Social Media Breakfast Madison Takes Over Sun Prairie's Wisconsin Distrubutors (Sun Prairie Star)

 

Social Media Breakfast Madison, an association of Madison area social media professionals (and wannabes like me) took over Wisconsin Distributors, 900 Progress Way, on May 15.  They heard encouraging words from Michael Bussmann, New Belgium Brewery’s self-proclaimed “Social Networking Nerd” -- the one behind the @NewBelgium twitter handle and New Belgium’s Facebook page.

Click here to read the full article in the Sun Prairie Star: http://www.hngnews.com/sun_prairie_star/opinion/columns/article_185b4676-c3b4-11e2-921f-001a4bcf6878.html

Blogger's Note: Sun Prairie's own Tony Rodriquez is one of the key organizers of what I think is one of the best networking events around.  Stop in sometime and you'll see a lot of other Sun Prairie faces too.  Special thanks to Wisconsin Distributors for hosting the event, and for helping bring Mr. Bussman from New Belgium out to Sun Prairie.

Sun Prairie's Tony Rodriguez Featured as Professional of the Week (IBMadison.com)

Professional of the Week – November 29, 2011 - Tony Rodriguez, Mad City Ads LLC

Phone: 608-561-1690
Email: tony@madcityads.com
Website: http://www.madcityads.com
Birthplace: Chicago
Spouse/Partner: Anne
Organizations: Sun Prairie Optimists, Sun Prairie Chamber of Commerce, Social Media Breakfast Madison
Education: University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, B.A. in sociology, 1997

How long have you been at MadCityAds, and how would you describe your role?
I started my company in 1997 as ABC Web Designs and have been providing freelance Web design services to my clients for 14 years. In 2002, I changed my company name to MadCityAds and in 2009 I formed MadCityAds, LLC. I provide Web design, development, and social media consulting services. I pride myself on the relationships I build with my customers and on providing an excellent product for a competitive price.

Who would you most like to be a mentor to, or have the most influence on?
I would love to be a mentor to one or several troubled youths who have an interest in a career in Internet development. Oddly, I have the opportunity to work with this population through the Prairie Phoenix Academy in Sun Prairie and am looking forward to working with the students there.

What was a personal high point in your career?
What started out as a low point for me after a job loss in 2009 turned into the best year for my business and my personal life. Being 100% freelance was a leap I did not make voluntarily, but once I made the leap, I really learned to love it.

Do you have any long-range goals that you’d like to achieve before leaving your company?
I feel I am well on my way to my goal of being seen as a thought leader in the Madison market in the area of social media.

What do you read to help keep you current in your field or industry? What trade associations or training do you belong to that you feel are a good referral?
I subscribe to the blogs of Chris Brogan, Seth Godin, and Scott Stratten, and I read Website Magazine each month. I attend and co-manage the Social Media Breakfast Madison group and attend the Social Media Club of Madison as well as High Tech Happy Hour and find all of these groups to be a great resource for both education and networking.

What were your career aspirations when you were in high school?
When I was in high school, I dreamed of being a computer programmer, and upon my arrival at UW-Whitewater, I decided to go another route and studied sociology with the intent of working with troubled teens. When I graduated I worked as a mentor for several teens in the Walworth County area, but also worked as a webmaster for a small Internet service provider. While I still do volunteer work with youth through the Sun Prairie Optimist Club and other avenues, ultimately I still landed in the technology field.

What brought you to Madison?
In 2002 I received a job offer from American TV working in their corporate headquarters on the west side of Madison as part of their Web development team. I remained part of that team for nearly seven years and still stay in contact with my former supervisor and coworkers.

Is there anything you’d like to share about your family?
I am a first-generation American citizen and a first-generation college graduate. I am half Puerto Rican and half Ukrainian.

What do you do outside of the office to relax?
My wife and I love to go camping and to travel to warm weather climates. I have a great interest in all things cinema and consider myself a movie buff.

What is your favorite place to travel to, and why?
So far my favorite vacation spot is Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We love the weather, the people, and of course the food. Puerto Vallarta is a beautiful destination with people as warm as the climate, magnificent sunsets, and five-star dining that can't be beat.

