Come learn more about the topics we covered in the book. It will be very interactive and hopefully very informative. Bring lots of questions for us!

Please RSVP here so we have an idea of how much food/drinks to have on hand.

See you on the 18th!

Could it be? A traditional direct advertising model that is targeted, available to small business and has analytics built right into the platform? Watch this space; ScoutMob may very well be the start of an important trend in small business marketing and perhaps a renewed relevance for more traditional advertising in local markets.

You can listen to Tuesday’s episode of GFR below. The interview with Michael from ScoutMob starts about halfway through. But don’t be too hasty to fast forward through the first half — we were talking with Amy Pedersen of Slimpressions, a truly homegrown Atlanta-area business.

SXSW Interactive, an annual conference held in Austin, TX, five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line up of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer.

The latest round of programming announcements for the 2010 conference were released yesterday including a presentation by Zero-G’s Erik Wolf + Stephanie Frost, who will be discussing topics from their book Marketing: Unmasked.

SXSW Interactive will be held March 12-16 2010 in Austin, TX.

A full transcript of the chat is available here. Thanks so much to Robyn and Cliqset for having us!

In just about every industry, specialty or niche there are generally four types of people: outsiders who know nothing, dabblers who have some knowledge, experts who know a lot, and savants whose knowledge and reputation are nothing less than extraordinary.

Social media seems to buck the trend though. The social realm has its share of true savants with names like Chris Brogan, Guy Kawasaki, Robert Scoble, Scott Allen and others highlighting the pantheon of superstars. There are plenty of people who don’t know anything — and who will happily admit it. But there are a LOT more “experts” than dabblers. Don’t believe me? A Google search on the subject of “social media expert” will yield over 81 MILLION results.

How did we get so many experts? The short answer is that we don’t actually have a disproportionate number of experts; we have a disproportionate number of dabblers who are confusing practical/tactical knowledge of a subject with strategic expertise. As my colleague Stephanie Frost and I have both said on numerous occasions, social media is, above all else, a communications tool and claiming expertise in social media would be like calling yourself an expert at using a fax machine. It’s nonsense.

A couple of weeks ago I was having a discussion with a couple of other bloggers (who will remain safely anonymous). We were chatting about some recent social media-related conferences and seminars around town and bemoaning that so little good information was exchanged. We wondered if perhaps the social media community was missing a “middle class” — that group of people that know enough to use the tools effectively but little enough that they would still gain benefit from attending a social media conference.

In my opinion, YES, there is a middle class in social media… And virtually all of us are in it. Somehow though, in this Gatsby-like alternate universe we’ve created, people are compelled to artificially elevate themselves into high society; possibly for ego, possibly for financial gain or maybe for both. But what may be most shocking is that the rest of us support this by paying cash money to attend workshops and conferences led by self-proclaimed experts who don’t have a thing to teach us.

I am NOT a social media expert. I am a marketer who has used social media to build my brand and  make valuable connections. In Marketing: Unmasked, the book that Stephanie and I coauthored, the chapter that deals with social media is a high-level overview, meant for novices and outsiders and seeks to explain how social media fits into an overall marketing plan — it’s not a “how to” or a get rich quick scheme designed to make you the next online superstar.

In fact, the only thing that may be more remarkable about my social media resumé than yours is the fact that my weekly radio program has given me personal access to a few of the true experts, savants and thought leaders out there. And, by the way, I won’t call myself expert by association either.

So this is a plea to my colleagues in the Blogosphere, Twitterverse and other imaginary places of which I am apparently a citizen: please remove the words “social media expert” from your bio, profile, business card, t-shirt, etc. If it’s tattooed on your back, start saving for the laser surgery. And if you’re invited to speak on a topic for which you can not offer any real insight, please decline the invitation. Let’s return some semblance of dignity to this medium that we all enjoy using so much.

Yes, social media is revolutionary — yes, it is in fact social media and not email that has grown up to be the “killer app” on the Internet — and yes, we have all gained profit and notoriety by using it well. But let’s give some careful thought before we start throwing the “E” word around… This is all still very new and we are all students of social media. Do we all have to be the teachers too?

