Spring Fever #SoxUp at Fenway (or, Book Party for Steve Garfield's Get Seen)

Joselin Mane, Christine Major, and Steve Garfield: Getting Seen

Red Sox memorabilia. Books. Good Music and Fenway Food. Social Media. How many of my favorite things (and people) could you pack into one place? That’s just what event sponsors, including Tungle.me, Awareness Social Media Marketing, and Brightcove, all did—by recently hosting a book party at the Absolut ClubHouse, at Fenway Park, in Boston…The occasion? Why, of course, to celebrate beloved video maven Steve Garfield’s recently published book, Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business. 

The howling wind and torrential rain Thursday night didn’t stop Garfield’s admirers from coming out in force, for such a “Get Seen” and outright cool event. I first heard Garfield speak this summer at PodCamp 4 Boston, with HubSpot TV’s Mike Volpe and Karen Rubin. Since then, I’ve been eagerly awaiting his book’s release. 

BrightCove, the Internet TV platform/network, provided the first seventy folks, who walked through the door, with a free copy of the second book in Wiley’s New Rules of Social Media Series, following the successful publication of the first book, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah’s Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media and Blogs.    

I’ve already starting digging in to Get Seen, and I’m happy to report that Garfield’s book is an excellent how-to on everything you need to know about recording, editing, and exporting video. Garfield provides lots of specifics, in an easy to read style, with his characteristic good humor, interspersed amidst case studies, tools, strategies, and tips for expanding your business into the social Web. 

After picking up our books, the hubby and I enjoyed our complimentary drinks, courtesy of Tungle.me, which makes a scheduling application to improve productivity. We talked with saxophonist Jonathan Berman, who set the evening’s relaxed but classy tone, with his soulful music. Ready for Spring, we dropped by the Soxology table and picked up a new shirt for a new Red Sox season, just about at hand. 

We also spoke with James Gardner, Vice President of Marketing for the litl webbook, who demonstrated for us his company’s web-focused device that transforms from a netbook into an easel-shaped internet appliance (see Bryan Lunduke’s excellent review of this innovative approach to home computing). 

We enjoyed meeting Christine Major and Naomi Marr from Awareness Inc. (I’ve been a fan of Awareness webinars for awhile now) and learning that the webinar from earlier that day, Email and Social Media: Community, Content, and Killer Campaigns with Blue Sky Factory, will be available soon online. 

We had fun chatting with Boston TweetUp’s Joselin Mane and Rachel Levy, and most especially with fellow Red Sox fan Paul Harvey (@Paulrharvey3). 

Corey Bowdre of Boston Red Sox Premium Sales Office

Other highlights included Corey Bowdre, Senior Manager for Boston Red Sox Premium Sales, helping Christine Major, Steve Garfield, and Joselin Mane raffle off a pair of Red Sox tickets, donated by Sullivan Tire, and another raffle, this time sponsored by Kodak, of the KODAK Zx1 Pocket Video Camera, and the XShot, which extends your camara’s reach, so you can take videotape of yourself. The full evening also included a fun Red Sox trivia contest sponsored by Soxology. 

My personal highlight was getting to meet Steve Garfield and having him personally autograph my book. “What would you like it to say?” he graciously asked. Oh, “Good luck,” I responded, and then I added, with a bit more inspiration, “Good luck getting seen!” Garfield laughed and kindly obliged. 

And then there was just the ambience of the Absolut ClubHouse itself, with all those Red Sox great players and moments, framed on the walls…It was hard not to feel a bit inspired, after all that. 

Walking back to our car, even in the midst of a Feb. monsoon, it was still Fenway Park itself that I think the hubby and I will remember most—and the Spring Fever that united so many of us that night. Yawkey Way was quiet, dark, and drenched. And old Fenway, still sleeping. But at #SoxUp with Steve Garfield and crew, we reminded ourselves that it’s not only time to get seen, it’s also almost time for the Grande Dame to wake up. Spring in Boston. Nothing like it. 

Related Links 

• Peg’s SoxUp PhotoStream on Flickr
• Peg’s SoxUp Videos on YouTube (including World’s Longest Book Reading)
• Steve Garfield’s Ning Group: Get Seen: Online Video Secrets
• What I Did Over Summer Vacation: PodCamp Boston 4