Music Blogging in Madison

Location:
The High Noon Saloon

Event Time/Date:
5 – 7pm on June 27, 2007

Panel Time:
5:30 to 6pm

Details:
(Panelists, please show up at 5:20 at the very latest.)

Topic: Music Blogging in Madison
The discussion will center around the various writers in town covering the food scene.

Music blogging in Madison seems particularly strong right now. We also have good food and politics blogs, but the music bloggers really represent a very large voice in terms of the total music coverage done locally. I’ve asked some of my favorite local music bloggers to talk about their craft and what it means to the overall community.

Moderator:
Todd Lekan – http://www.madison.com

Panelists:
Kiki Schueler – Kiki’s Magical Music Reviews – http://www.2bhifi.com/kiki/archives/001404.html
Skip – Up the Downstair – http://upthedownstair.net/
Aaron Veenstra – Civility in Public Discourse – http://www.etchouse.com/cpd
Ryan Matteson – Muzzle of Bees – http://muzzleofbees.com/
Tom Geer – More Cowbell – http://www.morecowbell.info/
Hastings – Emcees Without Voices – http://www.madison.com/post/blogs/emcees/Once again, please pass this note on to everyone you think might be interested and leave a comment on this post if you’re coming.

We hope to see you there!
MadInteractive

MadInteractive 3rd Event Invitation

tlekan — Mon, 21 May 2007 20:06:26 +0000

Madison Interactive, a group for people who work on public websites – both for work and for play – in the Madison area – is hosting its third free event. Whether you’re uploading articles to a local media website or just tending a personal blog, we want you to join us and share your experiences. And to make it all even more interesting, we’ll also be having a brief panel discussion with some local online folks who focus on writing about dining in Madison.

Please pass this note on to everyone you think might be interested and leave a comment on this post if you’re coming.

Panel Discussion Details:
MadInteractive Panel No. 3 – Food Blogging in Madison

Location:
The High Noon Saloon

Event Time/Date:
5 – 7pm on May 31, 2007

Panel Time:
5:30 to 6pm

Details:
(Panelists, please show up at 5:20 at the very latest.)

Topic: Food Blogging in Madison
The discussion will center around the various writers in town covering the food scene.

Moderators:
JM and Nichole of Eating in Madison A to Z

Panelists:

* Christopher Robin from Christopher Robin’s Fresh Foods

* Jonathan Hunter of Underground Food Collective

* Irene Cash of Madison Dining Online, Cuisine Capers

* Monnie Halberg of Nutritilicious

* Linda Falkenstein of thedailypage.com

Once again, please pass this note on to everyone you think might be interested and leave a comment on this post if you’re coming.

We hope to see you there!
MadInteractive

2nd event recap

tlekan — Wed, 02 May 2007 23:32:33 +0000

We had 8 registrations, but there were probably over 25 people there at the peak. We made $35.60 (verified by me and JM) in donations. We paid $75 for the facilities. We have video coverage. A very good panel with lots of audience participation. We should have the video posted here soon. Next up is a food panel on May 31.

Madison Interactive Second Event Invitation

tlekan — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 02:24:29 +0000

Madison Interactive, a group for people who work on public websites – both for work and for play – in the Madison area – is hosting its second free event. Whether you’re uploading articles to a local media website or just tending a personal blog, we want you to join us and share your experiences. And to make it all even more interesting, we’ll also be having a brief panel discussion with some local online music promoters.

Please pass this note on to everyone you think might be interested and leave a comment on this post if you’re coming.

Panel Discussion Details:
MadInteractive Panel No. 2 – Music Promotion on the Internet

Location:
The High Noon Saloon

Event Time/Date:
5 – 7pm on April 30, 2007

Panel Time:
5:30 to 6pm

Details:
(Panelists, please show up at 5:20 at the very latest.)

Topic: Music Promotion on the Internet
The discussion will center around the importance of the Internet for music promotion and touch on the different outlets available for that promotion (websites, MySpace, SonicBids, etc.)

Moderator:
Jessica Thompson of contessasays.com

Panelists:

* Roy Elkin from Broadjam
* Matt Jacoby, founder and president of LocalSounds.org
* Allen McGuire, founder of MadtownLounge.com
* Nick Venturella (singer/songwriter, and also currently writing a book on the Independent Wisconsin Music Scene)
* Tom Klein, promotional mastermind behind The Journey Music.

About the moderator and panelists:

Moderator: Jessica Thompson is the founder and executive director of the Foundation of Retaining Creative Energy (FoRCE). FoRCE is a local non-profit that operates as an umbrella organization for several entities that provide promotional education and support to the local music and arts scenes. Organizations underneath FoRCE include Contessa Says (online cultural magazine, www.contessasays.com) , Leigh Artistic Promotions, Open Art Studios, and the upcoming bi-annual Madison Music Guide. Thompson strives to create a creative cultural scene in which the local talents can get the appreciation and respect that they deserve.

