Welcome to SMBNH: Circles of Influence: Google+ and How Social Media Empowers Users to Unite, Grow and Shape Communities on Friday October 21, 2011 from 8:30 AM until 10:30 AM.

With a focus on large scale communications and communites as well as small scale, we explore how social media has helped nations topple, companies grow, politics change, local movements get off the ground and more. Whether it's news regarding Libya's conflicts or supporting a local talented artist by creating community and communication, these flexible tools help make it happen.

This month we are being hosted by Phillips Exeter Acedemy in Exeter, NH.

From their Mission page:

"Exeter seeks to graduate young people whose creativity and independence of thought sustain their continuing inquiry and reflection, whose interest in others and the world around them surpasses their self concern, and whose passion for learning impels them beyond what they already know."

Some of our brightest stars have attended Phillips Exeter Academy and benefitted from their philosophy.

This month's focus brings us a well rounded group of speakers as well.  

The morning begins with an address from Phillips Exeter Academy, then seques into our three speakers, starting with 

Leslie Poston, Founder of Magnitude Media and co-author of Twitter for Dummies, contributor to the Social Media ProBook and author of the Grande Guide to Social Advertising, as well as (coming in 2012) Social Media Metrics for Dummies, will address some of the privacy concerns faced by educators and others when building communities. Then moving on to 

John Herman, Media Literacy Educator and Founder of NH Media Makers, author and polymath as well as a very special guest from Google will talk to you about building community, applying media literacy best practices and other topics related to Google +, and will demonstrate several of the Google + capabilities live during the talk.

We'll then be closing the morning with our featured speaker:

Grant Sanborn, Director of Interactive Marketing for HCA Healthcare. Grant will speak about the challenges and best practices he's experienced in building an online community around a 17 hospital group, including Portsmouth Regional Hospital.

There will also be a one hour campus tour of Phillips Exeter Academy immediately following the breakfast as well. We encourage you to take part.

All of us at SMBNH look forward to seeing you all there.

Follow Leslie, John, Grant, Phillips Exeter Academy, SMBNH on Twitter before the breakfast for up to the minute updates.

Circle Leslie, John, or Mike from PEA on Google + to get in the spirit of the breakfast.