We’re looking for speakers for upcoming gatherings.  Are you interested in having your voice heard?

Have You Got Something to Say?

Each month, we have up to three speakers sharing their stories with the group.  It’s a low-key affair.  No Powerpoint presentations are necessary.  You can say your part with a cup of coffee in hand.  The crowd is always eager to learn (and happy to offer advice if you ask for it!)

So, What Do I Have to Do?

The format’s pretty easy.  Either you can speak for ten minutes and answer questions for another five, or you can take questions as you talk for fifteen minutes.  At past meetups, we’ve also had speakers join in a panel for discussions at the end of the night.  Don’t worry about being nervous in front of strangers, we’ve got half an hour of free networking before the speakers begin, so you’ll have plenty of time to meet your audience!

But I’m Not a Social Media or Marketing Guru . . .

Hey, if you’re not claiming that, I like you better already!  Seriously though, we’ve had speakers from a variety of backgrounds (web developers, consultants, authors, lawyers, journalists, and fundraisers, just to name a few.)  If you’re using the internet and social media to help grow your business or spread your message, you’ve probably got something relevant to add.

Okay, I’ll Do it.

Awesome!  Drop me an e-mail and let me know on what topic you’d like to speak.  When you get here, I’ll hook you up with a free cup of coffee (or whatever other beverage you’d like from our hosts at the Fine Grind) and introduce you around.  Bring lots of business cards!  Past speakers have worked out some great business deals with each other and members of the audience, so expect this to just be the beginning of a great relationship.

Maybe I’m Not So Sure

Come on, make up your mind.

If you’re not sure if you want to speak, come check out our next event and see what the speakers there are doing.  If you’re not interested in speaking, come on out anyway.  After all, our speakers need an audience!  Pass this on to any friends or colleagues who may be interested, and let me know if you have a speaker or topic that you’d like to see!

The Fine Grind has consolidated to one location, and we’re adjusting our schedule to accommodate theirs.

The Fine Grind has closed their downtown location, but they’ve offered to host us at their main location on Route 23 in Little Falls, NJ.  We’re switching to the third Tuesday night of the month so that we’re not competing with their Live Music night.  (I tried to find some Social Media Troubadours, but I just couldn’t find enough to fill our schedule!)

The Route 23 location is about a mile away from old downtown location.  I’ve updated the map on the About page.

While we had the coffeehouse to ourselves in the past, we’re now open to the public.  Admission is now free, so spread your the word to your friends: there’s no risk or obligation in checking us out!

I’m happy to accept a $10 donation to help defray the costs of organizing the group (and toward eventually buying some cool toys like a projector for future speakers to use.)  In return for a donation, you’ll receive a free beverage and you’ll be entered in a future raffle.  I’ve got some cool prizes in mind relating to past presentations, and I’m always happy to accept ideas or items to share with the group.

Drop me a line if you’ve got any questions about the changes, and I look forward to seeing you all on TUESDAY, September 21st!

Don’t be spooked by social networking!  Join us for another Social Media Coffeehouse gathering at the Fine Grind!

Please help us as we collect clothing and accessories for Dress for Success Hudson County and Career Gear Jersey City at this month’s meetup!

You can bring your donations to the meetup with you. If you can’t make the meetup but want to help, send me an e-mail and we can work out the logistics for your donation.

We are collecting interview attire and professional clothing and accessories for both men and women:

• Suits (men’s and women’s)
• Dress shirts and tops
• Dress belts
• Dress shoes
• Ties
• Bags and handbags
• Portfolios
• Flash drives (for resume preparation)

Help out a great cause while making room in your closets for winter clothes.
Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

Date: Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

Time: 6:30PM – 9:00PM

Location: The Fine Grind, 101 Newark-Pompton Turnpike, Suite 8, Little Falls, NJ

Price: FREE (but please pre-register below!)

A free drink and raffle entry comes with a $10 donation.

Agenda:

6:30 – 7:00 Registration, Networking, and Refreshments

7:00 – 8:00 Speakers’ Presentations

8:00 – 8:30 Panel/Roundtable Discussion

8:30 – 9:00 Networking and Refreshments

Presentation Topics:

Ethics in Social Media – Chris Kieff

Personal Brands and Personal Causes – Kevin Haughwout

Speaker bios:

Kevin Haughwout is a marketer, engineer, and unrepentant problem-solver. He launched a blog at freedmarketer.com to translate marketing jargon into language that anyone could understand. He organized the Social Media Coffeehouse to put the social back into social media (and to save some tolls for NJ-based professionals who would otherwise network in NYC!)

Chris Kieff, an internet marketing and social media consultant at 1 Good Reason, was recently named to Professional Blog Service’s Social Media 40 OVER 40 list. He organizes the NJ Open Coffee series with weekly meetups in Morristown, Montclair, and Englewood. Chris will be lecturing at a seminar, “How to Use Social Media to Network and Grow Your Business”, at Bergen County Community College on October 27th.