What kinds of books do you read for pleasure? What’s a recent title that might give us the flavor of what you like to read?
I enjoy reading any good fiction, but am partial to science fiction and fantasy as well as horror books. I recently read The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks.

Finally, list three words you think best describe you:
Honest, sincere, funny.

Source: http://www.ibmadison.com/professional-of-the-week

Blogger's Note: I copied the full article, as it appears that the linked page will change content.  Congratulations Tony.  Well deserved write up.

Sun Prairie Shines at Social Media Breakfast (City of Sun Prairie Office of Economic Development)

Panelists at the Social Media Breakfast in Madison Discuss Their Trade (Photo by Neil Stechschulte)

I just want everybody to know how with it Sun Prairie is when it comes to social media.

Ellie Humphrey and Tony Rodriguez, co-managers of Social Media Breakfast Madison are both Sun Prairie residents.

Of the five social media panelists presenting on "Starting Social Media from Scratch" at today's Social Media Breakfast Madison meeting at Harbor Athletic Club, two of them had direct ties to Sun Prairie: Tony Rodriguez (the same as mentioned previously) is owner of Mad City Ads (and as previously stated is a Sun Prairie resident). Lynn Belken is new Director of Marketing and Customer Education for WPPI Energy (formerly with Focus on Energy).

The sponsor for breakfast was from Sun Prairie's own Frontier Communications (Thanks Terry).

Finally, I also met at least three other people with direct ties to Sun Prairie.

With so much interest coming our way, we're hoping to get the SMB Madison team over to Sun Prairie a bit more often.

Sun Prairie Twitter Users Help Lead Unique New Marketing Campaign (City of Sun Prairie Office of Economic Development)

(Photo Credit: Social Media Club of Madison)

Sun Prairie's Ellie Humphrey and Tony Rodriguez are regular participants of the Madison Social Media Club and Social Media Breakfast. Today, they were out and about with social media guru Wendy Soucie working on a unique marketing event called the #lincolndriveby (for anyone wanting to follow the project on Twitter).

The project includes driving a brand new Lincoln MKS sponsored by Ford to local businesses that are known for their social media efforts and having a picture taken with the car and the Twitter hashtag #lincolndriveby. The photos will be collected and shared via Twitter and will be used to co-promote these local businesses as well as the Ford's new Lincoln MKS. (It also should be neat experiment in demonstrating the power of social media in advertising.)

Several stops were made in the Sun Prairie area, including Beans 'n' Cream, Frontier Communications (shown above). The #lincolndriveby will be occurring over at least the next week.

Think your business is worthy of a #lincolndriveby? Contact Ellie Humphrey (@E_Humphrey) or Tony Rodriquez (@MadCityAds) via Twitter to get your business on the list for a photo! or and use the #lincolndriveby hashtag!

UPDATE: Follow Ellie Humphrey's blog about the #lincolndriveby by clicking here.

Sun Prairie Makes its Mark on Social Media Breakfast Madison (Sumbitted by Neil Stechschulte)

Actually, its Social Media Breakfast Madison, and yes I may have taken some artistic license with the logo. In any case, Sun Prairie was well represented at today's Social Media Breakfast (Madison), where 150 people signed up to hear Eric Gohs from Land's End talk about their social media strategy. If you're on Twitter, search for the hashtag #smbmadison for highlights of Eric's presentation.

The Sun Prairie connection was present in several ways. Tony Rodriguez (@madcityads on Twitter) works for Suttle Straus, is a Sun Prairie resident, and he is one of the key organizers of this monthly networking group that meets to discuss how social media is effectively used by businesses. Ellie Humphrey (@E_Humphrey on Twitter) is a marketing professional for Broadcast Interactive Media, and she also helps out with the organization SMB meetings.

At least two Sun Prairie businesses were there as well, Cupcakes-a-go-go (@cupcakes_a_gogo on Twitter) and Golden Days Bakery

(http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Golden-Days-Company-LLC/77294142831).

Even better, freelance journalist Julie Henning (@RoadTripsFreeMe on Twitter) will be working on an article for the Sun Prairie Star that talks about the Social Media Breakfast series.

UPDATE: (Follow up article in the Sun Prairie Star)

Tweeting: Now for the birds and area businesses online
http://www.sunprairiestar.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=129&ArticleID=6870