At the FutureMidwest 2010 conference, held in Royal Oak Michigan, Dave Murray moderated a social media panel chat with:

• Chris Barger, director of social media at General Motors
• Blagica Bottigliero, internal social media specialist at Edelman
• Hajj Fleming, founder of Brand Camp University.

Here are my notes from the discussion:

• Companies may be hesitant to engage in social media due to time suck. 
• Small business owners don’t have time to commit 24/7 to social media. Possible solution: hire someone to manage social media.
• Everybody is in the social media space, not just Generation Y.
• Fear can be a great catalyst to do something you’re not comfortable with. Fear can take you to the next level.
• People get caught up in the terms used in social media. Need to remember basic business principles: connect with others.
• Reasons to use social media:
  • Someone out there is talking about you, so talk back!
  • The world can see you being a better business.
• Take every opportunity to recognize and announce the good things others are accomplishing. Even if they are your competitors. There’s enough room for us all to be successful.
• As a brand, you’re in the business to sell.
• While we meet people on social media channels, at the end of the day, we still need to meet face to face.
• Can’t put a measurement on every single aspect of social media. 

One of my favorite comments from the panel discussion was Dave Murray’s comment We walk away from this event with smiles on our faces and knowledge in our pockets.