Summer’s cooling down, but we’re just heating up! Join us for our next Social Media Coffeehouse gathering! We’re back once again at the Fine Grind with a new set of great speakers!!

NOTE THE CHANGE IN DATE AND VENUE!

Date: Tuesday, September 21th, 2010

Time: 6:30PM – 9:00PM

Location: The Fine Grind, 101 Newark-Pompton Turnpike, Suite 8, Little Falls, NJ

Price: FREE (but please pre-register below!)

A free drink and raffle entry comes with a $10 donation.

Agenda:

6:30 – 7:00 Registration, Networking, and Refreshments

7:00 – 8:00 Presentation and Discussion: Social Media and Social Good

8:00 – 8:30 Discussion: What’s New in Social Media?

8:30 – 9:00 Networking and Refreshments

Presentation Topics:

Social Media and Social Good – In honor of Mashable’s on Social Good Day on 9/23, we’ll be discussing how social media and web 2.0 tools can be used to raise money and awareness and to create social change. Steve Sevchuk will share his story and goal of using the upcoming New York City Marathon as an opportunity to beat something other than just his best time: the cancers that has struck at his loved ones. Following Steve’s presentation, Kevin Haughwout will lead a discussion on how other groups and individuals are using social media to create social good, and to determine how we can do the same.

What’s New in Social Media? – A lot happens in a month on the social web. Apple has entered the social networking world with Ping. Twitter has recreated it homepage, but was that done to bring people to its site or to keep them there? New sites applications are launching daily, and our group of social media mavens always have something to say about them long before even Mashable or TechCrunch does!

Speaker bios:

Kevin Haughwout is a marketer, engineer, and unrepentant problem-solver. He launched a blog at freedmarketer.com to translate marketing jargon into language that anyone could understand. He organized the Social Media Coffeehouse to put the social back into social media (and to save some tolls for NJ-based professionals who would otherwise network in NYC!)

Steve Sevechuk is running the 2010 ING NYC Marathon on November 7th to help sponsor cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for Fred’s Team. Information on the loved ones in whose memory he is running and how you can sponser him is available on his web site, Run Steve and on his Facebook fan page.

What did you think of the last gathering? Leave a comment and help us improve our events!

Attend the Social Media Coffeehouse and get your foursquare Swarm badge!

Given the popularity of gatherings on foursquare day (4/16/10), as a date on which to organize meetups worldwide. Since we’re launching the Social Media Coffeehouse that day, we believe it’s the perfect chance to leverage one of our favorite social media services to start things with a bang!

Visit the Meetup page to let foursquare know that you’re taking part and check out the June Coffeehouse event page to pre-register for the event!

Join us for our third monthly Social Media Coffeehouse gathering! We’re back this month at the Fine Grind with a new set of great speakers!!

Date: Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Time: 6:30PM – 9:00PM

Location: The Fine Grind Downtown (7A Paterson Ave, Little Falls, NJ)

Price: $10 if pre-registered (buy your ticket below)

$15 at the door

Note: all tickets include a free beverage.

Agenda:

6:30 – 7:00 Registration, Networking, and Refreshments

7:00 – 7:45 Speakers’ Presentations

7:45 – 8:15 Panel Discussion

8:15 – 9:00 Networking and Product Demos

Presentation Topics:

Bubbalon: Making Shift Happen: Todd Hamilton and Alex Galkin

ConvergeNJ: Co-working in NJ: Roger Salazar

Publishing in the Social Media Age: Phil Simon

Speaker bios:

Alex Galkin – bio to come!

Todd Hamilton calls himself a Jack of all Tech, and is Chief Ideas Guy @ Bubbalon.com. He believes in a connected future, where technology brings people closer together and the power of ideas and thoughts is multiplied. Todd is currently focusing his efforts on developing Bubbalon.com, an internet startup hoping to harness and magnify the power of our feelings.

Kevin Haughwout is a marketer, engineer, and unrepentant problem-solver. He launched a blog at freedmarketer.com to translate marketing jargon into language that anyone could understand. He organized the Social Media Coffeehouse to put the social back into social media (and to save some tolls for NJ-based professionals who would otherwise network in NYC!)

Roger Salazar – bio to come!

Phil Simon is an independent technology consultant, author, writer, and dynamic public speaker for hire. He focuses on the intersection of business and technology and has written two books: Why New Systems Fail and The Next Wave of Technologies. His next book, The New Small, will be out in November. He also writes for a number of technology media outlets and sites and hosts the podcast Technology Today.

Join us for another great Social Media Coffeehouse gathering!

Date: Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Time: 6:30PM – 9:00PM

Location: The Fine Grind Downtown (7A Paterson Ave, Little Falls, NJ)

Price: $10 if pre-registered (buy your ticket below)

$15 at the door

Note: all tickets includes one free drink.

Agenda:

6:30 – 7:00 Registration, Networking, and Refreshments

7:00 – 7:45 Speakers’ Presentations

7:45 – 8:15 Panel Discussion

8:15 – 9:00 Networking and Product Demos

Speakers:

Ardin Marchetta, digital marketer and owner of Early AM Productions, LLC.

