Bring Your Business Into The Future
General Information
We will have slides and demos for all presentations. Printed notes about the material covered will be available. WiFi is available at all venues, so bring your laptops and try things out during the discussions. Web links to more information will be given. All events will be from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. Attendance for Members of the Greenfield Business Association, Shelburne Falls Area Business Association, and Montague Business Association will be $10.00 Tickets for non-members, $20.00. Cash or check accepted.
Overview of Social Media - Greenfield, March 16, 2010
Franklin County Community Development Corporation , 324 Wells Street, Greenfield
Here are some questions we'll think about in our first presentation: What is Social Media? Where did it come from all of a sudden? Should we care about it? Do we need to care about it? Can it help us? Could it hurt us? What Social Media channels should we use for our businesses? How can we tell what works? How much time will it take? How much will it cost? Should I let my employees use it during work hours? What in the world is Twitter good for? Why would a business be interested in Facebook? What kinds of businesses should be using LinkedIn? Isn't Google just a search engine? Is SM any good for advertising? Public relations? Marketing? Sales? Customer service? Where do we learn more? If none of these satisfies your curiosity, please bring your questions to the presentation. After this, participants should understand the promise of social media, and be able to decide where they should be developing their strategy and social media presence. For Greenfield Reservations: gba@franklincc.org/413-774-2791
Facebook - Shelburne Falls, March 23, 2010
Mocha Maya's, 47 Bridge Street. Shelburne Falls
Fact: FB now has over 400 Million members, and an average of 374,000 people join it EVERY DAY. Facebook is way more than embarrassing photos, stalking old girlfriends and playing Farmville or Mafia Wars. Our customers are there. Our competitors are there. How are businesses using Facebook? How to decide what Facebook can do for our businesses. Toolkit: Profile, Search, Privacy Settings, Groups, Fan Pages, Advertisements. Some Facebook metrics. What we are doing in Shelburne Falls. A look at the successful Turners Falls Fan Page and Greenfield Public Library's Fan Page. For Shelburne Falls reservations: info@shelburnefalls.com /413-625-2526.
Google - Greenfield, March 30, 2010
Franklin County Community Development Corporation , 324 Wells Street, Greenfield
What Would Google Do? How does Google work? What is Google's business model? Why does Google give so much stuff away? Does "Don't be evil" mean anything? Gmail: basics, tips, and tricks. Google Docs: word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, all can be shared for collaboration and publication. Google Calendar: Shared Calendars for groups and communities. New Google products: Buzz, Wave, Voice. Handy tools: Alerts, Groups, Reader (RSS feeds). Google Fiber Initiative RFI. Google is a major player in Green power. Google for President? For Greenfield Reservations: gba@franklincc.org/413-774-2791
Cloud Computing and Web 2.0 - Turners Falls, April 6, 2010
The Rendezvous, 78 3rd Street, Turners Falls
Applications and data are held on the internet and accessed through a browser. How that is different from traditional applications. Advantages. Potential problems. Remember the great web based apps we talked about in the Google session. Other online application suites and applications: Evernote, Salesforce, Zoho, Sharepoint, Office 2010. Web 2.0 is the social web - everything is changed by the two-way communication that is now possible. What it means for individuals, businesses, nonprofits, governments, artists, schools to have these new and powerful tools for communication, collaboration and sharing. For reservations: riverculture@montague-ma.gov or 413-863-2866
LinkedIn - Shelburne Falls, April 13, 2010
Mocha Maya's, 47 Bridge Street. Shelburne Falls
LinkedIn is the premier professional Social Media channel. It currently has over 75 million members. 80% of American companies plan to use Social Media for recruiting. 76% of them are on LinkedIn. LinkedIn's Questions and Answers is a great way to get informed, timely information about just about anything you need to know: in my home we have successfully used it recently to get advice about a new camera, a new laptop computer, resources to learn about fund raising, and web-based software tools for collaboration on projects. LinkedIn's Groups allow professionals to associate themselves with people in the same field or geographical area; this makes it very easy to grow a network. We'll take a look at Profiles, Contacts, Recommendations, Search, Questions and Answers, Groups, and free Applications. For Shelburne Falls reservations: info@shelburnefalls.com/413-625-2526.
Twitter - Turners Falls, April 20, 2010
The Rendezvous, 78 3rd Street, Turners Falls
Twitter is a LOT more than people announcing that they're on their way to lunch. Twitter has been called the nervous system of the internet. ALL news now breaks FIRST on Twitter. Twitter is more of a protocol or platform than a place. Tweets (Twitter posts) are limited to 140 characters, but the service has infinite flexibility. It is being used for: customer service, market research, sociological research, personal branding, publishing links to other information (blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc), and a lot more. We'll talk about Twitter tools for analysis, research and other purposes. Paradoxically, widespread Twitter use has led to the growth of Tweetups, which are local networking events for people who meet online. Questions: riverculture@montague-ma.gov or 413-863-2866
In celebration of the "Love Month" of February and in honor of Valentine's Day, Nina's Nook presents inspiring artwork by over a dozen artists. There will be sculpture, paintings, drawings, and ceramics that range from mild to wild on the "SSS" scale.
Local singer-songwriter duo, Chris Elliott and Lisa Austin have been performing together in a musical partnership across the northeast from Vermont to New Jersey since 2003. They tap into traditional folk with a modern outsider's sensibility. Elliott's songs reach for both scathing irony and genuine beauty, and along with Austin's blended harmonies, they are "two voices telling tales of love gone wrong and death done right". Elliott performs guitar and vocals while Austin adds energetic vocal harmony, guitar, 6-string banjo, bass, and percussion.
Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig and performed by New Renaissance Players. The story follows Jim Hawkins on his unforgettable journey that starts with his encounter with the pirate Billy Bones at the Admiral Benbow Inn, and takes him on the adventure of a lifetime. This high energy show is filled with humor, action, and spectacle. The play features some of Stevenson's most celebrated characters, including the clever and charismatic Long John Silver. Like all other NRP shows 100% of the profit will go back to the operating budget of the Shea.
For this assignment, Hallmark students study the history of art, and attempt to photographically reproduce an original work of art. To create their image, students must study lighting, color, gesture and propping to analyze their roles in the original piece. Meticulous attention must be paid to the small details; the curve of a hand, the tilt of a head, the drape of a fabric. Finding specific props and understanding their importance in the overall image leads to a journey of discovery and growth. 
RiverCulture Director, Lisa Davol, participated in a cultural exchange to Hamburg, Germany as part of the 
The Strathmore Mill Redevelopment Project will result in the restoration of a picturesque brick mill complex and adjacent grounds to its place as a cornerstone of the community and downtown economy in the historic village of Turners Falls, Massachusetts. The Town of Montague seeks an innovative partner to serve as master developer for this unique redevelopment opportunity in a location that boasts both natural beauty and the conveniences of an urban area. 
RiverCulture is the proud recipient of the 2011/2012 
