“The San Antonio Business Journal’s Social Madness contest (presented by Capital One Spark Business) measures the growth of a company’s social media presence as it competes in a tournament-style challenge,” said Donna Tuttle, projects editor at The San Antonio Business Journal. “Companies will compete in 43 U.S. cities, with local winners squaring off in a national challenge. Three overall champions get the right to designate a $7,500 donation to the charity of their choice.”

San Antonio companies must be nominated by May 15. In June, competitors go head-to-head with other San Antonio companies and three winners, one from each category (small, medium, large), walk away with the local honors. The winners from that bracket go on to compete in July with the other nationally selected companies.

Said Tuttle, “San Antonio long has been on the forefront of social media. We had a strong group of early adopters, who generously shared their knowledge with the community as early as 2006. While our city sometimes gets dissed for its casual and familial spirit, it is exactly that which has created such a rich social media community.”

I think she’s right. San Antonio’s definitely got the social media chops to Go! All! The! Way!

Nominate your company today!

Saturday, December 3, #SAMoms and #FoodieMamas Il Sogno Breakfast, #foodiemamas

Thursday, December 8, What the F-Stop?! BMPR is Back, #BMPR (business/media/PR tweet up)

Check back often for updates to this list. Is your San Antonio social media event missing? Leave the info in comments (or send a DM to @colleenpence) and I’ll add it.

[photo credit: SXC]

Wednesday, October 26, Social Media Breakfast San Antonio: Sinking Your Teeth into Social Media & Customer Service, #SMBSA

Wednesday, October 26, PrISM (Professional Interest in Social Media) Meetup, #prismSA

Friday, October 28, ActionCamp San Antonio: a full-day unconference for nonprofits, educators, and anyone wanting to learn and share about social media, #actionsa

Friday, November 4, Firecat Studio Coworking/Brownbag Friday Nov. 4: Design Thinking

Thursday, November 10, BMPR (Business, Media, PR Tweetup) Breakfast Along the River, #riobmpr

Saturday, November 12, San Antonio Moms on Twitter: Meet Me at Morgan’s Wonderland Tweetup, #samomsatmw

Wednesday, November 16, Social Media Breakfast San Antonio: A Feast for the Eyes, Mind, Body, and Soul, #smbsa

Wednesday, November 23, PrISM (Professional Interest in Social Media) Meetup, #prismSA

Check back often for updates to this list. Is your San Antonio social media event missing? Leave the info in comments (or send a DM to @colleenpence) and I’ll add it.

[photo credit: SXC]

Here’s a quick look at the social media events happening in San Antonio this August and September:

Wednesday, August 24, Social Media Breakfast San Antonio: Tourism and Social Media, #smbsa

Wednesday, August 24, PrISM (Professional Interest in Social Media) Meetup, #prismSA

Friday, August 26, Restaurant Week Downtown Tweetup, #dtrestaurantweek

Tuesday, August 30, Q Up for a Cause – Back to School Bash with Haven for Hope, #QupCause

Wednesday, September 7, Action Breakfast for Nonprofits: Beyond Words (video, photography, podcasting), #actionsa

Wednesday, September 28, Social Media Breakfast: Google + and Facebook Timeline, #smbsa

Wednesday, September 28, PrISM (Professional Interest in Social Media) Meetup, Blogging Tools, #prismSA

Wednesday, September 28, Tweetbabes Book Swap and Book Club, #tweetbabes

Check back often for updates to this list. Is your San Antonio social media event missing? Leave the info in comments (or send a DM to @colleenpence) and I’ll add it.

Check back often for updates to this list. Is your San Antonio social media event missing? Leave the info in comments (or send a DM to @colleenpence) and I’ll add it.