Panelist: Roy Elkins is a well-known music technology entrepreneur who has been leading industry innovations for over twenty years. Elkins is the Founder and CEO of Broadjam Inc., serving independent musicians and industry giants such as The Academy of Country Music, Warner/Chappell, Peavey, and others. Broadjam.com, the company’s popular independent web site now hosts over 70,000 artists and 350,000 songs. The site is known for its musician-friendly services, including website hosting, artist profiles, reviews, contests, transmit mechanism, charts, download sales and deliveries to radio, film, TV and advertisers. Before founding Broadjam, Elkins was the Vice President-Sales & Marketing for Sonic Foundry, and held several Director-level positions with Ensoniq Corporation. He maintains a database of over 5,000 music industry contacts including executives at virtually every company in the music industry and past and/or present clients such as Les Paul, D.J. Jazzy Jeff, the Beach Boys, the Allman Brothers, BoyzIIMen, Joe Walsh, ELP, Yes, Journey, Skid Row, Randy Jackson, Will Smith and many others. He is a musician and songwriter who thoroughly understands the musician’s world.

Panelist: Matt Jacoby is the founder and president of Local Sounds. Local Sounds is a collaborative effort among several businesses in the Madison, Wisconsin area with the goal of promoting independent music in a new way, as well as creating a centralized resource for local and touring artists alike. The independent music organization was conceptualized in 2004 and formed in 2005. Local Sounds has been the umbrella for organizations such as Rick’s Café, Gimp Radio, IndieEra, and MadCity Tube. Jacoby has also had a large volunteer role since 2005 in the production of the Madison Area Music Awards. Matt Jacoby has been a musician for 13 years of his life, performing with bands such as Planet of 9.

Panelist: Allen McGuire is the founder and owner of MadTownLounge.com. MadTownLounge.com is an entertainment website focusing on local music, food, and nightclubs of Madison, WI. McGuire is a professional computer programmer and Database Administrator. He has a BS is from UW-Stout and his Masters is in Computer Information Systems. Outside of work McGuire does Search Engine Optimization (madisonseo.com) and of course the MadTown Lounge (madtownlounge.com). In his quest to learn a couple new technologies in March ’06, he got a wild hair to start up a website to bring together my technological skills and personal interests (entertainment) – that is how the MadTown Lounge came about. As things progressed, McGuire got fascinated with marketing on the Internet, which largely depends on how well your website ranks in the SERPs (Search Engine results). That is when I got involved in Search Engine Optimization. “As I learned how to get high rankings for venues all across Madison, the traffic to the MadTownLounge began to increase. I started adding more features that related to venues – reviews, bands, maps, calendars, etc. All helped the site gain more traction. One year later the site has become a pretty solid marketing tool for area bands and traffic has spiked to 40,000 page views per month. The MadTown Lounge ranks in the top three for nearly every member band and venue (most popular search format: “ ”).

Panelist: Nick Venturella is an indie folk/pop singer/songwriter & college market performer. Venturella has been writing, performing, and promoting his music for over 12 years. He has eight albums under his belt, five of which are independent solo releases. Venturella has a wealth of knowledge and expertise from his indie music experience, bachelor’s degree in visual art, and professional marketing work experience in both corporate America and in higher education. Venturella also offers marketing services to entrepreneurial musicians and small businesses. Currently, Venturella is compiling a book of interviews with Wisconsin independent musicians and music professionals called Wisconsin Indies (www.myspace.com/wisconsinindies). Feel free to check out his websites: www.nickvmusic.net, www.cafepress.com/nickvmusic, www.myspace.com/nickventurella, www.sonicbids.com/nickventurella

Panelist: Tom Klein is the promotional mastermind behind The Journey Music. The Journey Music is a promotion company, booking agency, management company, and with our partners a record label. They started as a small all-ages venue across from Camp Randall Stadium in downtown Madison, WI. With the upcoming destruction of the space, the organization has expanded into the promotional and booking company that it is today. Klein has been responsible for the booking and promotion of hundreds of shows in the Madison area. A large percentage of these shows have been targeted at the all-age market.

Once again, please pass this note on to everyone you think might be interested and leave a comment on this post if you’re coming.

We hope to see you there!
MadInteractive

Finally an update!

tlekan — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 22:03:01 +0000

I know its been a while since we last posted, but we’ve been working hard to organize our group for the longer term, based on what we learned from the first event.

We got pretty far organizing a March political panel, but, unfortunately, we’ve had to table it for a later date. In the mean time, I’m happy to announce that our next event will be April 30th and will focus on local music promotion online.

