Fellow Argyler Danny Chu and I are working up our two-part harmonies and polishing up the rhinestones on our Nudie Suits in anticipation the good times we’ll have at Jason Falls’ Explore Nashville event later this week.

I’m taking the stage to talk about marketing on niche social networks and Danny will holding down the fort at the Argyle booth. And we’re both looking forward to great talks from Tom Webster, Mark Schaefer, and – of course – Mr. Falls himself.

You can register for the conference at http://ar.gy/explorenashvegas. There are a few spots remaining and we’ve got a $250 discount code – so act fast and you might get a great deal on a great conference. Ping us in the comments and we’ll follow up with the discount code.

Gratuitous country music video for your pleasure:

I’m sure we’ve all done it—pointed a finger and laughed or screenshot a faux pas so jaw-dropping we simply couldn’t look the other way. Social media marketing blunders of all shapes and sizes happen every day. While smart, professional, and well-intentioned folks are usually manning the other end of that blunder, the consistent stream of cringe-worthy moments never ends. After all, we’re human and make mistakes, right?

Well, maybe. But maybe not. Join Eric and social media guru DJ Waldow in next week’s webinar as they discuss The Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media Marketing–our findings on the biggest mistakes made by companies today.

Want to know what they are? You’ll need to register to find out. We promise the one hour you spend with DJ and Eric will be the best hour of your day.

See you there.

Today is a proud day for Argyle – our very own Danny Olinsky won the 2nd Annual Triangle Ping Pong Tournament.

Our friends at Statsheet and Netsertive hosted the event. 30+ people played in the tournament representing several start-up companies in the area, plus a few local investors. Lots of great networking, hanging out, and NCAA basketball in between matches.

Danny returning the heat from Appia’s Slawek Pruchnik in the final match.

Danny accepting the championship trophy from event host Robbie Allen, CEO of Statsheet.

The Argyle team was pleased to host Tom Webster, VP of Marketing and Strategy at Edison Research, for a lunchtime chat yesterday. And in the hour he spent talking to us about social media and research, he taught me more than an entire class on public relations research at UNC did.

He explained how important it is to look at research in context. A pile of numbers doesn’t mean much if you don’t dig deeper into questions of how and why. And just because two patterns are correlated doesn’t mean one causes the other; we should always look for a third reason that causes them both.

He also talked about the gap between people on social media and those “who just don’t get it.” There isn’t a “right” and “wrong” view social media; it simply holds value for some people and not for others. A lack of interest in social media is not a disease that we, as ambassadors for the noble cause of social media, need to cure. But I can’t say it better than he already has on his blog, BrandSavant.com.

Big thanks to Tom for coming to hang out with us! Photo of Tom with Argylers below.

Just in case you missed it, eMail Radio, a podcast series that focuses on email marketing, featured an episode dedicated to social media. And who better to talk social media than Jay Baer from Convince & Convert and DJ Waldow, Director of Community from Blue Sky Factory (and an Argyle customer).

It was fun to hear the actual voices of Jay and DJ, as familiar as we are with their smiling avatars. More so, it was very cool to hear what they had to say. Some highlights of the conversation:

• Jay discussed how he sets up goals and his sales funnel through his various communications.
• DJ talked about how Blue Sky Factory is revamping their communication stream.
• “There is a right way and a wrong way to ask people to Follow, Friend or Fan you.”
• At one point, a gigantic dog burst in and attacked DJ. (Well, not really, but it sure sounded that way.)
• Jay felt that an email opt-in is more valuable than an Follower or a Like and therefore social media should enforce the email channel, and not vice versa. Hmmmm…..intriguing.

The conversation does last over an hour, but you can listen while you do other stuff. Like work. Or tweet about it.

What were your favorite talking points? Use the comments!