Five Washington metro and Northern Virginia social media folks are coming together this Wednesday, November 5, to help others to embark on their social media journeys.

So what's in store this Wednesday?

As you can see from the sneak peek slides above, our presenters (only two of the five shown above) really want to convey that we are in this social media thing together. From my Sunday post, you can see that everyone really is trying to climb aboard the social media networking and marketing train. Mostly everyone is interested in getting a better sense as to how it all works and how to make it work for them. And just about everyone's writing about it. Check any marketing or PR publication or web site and the headlines are a-buzz with social media this and social media that. Shashi Bellamkonda, Jill Foster, Beth Bates, Ken Fisher and I unite to help orientate those who, like Jeremy's crowd, really want to maximize their efforts on social networks.

I was just like you (not too long ago)

I think everyone at one point or another was confused or not sure how to start socially networking—me included. When I first started tweeting, for example, I was wondering what the hell is this good for? It was confusing and I didn't know what I was doing at the beginning. In all candor, I felt like a bumbling idiot. Same thing with FaceBook. I resisted the FaceBook craze for a long while too, also writing it off — like many others do — as a total waste of time (boy, was I *** wrong ***).

So who *better* to be a part of a social media workshop like this than a total convert like myself who has:

• faced much of the same challenges as you
• felt much of the puzzlement as to how to begin
• resisted the social media *anything* like you (or perhaps your bosses or managers)

It took me many, many months to jump off my no-social networking fence in large part because I didn't understand it. I am an admitted late comer in the social media arena compared to others who are so socially plugged, they make me look like a nobody with their thousands and thousands of friends and connections. When I think back to how I got started and how overwhelming and nerve wracking it was (so many choices, so little time), I realized a workshop like the one we are spearheading this coming Wednesday would be well-received and needed.

Gurus are great but...

Yes, there are many, many social media gurus out there. They laud us with their social media thought leadership, tips and strategies and write book after book about the subject. But when you are just getting started, or when you are in the very beginning phases of getting your company or organization aboard the social media train, some of the wonderful wisdom and advice from the social media powers-that-be may be a bit too abstruse. I remember finding that kind of information from the top of the social media mogul mountains to be interesting and curious, but none of it really helped me to get started in a practical fashion. I can close my eyes and remember staring at my empty FaceBook profile wondering, "Ok, what the hell do I do and how?" Yes, you upload a photo of yourself. OK, you add a bit of information about your professional background. Now what?!?

...and that's exactly what we are going to talk about

So on November 5, my social media peers and I are going to talk about the "now what" part of social networking. How do you get started and WHAT do you do once you launch your profile? And when "they" come (will they come??) what do you do? How do you grow and what do you get out of it all? If this at all sounds like where you are in your social media journey, sounds like workshop was built just for you.

Live tweets, later blog posts and final e-book (plus more)

Obviously, not everyone can attend this event so for those who will miss out due to other commitments or geographic location, not to worry. Several of us will be live tweeting the event (when we are not presenting ... more information on this will become available by Wednesday of this week). Additionally, we will also have blog posts to share after the event as well as a photo gallery and maybe even some video clips, too. And, after all the dust has settled, I will provide a free e-book compiling all the information, ideas and tips shared during the workshop right here on the marketing misfit blog to share openly with anyone interested.

Last but not least, I'm here but frenzied...

I'm toiling on all things November 5 workshop right up until the event so if you need me for anything, chances are I am right here, stuck to the computer. So give me a tweet, send me an email or shoot me an IM (Yahoo! ID = mayramcpherson) if you want to say hi or need me for anything. Otherwise, I'm out of this blog and going back to my PowerPoint.

Oh yeah, if you want to register, it's not too late! A few spots are left ... hope to see you there.