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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2009)
OREGON S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE DECEMBER 18 2009 9 I« TRENDS Th® Next Generation of GLBT Networking: Social Media com. “[My site] has interacted with both Facebook and Twitter When the country’s economic in very positive ways that spread recession packed the greatest wal the message of real life commu lop at the beginning of 2009, the nity events, parties and political fate of various avenues through discourse.” which we communicate and re Facebook-based social media ceive news was unclear. But with sources like Rob Patton’s Fabu newsprint suffering setbacks on lous PDX (www.fabulouspdx. a rampant national scale, and the com), and Danielle del Prado’s Facebook-based meteoric rise of social media plat volunteer networking group the social media forms like Facebook and Twitter PDX Lesbian Network (search sources like ushering in a new kind of connec Rob Patton s able on Facebook) have popped Fabulous PDX tivity, it appears the information up more often recently. Fabulous have popped age has ascended another rung in PDX started as a Facebook group, up more often the ladder. but now includes its own Web recently. Being connected is now easier, site, an email list and a Twit and more interactive, than ever. The new ter account. The group notifies about 1,000 face of journalism, event cataloging, idea people every week of “fabulous” events in the networking, gossip, photos, and news is all Portland area, and the site includes a blog. linked together, and professionals are notic The visibility of such sites has started a ing its impact. trend that even activist organizations have According to a Forrester Research survey latched onto. The Portland Equal Rights earlier this year of 145 global interactive mar Coalition boasts a news-heavy Facebook keters in both B2B (business-to-business) profile and Twitter account, and enlists both and B2C (business-to-consumers) compa to reach community figures and recruit po nies with more than 250 employees, the use tential members in a way an ordinary Web of social media as a marketing tool was on the page might not. rise. The survey claimed that over 50 percent The creator of Oregon Media Central of marketers said they would be increasing (www.oregonmediacentral.com) was recently their spending on social media marketing revealed by Byron Beck to be gay community in the second quarter of 2009. Obviously, member Mitch Nolan—revealed on Beck’s utilizing social media as a marketing tool is popular blog byronbeck.com. Beck was laid much cheaper than expenditures such as ad off from his position as a columnist at the vertising. The Forrester Research survey also Willamette Week in 2008. divulged that three-quarters of those polled “I have no idea how I would have navigat who knew their marketing budgets said they ed this year without social media,” explained allowed for $100,000 or less for social media Beck, who also contributes to Just Out occa tools over a 12-month period. sionally. “My blog has kept me connected to Do the math, and it’s easy to see why a most of the same audience I was connected to at Willamette Week. In fact, some people huge number of outlets have brought their endeavors online through the end of the year. don’t have a clue that I was let go from WW over a year ago.” As of press time, there were more than 350 id magazine, which launched earlier million active users on Facebook; more than this year as a print gay, lesbian, bi and trans 3.5 billion pieces of content—web links, magazine, shifted to online-only as well, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, both for the social networking potential, etc.—shared each week; more than 3.5 mil and from an environmental standpoint. lion events created each month; more than “The magazine and print industry is in the 1.6 million active pages on Facebook; more middle of a huge tidal wave of change,” said than 700,000 local businesses with active Christian Messer, publisher of id, noting that pages on Facebook; and such pages have cre he does hope to return to a print format next ated more than 5.3 billion fans. year. “How we will survive depends on how Portland’s gay, lesbian, bi and trans com much juice we give our creative and invova- munity was obviously aware of this premoni tive think-tanks. What has worked so well tion, as 2009 saw an influx of many popular in the past is not going to work now—that blogs and Web sites—all linked in and chapter is history.” interconnected with the massively utilized Facebook, Twitter, and the entire online membership of Facebook and Twitter. community continue to grow even as you “Some argue that social networks separate read this. As they do, so shall the networking us from real life. I have found the opposite of information integral to our community to be true,” explained Ally Hector, Just Out grow. Are you ready? contributor and editor-in-chief of qPDX. ^URELHURST ËNTISTRY GENERAL & COSMETIC DENTISTRY Treatment options include: Implants * Invisalign * Cerec Technology * Zoom! Whitening BY RYAN J. PRADO I left töricht: Sheila Bennett, DMD; Adrienne Fischi, DMD; Diane Applegate, DDS; Clarice Johnston, DMD 2520 EAST BURNSIDE, PORTLAND, OR 97214 PH: (503) 233-3622 FX: (503) 233-5882 WWW.LAURELHURSTDENTISTRY.COM It’s a beautiful thing. 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