Connie Reece writes Every Dot Connects and is the team leader of Social Media Club Austin. Her approach of connecting people, developing relationships and starting conversations drives her success as a social media expert. She’s also got a wicked Scrabble game. In this Buzz Bin interview, Connie discusses her views of social media in Austin, and provides insight into the Social Media Club workshop on November 6th featuring Shel Israel, Chris Heuer and Kami Huyse (Geoff is attending, too, and will live blog the event).

BB: What’s the social media scene like in Austin?

CR: Fast-moving. Austin is a high-tech hub, so adoption of social media technologies and tools is naturally high. When we started Social Media Club at the beginning of this year, most of the interest came from PR/marketing/comms pros working with the tech industry. But now we’re seeing corporate communicators and business owners as well as creative types — artists, writers, designers — eager to learn about social media.

BB: Tell us about the Social Media Workshop: “Starting the Conversation.”

CR: It’s a one-day workshop designed around the premise that the most effective marketing occurs when companies build relationships with their customers by starting, or at the least joining, conversations. Shel Israel, coauthor of Naked Conversations, will give the opening keynote and Chris Heuer, cofounder of Social Media Club, will preside over the event. I’ll also be presenting, along with Kami Huyse, who will talk about how to measure social media. And it’s rumored that the author of Now Is Gone may show up with copies of his book. That would be a treat!

BB: What should attendees expect?

CR: It will be a toss-up which will hurt more at the end of the day — your brain or your butt! Yes, there will be hours of sitting around a table soaking up the collected wisdom of some social media gurus; but we plan for a lot of interaction with the attendees. We want to make sure attendees acquire the information they need, so we’ll answer questions, facilitate discussions, and fill their heads with knowledge until we start to hear brain cells exploding. Then we’ll stop before anyone sustains a serious injury. :)

BB: Dell is playing host. Tell us about their role in the event?

CR: In addition to being our corporate sponsor, Dell’s Digital Media Team will participate in the workshop. It’s an unprecedented opportunity for attendees to sit down with people like Lionel Menchaca, the driving force behind the Direct2Dell blog, and Caroline Dietz, online community manager for IdeaStorm — the folks who are leading the social media revolution inside Dell. It’s been my privilege to get to know some of the team members, and I can guarantee that they’re not just passionate about their company, they’re passionate about social media and generous in sharing their experiences.

BB: What’s your favorite social network?

CR: Right now it’s Twitter because it’s so much fun, and I’ve made some amazing connections there — like you. I call Twitter the virtual water cooler. Just like at an office, people show up randomly and join whatever conversation is already in progress. Sometimes it’s trivial, sometimes it’s humorous, other times it’s helpful, and occasionally it’s intense and riveting.

Like all social networks, It’s absolutely impossible to keep up with, but that’s not a critical component of Twitter. You just jump in and out of the stream as you have time. And I love that I can take it with me on my mobile. My “tweeps” (Twitter peeps) go everywhere with me.

BB: Facebook, fad or forever?

CR: How about … for the foreseeable future? :)

BB: What’s next for Connie Reece?

CR: Learning to compartmentalize. Mike Chapman is my partner in Reece & Company, and as CEO his most important role right now is keeping me sane–not an easy job–by helping me prioritize and keeping me away from shiny objects. Our social media consultancy is growing faster than we anticipated (see question #1), so it’s sometimes a roller coaster ride. It’s thrilling, though, to sit down with clients and brainstorm ways we can help them join conversations and employ social media as part of their overall marketing and PR strategies.