I’ll put an official invitation up here on Monday and send it out to the mailing list. In the mean time, what follows is a preview of what we’ve got coming. If you’re interested in helping out, participating, or have any topic suggestions for us, send me an email at tlekan_AT_madison.com.

April 30 – Music promotion on the internet

The discussion will center around the importance of the Internet for music promotion and touch on the different outlets available for that promotion (websites, MySpace, SonicBids, etc.)

Moderator: Jessica Thompson of Contessa Says

Current Panelist List:

Roy Elkin from Broadjam
Matt Jacoby, founder and president of Local Sounds
Allen McGuire ,founder of MadtownLounge.com
Nick Venturella (singer/songwriter, and also currently writing a book on the Independent Wisconsin Music Scene)

May 31 – Food Panel

June – Music Blogger Panel

July – Venture Capital Panel

Future ideas:

Photography Bloggers
Politics
Art (online galleries)
Shopping
Old Media (having to translate to Internet)
Old Industry (knowledge based industries and surviving/competing with the Internet–travel agencies, realtors, libraries)

First Event Recap

tlekan — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:48:45 +0000

Thanks to everyone who came out. Who’s ready to start planning the next one?!

Here are the stats:

1) Attendance: 35 registered, about 42 total including speakers, lurkers, and volunteers

2) Donations: $84.45 — Enough to cover our next event! (excluding food) This amount was verified by myself and JM and is in my possession.

3) Number who said they’d help out: 16

4) Number who said they’d pay a small fee for a future event: 26 – I think, for now, the donation system seems best. Comments?

5) Negative comments I heard about the event: 0

6) Positive comments I heard about the event: Many, many

Check out the panel discussion (YouTube seems to be choking on some of them occasionally, so I apologize in advance if you can’t get to all segments. If it keeps up, I’ll find an alternative way to post them Monday):

Madison Interactive First Event

tlekan — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:24:28 +0000

Pageviews, unique visitors, banned users and tagging. WordPress, AdSense, phpBB and RSS. Trolls, flames, sock puppets and locked threads.

If you’re working or playing in the
Madison area, you probably find yourself thinking about things like this on a daily or hourly basis.

Well, we have the support group for you:

Madison Interactive
A new group for people who work on public websites – both for work and for play – in the
Madison area. Come hang out with us – you just might meet other people thinking about the same geeked-out things you’re thinking about.

Whether you’re uploading articles to a local media website or just tending a personal blog, we want you to join us and share your experiences.

We’ll be hosting our first free event February 15th at the High Noon Saloon, 5pm to 7pm.

Complementary appetizers will be provided. And to make it all even more interesting, we’ll also be having a brief panel discussion with some local website gurus. Details are at the bottom of this invitation.

Staff from the following local websites will be in attendance:

madison.com
Dane101.com
Eating in Madison A to Z
Contessa Says…
Wisconsin Sports Network

If you plan on joining us – and we hope you will – please reply to this post (you don’t need to leave your real name) so we’ll have an idea of how many folks are going to show up. Also, please feel free to pass this invitation on to anyone else who you think might be interested.

Panel Discussion Details:
MadInteractive Panel No. 1

Location:
The High Noon Saloon

Event Time/Date:
5 – 7pm on Thursday, Feb 15

Panel Time:
5:30 to 6pm

Details:
We’ll have the stage and audio waiting for us. The Brass Ring will cater with appetizers.
(Panelists, please show up at 5:20 at the very latest.)

Topic: Community and commerce.
You’ve built the community. Now how do you generate revenue? Commerce isn’t inherently evil; we all need to buy stuff from time to time. The Internet can be an amazing way to connect buyers and sellers, and the community marketplace is one way to do that. What are some ideas for making commerce work for your online community?

Moderator:
Adam Powell, aka christopher_robin

Panelists:

Todd Lekan, madison.com
Jesse Russell, dane101.net
Craig Bartlett, theonion.com
Kyle Myhre aka El Guante, guante.net
Nicholas Kartos, wissports.net
Samarah, belladonnarecords.com

Format:

Introduction: moderator (2 minutes)
Opening statements: (3 minutes) 30 seconds from each panelist on the intersection of commerce and community online.
Open discussion (20 minutes)
Q&A from audience (5-10 minutes)

Again, if you plan on joining us, please let us know by leaving a reply to this post.

We hope to see you there!
MadInteractive

Welcome to Madison Interactive

tlekan — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:21:14 +0000

This is the home blog of Madison Interactive – a group that has come together for the purpose of sharing concepts of how best to utilize the Internet and how to strenghten the Madison Internet community. Thank you for popping in. We have some great ideas for events in the coming year that we hope will bring the technocratic minds of Madison together.

This blog was moved today from http://interactivemadison.blogspot.com due to technical difficulties over there.