In this week’s MediaPost column, David Berkowitz can run – but he can’t hide – from social media in Los Angeles (image via Flickr).

I swore this would be a vacation. It was so weird taking a cab to JFK and not asking for a receipt, but I was ready to embrace it. Still, a long Labor Day weekend in Los Angeles for a friend’s wedding wound up being shaped continually by social media experiences with brands big and small. Here are some standouts.

Virgin America: There are two reasons I flew Virgin for the first time to get to LA. One was that the groom noted there were good deals on flights from New York. Yet uncharacteristically of me, when I checked that the fare was reasonable, I didn’t look elsewhere — I booked it right away. The buzz surrounding the brand has been a big influence, especially with the countless exposures I’ve had through social media such as the repeated mentions on Rohit Bhargava’s blog. I don’t quite get all the hype, but I’d fly it again if the deal warrants it.

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Picfog’s live Twitter image results for “Entourage” showed how fans interacted with the popular HBO show during the season premiere.

Picfog is a real-time image search engine that displays photos uploaded to Twitter as a visual stream. Here’s how it works: Searching a keyword on Picfog will create a live stream of tweeted photographs mentioning that topic. You can also browse the most tweeted photo topics in the “Breaking Now” list. The tool is most powerful when it comes to tracking live events, for example the blaze that engulfed an office building in London’s Soho neighborhood on Friday, last Sunday’s Mets game or the season premiere of “Entourage” on HBO.

Using Picfog adds another layer to conversation monitoring on Twitter. Using Twitter’s simple search tool can yield interesting insights into what people are saying about a topic – but Picfog takes this a step further, allowing you to see how people are interacting with an event as it happens.

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David cites the 140 Characters panel with Rick Sanchez and Ann Curry as one of the best. In this column he’s got six ways to improve industry conferences (image by David via Flickr).

In May and June, I participated in 13 events as a moderator (six), panelist (four), and featured or keynote presenter (three). They weren’t evenly dispersed; May brought a stretch of four events in two and a half days, while June had a span of three events in three cities within 48 hours. It was both thrilling and tiring, and I’m glad I get to return to the day job for a while.

Along the way, I came up with a few thoughts on what can make events even better for all participants going forward. Some organizers have a real knack for this; Jeff Pulver in particular deserves a lot of credit for his thoughtful considerations that he incorporated into his 140 Characters Conference. Ultimately, participating in so many events spanning a range of topics mostly around social media topics gives me a way to cross-pollinate some of the best of what I’ve seen.

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Having a social media blueprint can help mitigate a crisis should one arise — and ensure you make the most of future opportunities (Image via Flickr).

One of the best lessons you can learn while engaging with social media is that you can never plan too early, as it’s hard to tell when you’ll really reap the fruits of your labor. If you’re actively building a brand through social media and you’re doing it right, you will be incredibly grateful down the road.

I’ll share an example of this from a company I rarely talk about here directly – my agency, 360i. It’s where I’ve worked as Director of Emerging Media (or related roles) for over three years, so I’ve been able to witness the agency’s evolution firsthand. Earlier this month we released our first Social Marketing Playbook, a freely available 56-page guide for marketers on developing and executing social marketing programs.

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1. @360i was at @jeffpulver’s 140 Characters Conference last week, represented by @dberkowitz (me) #140conf
2. It wasn’t so much about much about marketing, though that was part of it, with some legends like @zappos around
3. It was more about how Twitter is changing the world, industry by industry
4. There was also a big focus on how it changes how people communicate – professionally, romantically, etc.
5. Best panel: @ricksanchezcnn and @anncurry (loved Ann!) on Twitter as News Gathering Tool (see clip http://bit.ly/L68wM )
6. @anncurry embodied everything a tweeter should be: authentic, smart, passionate, funny, incisive and honest
7. I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel with @bmorrissey, @hadleystern, and @pfasano, moderated by @AaronStrout
8. I talked (surprise) about @360i’s Playbook (http://bit.ly/mREdN), focusing on the 4 ?s marketers should answer when devising their strategy
9. Someone asked about how to handle crises, like Dominos had. I noted having open communications channels can mitigate the damage.
10. I gave my closing remarks in haiku: Twitter GPS / once you turn on the tweet stream / you can’t part with it

Integrating Facebook with Xbox 360 would let gamers leverage the power of community to seek out more compatible opponents (Image via Flickr).

Last week, my colleague Josh touched on the new social features Microsoft is adding to the Xbox 360 – Facebook Connect and Twitter functionality that will allow users to broadcast their gaming activities to their friends.

As one of Josh’s commenters noted, bringing Facebook onto Xbox is of limited utility. Without an easy-to-use keyboard, at least as easy as a mobile phone keyboard, for example, the main use for access to your Facebook account on Xbox Live will be to ping friends to come join you in-game, or to show off your gamer score.

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Nathan Bonilla-Warford has an eye for social media, calling it this generation’s “Chamber of Commerce.” (Image by JoanKatherine via Flickr)

If you think you’ve read everything you need to know about social media, maybe you should get your eyes checked. When you go, with any luck your optometrist will be Nathan Bonilla-Warford, O.D. in Tampa, Florida, as he can teach you a few things.

Nathan reached out following last week’s column about my optometrist uncle,  who said my article was posted on an optometrists’ forum. His email signature included links to his Web site, Yelp listing, Facebook page, and Twitter account, and he later revealed he’s a blogger too. I thought his practical experience as a business owner grappling with social media should be shared with others. Here’s an exclusive interview with Dr. Bonilla-Warford.

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