The Buzz Bin

Dave Barger, President and CEO of LunaWeb, Inc. (a website company), is an avid believer in social media for companies. Known as a local internet pioneer, Dave helped start Launch Memphis (an event Geoff spoke for), a local social media networking group and works on local events like BarCamp. He is also working with local Memphis companies to embrace the new social web, and is personally active on social networks like Twitter and Utterli.

BB: Memphis is enjoying the new rise of social media. How would you characterize your city’s use?

DB: Memphis business has a reputation of being more relationship oriented than most cities. In this, some of the foundation is already poured and Social Media may potentially find an accelerated adoption. We are also increasing our national presence in Social Media through high-profile, progressive events and programs like the upcoming Barcamp Memphis, LaunchMemphis’ TechFuel events, as well as fostering Social Media through the Small Business Chamber.

We’ve been accelerating adoption in the Memphis community through the Social Media Breakfast and Tweet-Ups, where we focus on helping newcomers get started in the social space. Of course, we also work closely with traditional media outlets to make sure these events get publicized to parts of the public who do not yet have a social media presence.

BB: You are one of the pioneers leading Memphis. What’s compelling you to give so much?

DB: I’m extremely enthusiastic about Social Media and believe in its ability to empower the “voice of the customer” and everyday citizens. I regard Social Media as the fulfillment of a promise the Web made everyday citizenry back in the mid 90’s.

That’s when I dove into this industry after experiencing first-hand a corporation’s compromise on ethics for the sake of profitability, and the poor job of stewardship to consumers by our government. Basically, my employer had a product catching fire in people’s homes and the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall procedure was pitifully weak. The corporation, compelled to be profitable to its owners, went no further than the CPSC’s mandates to correct the problem. So it’s been very easy for me to see the need for The People to take care of The People and to have a platform from which to share joys, commune, and voice injustice by any entity.

BB: Your company has transitioned from 1.0 to 2.0. How difficult was the transition?

DB: Because the services that we offer have traditionally been 1.0 based web services, the challenge has been realizing that there has been some erosion of the 1.0 technologies due to the market’s embrace of 2.0 services over their 1.0 counterparts. However many facets of 1.0 remain a viable service set today. So we really haven’t shifted so much as we’ve expanded. Today, we still service many 1.0 sites that continue to serve the clients well and as such are slow to evolve.

BB: Which companies in the Memphis area are using Social Media?

DB: We’re seeing an increasing number of Memphis businesses adopt Social Media as a component of their strategy and their company culture. Germantown Performing Arts Center and many Memphis arts organizations are putting themselves into the social space. Other local entities participating include St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, FedEx, Small Business Chamber, and several traditional media players (local television and newspapers). Through LaunchMemphis, we’ve also seen a lot entrepreneurial businesses use Social Media to their benefit.

BB: What’s your favorite social network and why?

DB: I don’t have one specific social network that I could consider a favorite. Consistently, when I’m working I have a FireFox tab open simultaneously to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and as of about two weeks ago, Yammer. In a more casual setting, shut down LI and replace it with browsing expression outlets like Flickr, YouTube, blogs, and Social Median. The last one of these I’d give up though would be Twitter because of it’s realtime connectedness with my network, breaking news, and links to information that I find interesting.

BB: Blog or Social Network, which is more important?

DB: I try not to be a purist on multiuse platforms. Some will say that a blog is not a blog if commenting is not enabled, etc… Given the choice of having one over the other and considering the rich media, conversations, and a platform for any individual, I’d go with blogs. Besides, multitudes of blogs create their own freely connected Social Network anyway.

BB: What’s next for Dave Barger?

DB: Ultimately, I want to help these tools a step further in acceptance and utility beyond mere consumerism and more into society to affect the greater good. If in the process I find an angle where we can fill the digital divide, I’ll step loudly down that path as it’s a huge concern that we all need to be mindful of, and continually look to fill.