Francine tells it like it is! Don't miss her.....BobD,Phx

I'd fire Franacine's PR Firm in a second...wait a minute. Seriously, this is going to be an excellent discussion with some very sharp people about a topic that's quite relevant.
I hope to attend and learn more about the practices these pros are using.

Looking forward to it.

Francine, as you well know, social media gives businesses and the people in them huge power to create, manage and evolve their brands real-time with an engaged and targeted community. Glad you're taking this on and hope you'll let me know if I can offer any perspectives or experiences. Cheers, e.

As a PR firm owner I hate to agree but social media does indeed empower execs to get press on their own. Still, I think they'll get more with the help of a social media PR consultant and certainly by attending this panel.

Video Email? ;) Looking forward to this one

I fired Francine because she did make me self sufficient! :-) We are all missing out on hugh opportunties by not listening to this lady and taking advantage of the social media available. My high school graduate daughter interned at my company this summer and we were amazed at what she could do. We now loose her as she goes off to college.

A master in her field, this opportunity should not be missed!

Francine is a practical visionary and has been promoting social media for quite sometime. This session will show more people how they can help themselves instead of having others do things for them.

last time i forgot to vote.

As a PR professional, I think Francine's is the right strategy. All a PR firm can do is communicate a company's mission and brand, but each company needs to build those elements itself or it probably won't survive.

Francine Hardaway is top authority on what entrepeneur's need to do to build their business both online and offline.Social Media opportunities are something all business people need to quickly learn to take advantage of on their own without relying on agencies to do the work for them.

Looking forward to it, Francine

I agree - the opportunities are outstanding for solopreneurs, small biz, large biz, and even employees within companies.

Can't wait to see it!

Here's my vote.

Voted for this panel. This willgive people a comprehensive strategy to take back and justify attending SXSW to their company :)

Francine is the "den mother" of social media in AZ. She is arguably the most qualified person anywhere to give this talk (just look how many twitter followers she has-> http://twitter.com/hardaway ;-). Definitely check this out.

For an added attraction, I've added to the panel Brian Solis and Scott Baumann. two PR people who "get" social media, and Chelsea Hardaway, probably the best brand strategist I have ever given birth to. ROFL See you all there! Seriously, Chelsea knows more than I ever did.

Looking forward to this panel.

I'm with Swedler.. I'd love to hear about video email ;)

I have seen Francine's word of wisdom ripple within the community and I look forward to seeing her panel at SXSW!

see you ant next SXSW

Great Article

This is a really interesting idea for me, and for many of the women I know who were born in the late 70's/early 80's and discovered the internet in adolescence, as a means of self-expression, utility, and ultimately social networking. The idea of the online diary is pervasive even in web 2.0 formats with ostensibly other purposes (ie. yelp, flickr) and I would be very interested in hearing firsthand accounts (especially from women and girls) of people who started this by building their own rudimentary pages to combat the horrors of junior high and high school.