Tuesday, April 12, BMPR Fiesta, #BMPR

Wednesday, April 20, Social Media Breakfast San Antonio, Community Gardening and Sustainability, #SMBSA

Wednesday, April 27, PrISM (Professional Interest in Social Media) Meetup, #prismSA

Wednesday, April 27, TEDx San Antonio 2011 Kickoff, #TEDxSanAntonio

Thursday, May 5, BMPR: Get Your Sh#t Together, #BMPR

Friday, May 6, Firecat First Friday: Managing Online Privacy and Transparency

Thursday, May 12, “Mrs. Munoz Knows Best” and University Health System Tweetup, #MrsMunozKnowsBest

Tuesday, May 17, YP Lunch Tweetup at Main Plaza, #mainplazalunch

Wednesday, May 18, Social Media Breakfast San Antonio: Creating Effective Video For The Web, #smbsa

Wednesday, May 25, Action Breakfast for Nonprofits: Social Media Measurement

Wednesday, May 25, PRISM (Professional Interest in Social Media) Meetup, #prismSA

photo credit: SXC

March is a busy month. Spring works hard to get our attention with her increasingly lovely weather and beautifully blooming blossoms. But she has competition for our affections. We find ourselves beckoned to that technology smorgasbord up north. Yes, it’s that time of year: South by Southwest (SXSW) has arrived! And although many of us will be making our annual trek to pay homage to all things Interactive, San Antonio has several spectacular social media events of its own this month.

Check back often for updates to this list. Is your San Antonio social media event missing? Leave the info in comments (or send a DM to @colleenpence) and I’ll add it.

Wednesday, March 2, Action Breakfast, free Social Media for Nonprofits workshop: Social Media Monitoring

Wednesday, March 2, San Antonio’s Unofficial SXSWi Tweetup, #sxswiSA

Friday, March 4, Firecat First Friday Coworking & Brownbag – Project Collaboration Portals, #Firecat

Thursday, March 10, Free coworking at C4Workspace (every 2nd Thursday of each month)

Friday, March 11 – Tuesday, March 15, SXSWi (OK, so it’s not in San Antonio but it’s so close it might as well be!), #sxsw

Saturday, March 12 – Social Media Club San Antonio will participate in the Social Media Club Global Member Meeting in Austin (during SXSW), #smcsa

Wednesday, March 16 – Social Media Breakfast: SXSWi recap, #smbsa

Saturday, March 19 – BMPR Big Bird, SeaWorld Texas, #BMPR

Monday, March 28, Tweetbabes Book Club: Water for Elephants, #tweetbabes

Thursday, March 31, BMPR (Business/Media/PR Tweetup): Rackspace, #BMPR

San Antonio loves social media!

When I figure out a new trick to improve my Facebook Page and I share it with others who can use the info too, my heart beats just a little bit faster. When I make new business and personal connections on Twitter or find fascinating articles from Facebook Pages I follow, my palms get just a little bit clammy. And when I nail a video, install a new plugin on WordPress, or publish a perfect pic to Instagram, I feel butterflies. It’s true. I’m a girl in love…with social media.

What better month to explore our passion for all things social in San Antonio than February? Check back often for updates to this list. Is your San Antonio social media event missing? Leave the info in comments (or send a DM to @colleenpence) and I’ll add it.

Tuesday, February 1, Smashburger Sin City Burger Tweetup, #SmashburgerSA

Thursday, February 3, Future of Work Recap Tweetup at C4Workspace

Friday, February 4, Firecat First Friday Coworking & Brownbag – Project Collaboration Portals, #Firecat

Friday, February 4, First Friday Fundraiser for C4Workspace

Wednesday, February 9, Girl Scout Cookie Tweetup at 5:30 p.m. (a Social Media Club and Social Media Breakfast tweetup)

Thursday, February 10, Free coworking at C4Workspace the 2nd Thursday of every month

RESCHEDULED (stay tuned for new date): Thursday, February 10, Tweetbabes Body Image Workshop and Pilates class, #tweetbabes

Wednesday, February 16, Social Media Breakfast San Antonio: Education and Social Media, #SMBSA

Thursday, February 17, BMPR (Business/Media/PR Tweetup): Planes, Trains, & Autos, #BMPR

Monday, February 21, BMPR MEATup (at Texas de Brazil), #txdebmpr

Friday, February 25, Riverwalk Jazz Tweetup at The Landing, #rwjazz

Saturday, February 26, MobiCamp San Antonio, #mobicampsa

Getting back into the swing of things for a fresh, productive 2011? Add these social media events to your calendar. Like exercise for your brain, these gatherings are more fun (and educational) than keeping your New Year’s resolution to work out.