Zero-G Creative’s Erik Wolf and Stephanie Frost have announced the release of their first book, Marketing: Unmasked, Tips + Tricks for Success in Small Business Marketing. The book, available in paperback, is for sale now at Amazon.com.

“We hear it over and over again whenever we talk to small business owners, they tell us they don’t know where to start with marketing their businesses,” says Erik Wolf, co-author of Marketing: Unmasked and president of Zero-G. “When Stephanie and I started putting this book together, we wanted to load it with practical, actionable advice. We want everyone who reads this book to walk away with ideas that they can start implementing in their businesses immediately.”

The book covers branding, logo and graphic design, marketing planning, web design and social media. Each chapter also includes several “Insider’s Tips” providing brutally honest insight into topics like finding domain names, direct mail, search engine optimization, social media experts, business cards, brochures, creativity and more.

The Marketing: Unmasked Beer + Book Launch party is scheduled for Thursday, November 19th at 6PM at the 5 Seasons Brewery in Alpharetta. The gathering is free to attend and everyone is welcome.

• Read an excerpt from Marketing: Unmasked
• Purchase Marketing: Unmasked on Amazon.com
• Support the book by wearing a mask on your Twitter or Facebook avatar
• RSVP for our Book Launch at the 5 Seasons Brewery in Alpharetta on 11/19/09

Our team at Zero-G Creative has been working with the incredible people at North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC) since the summer and it has been an incredible experience. For the past quarter-century, NFCC has been caring for our north Atlanta-metro community, providing food, clothing, money, cars and support for those less fortunate among us.

Over the past few months, we have rebranded the organization, creating a new logo and a fresh new color palette (along with new business cards and letterhead), designed and developed a new web site and we have plans to continue working with them in their social media and other outbound marketing efforts.

This morning, at their annual breakfast, they announced Zero-G Creative as their Business Partner of the Year for 2009 in appreciation of our contributions. Speaking on behalf of everyone at Zero-G who worked on this project, thank you so much to Barbara Duffy, Vonda Malbrough and everyone at NFCC for thinking of us and thank you for the opportunity to help. The pleasure was all ours.

This past weekend, I drove from Atlanta to Denver. I had a lot of time on my hands as you can image and I couldn’t help but notice a lot of interesting things as I drove. So what’s the deal with speed limits? The roads themselves don’t change much as you ride the interstate across the country. Some are 2 lanes, some are 6 lanes, some wind and turn a little — but for the most part a highway is a highway. But the rules for driving on them can vary greatly from state to state.

In Missouri, for example, they have two posted speed limits, one for cars and one for trucks, buses and campers; about 10 MPH less than the limit for cars. In Colorado, the speed limit is a whopping 75 MPH.

Speed limits are completely arbitrary and —it would seem — little to do with actual safety. Am I safer driving 65 through Tennessee than I am driving 75 through Colorado? No, it doesn’t appear that way. Consider also that the fastest road in the world, the Autobahn, is also one of the safest.

No, speed limits are about the perception of safety and a means of trying to control the actions of drivers who might not exercise good judgment without the posted limitation. So why do we have them?

I don’t want to entertain an argument here about whether or not speed limits are worthwhile — but my experience driving through seven states in two days got me thinking about the arbitrary limitations I put on my business. Over time, I’ve created subconscious speed limits for myself, lines I don’t cross. Why? I’m not sure anymore. If you’ve set arbitrary speed limits in your business, maybe now’s a good time to evaluate why you put them there and whether they have helped or hindered your progress as an entreprenuer.

I know I will.

After submitting our panel idea for SXSW 2010 back in July, Stephanie and I found out this week that our idea, Marketing + Branding for Startups has made it into the next round of the process: the Panel Picker vote. The popularity of our workshop in this round will count for 30% of the overall decision-making process.

If you have a moment, please support the Zero-G team with your vote! Click here to read more about our panel proposal and register a “thumbs up”!