Jim Haughwout, VP of Commercialisation & Operations at Cmed Technologies Ltd, former social media CIO, and author of the Exsecutus blog.

(Plus one more to be announced!)

Join us in Little Falls, NJ for our inaugural Social Media Coffeehouse gathering!

We’ll also be taking part in foursquare Meetup everywhere. Bring your foursquare friends and make sure you all check in. Let’s get some Swarm badges!

Date: Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Time: 6:30PM – 9:00PM

Location: The Fine Grind Downtown (7A Paterson Ave, Little Falls, NJ)

Price: $10 if pre-registered, $15 at the door (price includes one free drink.)

Agenda:

6:30 – 7:00      Registration, Networking, and Refreshments

7:00 – 7:45      Speakers’ Presentations

7:45 – 8:15      Panel Discussion

8:15 – 9:00      Networking and Product Demos

Speakers:

Kevin Haughwout, organizer of the Social Media Coffeehouse

Jerry Levine, attorney and social media speaker

Greg Torbick, founder of JerseyMenu

Louis Hochman, founder of MediaHookup and regional editor for Patch.com

Speaker bios:

Kevin Haughwout is a marketer, engineer, and unrepentant problem-solver.  Shortly after receiving his MBA from the New York University Stern School of Business, he found himself a member of the jobless recovery.  He launched a blog at freedmarketer.com to translate marketing jargon into language that anyone could understand.   He organized the Social Media Coffeehouse after seeing how many NJ professionals were traveling to NYC on a regular basis just to network with their peers.  He hopes that if nothing else, he will have saved them some money of tolls and parking!

Greg Torbick began JerseyMenu.com 2 years ago in his spare time to practice programming. As the site developed he started to pitch the idea to restaurants near his apartment. When he saw that there was a need and a demand for such a service he knew that he had struck across a great business opportunity. He recently left his full time job to concentrate on JerseyMenu.com full time. Prior to JerseyMenu.com, Greg worked for the now bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers. He has a bachelors degree in Computer Science for New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Louis C. Hochman is a newsman. For the last decade, that’s meant working in print media, watching the Web evolve from an afterthought to a distraction to a disruption. A few weeks ago, he ended his time with the Daily Record’s digital team, after a year of helping expand the paper’s Web operation and helping lead its adventures in social media. Now, he’s a regional editor at Patch.com, the AOL-backed online news startup that plans to redefine — or at least reinvigorate — community journalism, one community at a time.

Networking with social media professionals no longer requires a ride into NYC.

What We Are

The Social Media Coffeehouse is a monthly gathering of professionals and social media enthusiasts in Northern New Jersey.  We meet to network, share our knowledge, and learn best practices.  We have marketers, lawyers, programmers, writers, and more, so anyone is welcome to attend, enjoy a cup of coffee, and learn from our speakers.

Where We Meet

Our gatherings are held at The Fine Grind in downtown Little Falls, NJ.

There is ample free parking in the Little Falls Municipal Parking Lot behind the coffee shop. You can enter the lot at the intersection of Paterson Avenue and Maple Avenue or through the driveway at the Lakeland Bank on the corner of Main Street and Paterson Avenue. Please note that while street parking in Little Falls is free, most of it has strict time limits. Please observe parking signs if you choose to park on the street.

How It Works

Each of our gatherings is separated into three activities:

• Networking
• Presentations by guest speakers
• Panel discussions

We start and wrap up each gathering with open networking so that you can make connections and trade stories with other professionals.  We’ll have 2-3 speakers presenting each month on a wide range of topics pertaining to social media.  After each speaker has presented and fielded questions from the audience, we’ll gather them (along with any other special guests) and form an impromptu panel to discuss other topics in which the speakers or audience or interested.

How You Can Get Involved

All you have to do to get involved is show up!  Bring plenty of business cards to distribute while you network.  We will occasionally have drawings for the audience as well, so make sure to save a business card!

If you’re interested in being a presenter or serving on the panel, we’d love to have you.  E-mail kevin (at) socialmediacoffeehouse.com for more info.  You’ll have a chance to advertise your company, website, latest book, etc.

Event info will be posted monthly.  Keep visiting this website, subscribe to our RSS feed, or sign up on our mailing list to stay informed!

How Will I Stay Awake After a Long Day At Work?

We don’t call it the “Social Media Coffeehouse” for nothing.  We meet at the Fine Grind – Downtown, a coffee shop in the center of Little Falls, NJ.  Your event fee includes a free beverage (and we may include a light dinner in the future if there is interest.)  The Fine Grind also has an on-going charity book drive going on, so you might even find something in their non-fiction section to help you out!

What If I Have a Question or Suggestion?

E-mail kevin (at) socialmediacoffeehouse.com if you have any questions, suggestions, or constructive criticisms.

See you at the coffeehouse!