KickApps at EconSM

A quick note about a great conference we attended in LA last Thursday, The Economics of Social Media. EconSM was packed with media execs, thought leaders, journalists, VCs, and entrepreneurs—all gathered to discuss how social media is shifting the ways in which we do business and communicate.

Produced by ContentNext Media (publishers of Rafat Ali’s venerable PaidContent.org) the conference sported a rock-solid list of speakers. For a full overview of who was there and what was said, I recommend checking out the official site and Jim Blossom’s extensive posts about the conference on ContentBlogger.

KickApps, of course, was there to join the discussion and talk about why we’re so excited about our platform and the social media space in general. The response was phenomenal, and we’re thankful to Rafat, Claudia Casillas, and Mike Navarre at ContentNext for running the day so smoothly. A few pics…

David George and myself working the KA booth.

Ain’t no party like a Social Media party….

Site Spotlight: The House of Hair

With thousands of flourishing KickApps communities out there, it’s nearly impossible for us to pick our favorite one. Right now, it’s The House of Hair, the official site of Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider’s nationally-syndicated radio show. Developed by Haylie McCort of Dotcomcowgirl, the site is a great example of how people are using KickApps in really creative ways. We recently sat down with Haylie to discuss the platform and her thoughts about what it takes to build a successful community online. Check it out, and then start your own KickApps community around something you’re passionate about.

Eric on BusinessWeek’s ‘Cutting Edge’ Podcast

KickApps’ own Eric Alterman recently spoke with Heather Green of BusinessWeek for her weekly Podcast “The Cutting Edge.” Tune in for insights on online community-building and the changing face of the social media space. Direct link here.

Local TV Gets Social

Today’s Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece (sub. required) about how local TV stations are launching a “blitz” of Internet initiatives to strengthen their audience share. I’m glad the Journal picked up this story, because I think we’re going to see a lot of long-overdue creative activity going on in this area over the next year. While most local TV sites have streaming video and text commentary, they’ll increasingly find that capturing and retaining an online audience takes a full range of community-building functionality.

Two KickApps affiliates come to mind here: WUAB and WOIO, both local TV stations in Cleveland. (No coincidence, it turns out. They’re run by the same team.) My43.net uses our platform as the basis for a youth-oriented community site—kind of a hip, hyper-local MySpace. 19 Action News uses KickApps to drive rich-media discussions around programmed content and citizen journalism. Both sites represent different, equally progressive takes on what we’re starting to see in the industry, and both have reported strong results with the platform. Exciting times.

KickApps @ Connector Showcase

On Monday night we had a great time participating in the Connector’s Showcase held at Microsoft’s Mt. View campus. It was a packed house of tech leaders, venture capitalists, bloggers, and others—all gathered to learn about some of the more interesting innovations happening on the web right now. Bambi Francisco moderated the event and it was great to speak with her about KickApps and learn more about her new venture, Vator.tv. I think it’s a terrific idea that will emerge as a valuable tool for entrepreneurs looking for venture financing. Definitely worth checking out.