Meet Keynote Speaker Erin Kotecki Vest, @QueenofSpain

Don’t wait to register. This event sold out last year.

Keynote Speaker Erin Kotecki Vest

We are delighted and very lucky this year to have Erin Kotecki Vest as the Nevada Interactive Media Summit’s keynote speaker. Also known across the social web as @QueenofSpain , Erin is Political Director and Producer of Special Projects for BlogHer, Inc., the leading participatory news, entertainment and information network for women online that reaches more than 15 million women each month via annual conferences, a Web hub (http://www.blogher.com), and an publishing network of more than 2,500 qualified, contextually targeted blog affiliates. Like BlogHer, Erin is a social media trendsetter–combining her experience in journalism and interactive media to produce influential content and programming. She is known far and wide for her wit, sharp criticism, her prolific use of the #suckit hashtag, and her willingness to engage with her fans and followers on a daily basis (as her more than 17,000 followers on Twitter will attest).

Erin spearheads BlogHer’s initiative to connect community members directly to legislators and policy-makers. Recent successes have included landing an in-person briefing on women online with Senior Advisor to President Obama, Valerie Jarrett, an exclusive on-camera interview with then-candidate Obama, a series of live, interactive conference calls about health care between Congresspeople from both sides of the aisle and BlogHer’s omni-partisan community members, and an exclusive webcast with Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about health care reform.

Prior to joining BlogHer, Erin spent ten years as a broadcast journalist in Los Angeles, Orlando and Detroit winning six Golden Mic Awards with LA news institution KFWB. She continues to blog on her personal site Queen of Spain Blog, and can be found tweeting both for @BlogHer and as @queenofspain .

Erin will use her legendary humor and her experience as a journalist, blogger, and online provocateur to discuss with us why social media is too important for anyone to ignore–in just a few years–social media has seeped into almost every facet of our daily lives including our government and politics, our personal relationships, the media, business, education, and more. In her own words:

“Social media has a role in everything from politics to journalism to simply updating family on your life and it’s now mainstream. To ignore it, is to turn a blind eye to the world around them. And to ignore it is also misses the huge opportunity it provides. For promoting one’s work. For elevating one’s voice. For supporting one’s causes. For authentically connecting to other people and enriching one’s life.”

Don’t wait to register for this year’s Nevada Interactive Media Summit. The event sold out last year.

Register Now for 2010 Nevada Interactive Media Summit

We sold out last year, don’t wait to register!

Listening, Building, Engaging

Nevada Interact will bring together business owners, non-profit advocates, publishers, newsmakers, bloggers, podcasters, filmmakers, media, PR and advertising professionals and anyone else interested in interactive media from every corner of Nevada  together for hands-on learning, rich discussions, opportunities to meet with local companies working in interactive media and plentiful networking opportunities.

When: Saturday, March 6th, 9:00am to 5:00pm

Where: Joe Crowley Student Unon building, University of Nevada, Reno (campus map)

Registration Now! Eventbrite registration site

>>> Erin Kotecki Vest is Political Director and Producer of Special Projects for BlogHer, Inc. In that capacity, Erin spearheads BlogHer’s initiative to connect community members directly to legislators and policy-makers. Recent successes have included landing an in-person briefing on women online with Senior Advisor to President Obama, Valerie Jarrett, an exclusive on-camera interview with then-candidate Obama, a series of live, interactive conference calls about health care between Congresspeople from both sides of the aisle and BlogHer’s omni-partisan community members, and an exclusive webcast with Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about health care reform. Prior to joining BlogHer, Erin spent ten years as a broadcast journalist in Los Angeles, Orlando and Detroit winning six Golden Mic Awards with LA news institution KFWB. She Continues to blog on her personal site Queen of Spain Blog, and can be found tweeting both for @BlogHer and as @queenofspain

Nevada Interactive Media Summit Is Sponsored by

Where will the Nevada Interactive Media Summit take place?
NevadaInteract ‘10 will be at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Joe Crowley Student Union building on March 6th, 2010.  We do not have an event hotel but there are several reasonable options located withing a free five minute bus ride to the UNR campus:

Where can I find the Nevada Interactive Media Summit ‘10 Agenda?
The Nevada Interact Summit will take place all day Saturday, March 6th and will include a keynote session and break-out sessions across multiple tracks:

Get Ready for Nevada Interactive Media Summit 2010

It’s been very quiet around here, but you should know that the planning for the Nevada Interactive Media Summit 2010 has begun!  The Summit will take place on Saturday, March 6th at the Joe Crowley Student Union on the UNR campus at the conclusion of Journalism Week.  The facilities as well as the conference will be bigger and better this year, and we promise that the cost will remain low.

Please check back soon for information about becoming a presenter and registering for the event.

What Is Interactive Media Anyway?

Different industries use the terms “Interactive Media” and “New Media” in different ways. So what do we mean when we talk about interactive or new media? That’s one of the first questions we have to try and answer as a group so that Nevada Interactive Media can develop a set of goals on which to focus. Let’s start the conversation right here, right now.

For me, “Interactive Media” is about much more than new technologies–it’s about using new technologies in new ways to have new conversations. For instance, look at how Plodt is using the Twitter API to allow people and groups to plot anything from what they eat and where they are to their political anxiety during the election. The UpTake uses live footage from amateur videographers to provide compelling local news coverage every day.

As a result, to add local blogs to the NIM blog roll is a task for Solomon. Should we add companies who work in the interactive media field (after we all decide what that is)? If so, what companies and why? Sponsors only? How do we guard against compromising relationships? Do we add websites/blogs because the people behind them believe in the ideas of interactive and new media and perhaps even work in the field? Or should the blog strictly be about interactive media? Just because someone calls themselves a new media strategist (full disclosure: I do), does that mean NIM should link to their blog? The future membership directory seems to be the most appropriate place for website links. What do you think?

Attend The First Annual 2009 Nevada Interactive Media Summit

The Nevada Interactive Media Summit is the first conference exploring the impact of interactive media and technology in Nevada. Just two months into the first presidential administration to have a new media staff, we felt it was time to look into the future of new media and ask, “What’s next?” With the first Nevada Interactive Media Summit, we are seeking to develop an innovative new media culture that anticipates trends and issues and will shape the future of new media in Nevada.

The first annual Nevada Interactive Media Summit will take place on March 7th, 2009 at the University of Nevada, Reno and is sponsored by the Reynolds School of Journalism.

Sponsorship opportunities are now available!

Although we are still finalizing many of the details, we are accepting proposals for presentations, panels, and workshops. Visit the NIM Summit page for more information.

Common Craft’s Social Media in Plain English

Common Craft’s videos are an excellent tool to use during presentations and discussions on social media topics. Their “Explanations In Plain English” series has become so popular because of how well the videos explain concepts that many of us find difficult to explain to people not involved in online social media. Best of all, Common Craft makes versions of the videos available on YouTube to be shared in true social media fashion. I have found them invaluable in my work.