Atlanta

Let me begin by saying: I’m seeking contrary opinions.

I’m synthesizing my perceptions of the social media scene in Atlanta, Georgia as it compares to the scene in the city I relocated from, Austin, Texas.  Both cities consider themselves social media “capitals,” but they are very different from each other.  Having lived in both and participated in the Austin scene, I want to paint an early picture of how I see Atlanta’s scene and see if it resonates with others.

Atlanta’s scene seems less populated with casual social media users, and is more occupied by the professional media/marketing/PR crowd, than I experienced in Austin.  This is not bad in and of itself, but it does represent a great opportunity to build stronger connections within the community in the Atlanta area.

First of all, the cities are vastly different.  Austin is a city of semiconductors, internet startups and recent graduates of the University of Texas. Oh, and Dell.  Metro Atlanta is 4 times larger than the Austin area, and it’s dominated by Fortune 500 companies which drown out its surprisingly large internet startup scene.  Several universities in and around the area contribute to its technology talent pool.  But it is primarily a large-company city.

These cultural differences contribute to the social media climate.  In Austin, social media events are dominated by startups, casual social media users, people seeking work at startups, college graduates, and a few representatives of larger organizations.  In Atlanta, in my admittedly limited experience thus far, the scene is more strongly dominated by representatives of the Fortune 500 companies and marketing firms serving them, as well as students seeking to work in the marketing/PR/social media space within large companies.  Some startup folks participate, but others gravitate toward startup-specific events (such as SUDS).

Due to the composition of the people involved in social media, social media events in both cities have a different feel.  In Atlanta, they revolve around seminars on how to apply social media techniques to messaging efforts in the enterprise.  In Austin, at events like BASHH and Austin Tech Happy Hour, it’s about small startups finding relationships to support and expand their business.  Thus Austin’s events tend to be a bit more open and welcoming, where Atlanta’s feel a little more like a convention.  The Social Media Day had a surprising number of people from local radio and TV stations and locally-headquartered national news organizations.  Heavy emphasis on the “media.”

To me, social media is more about the “social” than the “media.”  The recent Social Media Day event in Atlanta, sponsored by a local media outlet, was the first time I had people look at me strangely when they realized my “day job” is not media-related.  They wondered why I was there!  I wondered why others weren’t, though I realized: there aren’t many non-”insider” social media events in Atlanta to help build that feeling of community.

This was one of the major reasons for putting on the inaugural Atlanta BASHH, and why I already look forward to the next. BASHH is an event strongly oriented towards crossing boundaries, mixing groups, and involving casual social media users.  The breadth of people that attended was phenomenal.  Helping people understand viscerally the benefits they can obtain by participating seems much more rewarding on the interpersonal level than showing Powerpoint slides about how to use Twitter better.  I had no strange looks when I volunteered I don’t work in media at BASHH.

Is this contrast I’m painting due to the nature of the companies and opportunities present in the two markets I’m comparing?  Am I unfairly characterizing the scene in Atlanta (or the scene in Austin)?  Tell me in the comments!