Check back often for updates to this list. Is your San Antonio social media event missing from this list? Leave the info in comments and I’ll add it.

Friday, January 7, Firecat First Friday Coworking & Brownbag – To Do Lists and Task Management, #Firecat

Saturday, January 8, Boardwalk on Bulverde Grand Opening – Yelp San Antonio tweetup #boardwalk

Tuesday, January 11, BMPR – Reel Social Media: 50th anniversary of ”The Alamo” featuring John Wayne as Col. Davy Crockett, #BMPR

Thursday, January 13, C4Workspace Free Coworking Day

Wednesday, January 19, Social Media Breakfast San Antonio: Business On The Go – Smartphones, iPads & Apps, #SMBSA

Wednesday, January 19, Tweetbabes Book Swap and Lunch, #tweetbabes

Thursday, January 27, BMPR Smorgascopia: From Music to Government How Four Different Industries Use Social Media #BMPRSmorgascopia

Friday, January 28, Tweetbabes Karaoke Night, #tweetbabes

Check back often for updates to this list. Is your San Antonio social media event missing from this list? Leave the info in comments and I’ll add it.

November 9 – National Association of Professional Organizers: Social Media Panel

November 11 - Free Co-working Day at C4Workspace

November 17 – Social Media Breakfast: Accessibility and SEO: A Websites Best Friend (#SMBSA)

November 17 – 
Twitter Wine Tasting (#WFMWineQuarry)

November 18 - Westin La Cantera Resort Frost & Foursquare Tweetup #BMPR, Business/Media/PR Tweetup (#BMPRwinter)

December 2 – BMPR (Business/Media/PR Tweetup) December 2010: Sumptuous Social Media (#BMPR)

December 8 – Action Breakfast (formerly SMOOCHSA – Social Media for Charities): Creating a Social Media Policy (#ACTIONSA)

December 15 – Social Media Breakfast San Antonio: A Very Merry Social Media Breakfast (#SMBSA)

December 16 – Social Media Club San Antonio: Legendary Holidays at the Westin La Cantera (#SMCSA)

Check back often for updates and new events.

Is your San Antonio social media event missing from this list? Leave the info in comments and I’ll add it.

October 1 – San Antonio’s LIVESTRONG Day event: Tweet Up-Let your voice be HEARD! (#YCancer)

October 1 – Facebook for Business: Firecat First Friday Coworking & Brownbag

October 2 – Greater San Antonio Quilt Guild’s Biennial Luncheon & Quilt Auction, Benefiting the Guild & The Children’s Shelter

October 8 – Tweetbabes’ Texas Night on the Patio at The County Line IH-10 (#tweetbabes)

October 8 – Social Media Club San Antonio’s Night at the Movies: The Social Network

October 14 – Floating Tweetup: Rio San Antonio Cruises’ First Ever Floating Tweetup

October 14 – Free Co-working Day at C4Workspace

October 16 – TEDxSanAntonio

October 20 – SMBSA, The Three Faces of TEDxSan Antonio (#smbsa)

October 21 – San Antonio Food For SA Kick-Off Lunch (#food4sakickoff)

October 21 – Daily Bread Ministries Annual Vision Dinner Fundraiser

October 28 – Yelp Helps! A party bringing together the community and some stellar Alamo City non-profits.

October 29 – ActionCamp San Antonio: Social Media for Nonprofits

October 29 – Halloween Costume Party C4Workspace

Photo credit to SXC.