I’m not sure if I’ve ever posted the reason I made the transition from a Latino politics blogger to an active social media advocate within the Latino social media. So here we go…
My original blog – LatinoPundit – served a purpose to fill a void of the lack of Latino bloggers. I wanted to bring Latinos into mainstream discussions about politics and society, and also raise awareness of Latino subject matter. That was done for over a period of 5 years. Nowadays, you can find Latino blogs on a plethora of topics. With that purpose now filled, there was no reason to continue with the Latino Pundit blog.
With the knowledge that the Latino population is growing, I knew that Latinos would be more closely examined. And who else, but big businesses would have an interest? So with social media growing as well as the Latino population, it only made perfect sense that marketers would begin to enter this area.
I’ve had 5 years of experience online interacting and community building before social media became trendy…and from this advantage , I knew that I’d be ahead of any marketer without this type of experience. Thus I entered the Hispanic marketing world and rebranded my self as such.
One significant contribution to the Latino community was the national community feature for Latinos In Social Media (now called LATISM), building off the idea AnaRC had from her tweet “Where are all the Latinos on Twitter,” and the directory of Latino professionals. Call it being at the right place at the right time, because if I didn’t see Ana’s tweet, LATISM probably would of not happened. Thanks to all those involved with LATISM, the very first Latino based social media seminars took place in NY, then FL and DC followed…a fourth and what looks to be the largest yet is taking place this September. (If you can, catch LATISM in action via tonight’s Twitter party.)
My continued purpose in social media is to contribute to Latinos and social media as a whole from this blog to continuing projects that serve the greater community.
In an error of Change, where people are once again thinking globally, here’s your chance to give back, now and always – once you start to care, you will never stop caring.
I truly believe that the world will change with the power of non-profit organizations, and humanitarianism.
So, If you’re a blogger, Latino/a (Hispanic/Xicano/Cuban/Boriqua/Taino…human and care about children), then post this widget (hit copy), on your blog or social media site (customizable here).
Latinos especially should be taking advantage of new media capabilities. The leverage created by new media tools are profound, they are the “great equalizers” of the internet age.
This realization is important, because as Latinos we are doing more than just adding individual commentary and opinions on daily events, but representing and adding our voices and culture to the national dialogue. This means we are telling our stories, and are not leaving it up to someone else to speak for us.
Friday is all about LATISM-DC. Latinos In Social Media, DC is the latest addition to the LATISM family of state chapters.
This has resulted in the 3rd social media conference presented by LATISM, a national group promoting social media and the Latinos behind it. From their own state website:
LatISM DC, part of the LatISM Heritage Tour, is a conference that brings together a select group of Latinos in Social Media and business leaders in the region to discuss current topics related to Social Media. This two-day session focuses on Web 2.0, Gov 2.0, leveraging social media for non-profits, businesses and government.
LATISM has reached a tipping point with DC, as they are at full capacity and have had to add a networking event to fill the demand. Congratulations Ladies!
A report came in from the internet division of Pew Research Center, that 18% of status update users are Latino.
This is a huge number!
If we may be so bold, and apply the above 18% of Latinos who partake in status updates and apply them to the 22% of total Latino internet users we get 81% of Latinos online using social media in the form of status updates.
What are status updates (aka, microblogging)? “Microblogging is a form of multimedia blogging that allows users to send brief text updates or micromedia such as photos or audio clips and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be chosen by the user.”
Mobile technology is one of the driving factors for microblogging’s growth. This make sense. It would be much harder to update a blog than a microblog from a cell phone.
It should also be noted, that more than any other group, Latinos use mobile phones to stay connected, download music, play games and surf the web.
Upcoming and recent enhancements Facebook made to their status update feature is a sure sign that microblogging is here to stay for a while.
It’s funny how seemingly, slight differences between search terms can result in a world of difference.
I’ve been searching for information about Latinos in social media, so obviously I used that term – ‘Latinos in social media’. That criteria mostly results in LATISM activities (which, in of itself is a good thing). So, then I used ‘Hispanics in social media,’ which of course brings up some different results. However, I’ve looked through most of it already.
Desperate for some new perspectives, I accidently came across ‘Latinos Online,’ while searching through a show that I was on today. Bingo! New leads.
Social media opens up more doors than any other medium that I know, especially when blended with traditional networking, such as picking up the phone and live interaction. As a matter of fact, I built most of my success online by building bridges offline.
These days, I’m all about networking and connecting. One great connection I made was with Miguel (@cumba), who’s a digital content provider and ‘gets’ social media. He came to the first Meetup in NY and we talked about video production and shared each others vision.
He’s really great at what he does, and has the ability to embrace exactly what a client describes and delivers. You can read more about our collaboration over at his blog. I’m going to cut to the chase and show the videos he produced from our discussions.
Click on the pic to view some of the leaders that are bringing you these great parties giveaways and networking opportunities, and the Latinos In Social Media ‘Heritage Tour’ : @anarc @urbanjibaro @latism @tiabel @nancyperez and yours truly – @louispagan.
It is great to see the creativeness and passion that fellow Latinos have for social media and their culture.
I love this so much, that over on the Facebook group, I’ve made it into a discussion thread. Go there to see more examples of what Latinos are doing with #latism.
How an where do you use/find #latism? Here are two places that I found:
If you missed it, you missed a unique event. Thursday night, my partners and I kicked off the first Latinos In Social Media Twitter Party. We gave away about $500 in prizes. It was a nice way to introduce ourselves and promote out event – The Latinos In Social Media Heritage Tour.
Most of us used TweetChat (using the hashtag #latism) to follow the discussions. If you want to read the dialogue, go to hashtags.org.
Let me tell you, Latinos do not know how to act – and I mean this in a good way. It was apparent to the organizers that most people were more interested in networking and chatting than the actual prizes. This is very different behavior than in regular Twitter Parties.
Some of the discussions went like this: Sorry if I can’t reply to everyone. This is getting like a typical Loud Latino Party. They’ll call the cops on us! LOL #latism @anarc and, RT @auntchrisbronx @ChicMom I want me some chicharron!!! #latism // cuchifrito time! Others were true networking attempts @lisagarciaruiz It’s only 7:30 here in CA I’m just getting started! Anyone else from Southern Cal here??? and, @jbrewz @Jaydieli unofficial #latism party DJ here…by request from jaydieli http://song.ly/txxk — Any ruby on rails programmers in the house?
Love my Latinos! The party went way past the allotted 1 hour, people would not let go. I myself could not hang past some night owls. It was great; everyone agreed that it was fun and empowering. Hope I see everyone there again and even more Tweeples!
