Shout-Outs From My Social Media Walkabout…

I forget who-but somebody told me to have fun while looking for a job! After being on a Social Media walkabout for three weeks, I have come to the conclusion that there are some interesting folks that I have had the opportunity to chat with. Not only are they solid business people, but they are even better human beings. Maybe it is Social Media? Maybe it is a poor economy? Whatever the case is-people are inclined to share their business and talk shop openly. Because of that, I decided to share with you some of those fine folks and introduce their companies if you are not yet familiar:

Nattergalen– Have a gander at what they do. All I will say is they provide white label community management solutions for companies you would never suspect. The fact you don’t have a clue who Nattergalen is says to me they are better than good at what they do. Drop Scott a line and tell him I sent you: scott.hammond@nattergalen.com Please follow: @scotty_nola

Awareness– I have enjoyed interactions with their team. Not only that, the transparency around the relationship between them and Sony has been refreshing. You get the sense this is a true business partnership-with an eye on success. Please follow: @dkrcarter, @khoy, @rhopper and watch this:

Techrigy– Monitor your brands reputation-real time! You can even get a free account to try it out. Having hands on experience with the product in the past, I can say the product tells a great story. I have little doubt that solutions like this will become standard practice to recognize ROI with all Social Media projects. Please follow: @cbensen, @jimmyrey, @aaronnewman

Radian6-Radian6 is another analytics monitor for Social Media. My colleague and friend, Colin Browning was beating the war drum about these guys when we worked together. After researching them they have all the bells and whistles. Again- another company with a bright future once companies realize they need to show ROI around their Social Media projects. Please follow: @davidalston, @ambercadabra

Crowdvine– My blog around Best Practices and Conferences led to some interesting behind the scenes conversations. One of those conversations was with CEO-Tony Stubblebine. If you or your company conduct live events the demo Tony puts forth is compelling. The solution is perfect for mid-level to small business, in that it won’t annihilate the budget. If you request ace time with Tony, tell him I sent you. Please follow: @tonystubblebine

Eventvue– The company is another Social Media solution for the dilapidated Conference industry. I haven’t been able to do a demo yet, but they are professional, passionate and provide a solution you would expect. I am not clear on pricing, and find the website to be rather vague. But the 3 minute screencast showed me enough to feel as though it could be a viable solution. More research forthcoming! Please follow: @joshfraz

Ripple6– The company is another player in the Enterprise SaaS Social Media space. The two things that stood out to me was the solid recommendation that Jeremiah Owyang tweeted to me. The second is Gannet purchased them with an eye on growing out their business. This is a SaaS company that bears keeping an eye on in 2009. For more information, please email George Moser at george@ripple6.com Also, please watch:

I would also like to acknowledge the following people on Twitter for being engaging, interactive and social in every sense of the word: @cselland, @alexa, @scott_carter, & @shannonpaul.

Lastly, if you are in NY or Chicago and love sales – Communispace is hiring! Email Steven at: skosakow@communispace.com. Once again-be sure to tell him Derek sent you. 😉 Now, please excuse me while I grab my backpack and get back to exploring! Happy trails….