“Can the benefits of social media outweigh the risks involved in its use?” Thus began the conversation about social media at Center Stage in Charlotte’s NoDa District on Tuesday night.

The National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate, WFAE 90.7, hosts a Public Conversations Series in Charlotte to encourage community dialogue on current events. On Tuesday, February 15, 2011, their program focused on “Taming the Social Media Beast” hosted by Julie Rose. I was honored to be a panelist at this discussion alongside Dani Burns, of FairPoint Communications, and Attorney Jonathan Crotty, of Parker Poe.

The conversation centered around social media and its personal and professional uses. Johnathan Crotty answered legal questions about personal and professional social media use, Dani Burns highlighted business, marketing, and branding issues in social media, and I discussed the societal implications of social media use and digital and media literacy.

Our major message (quoted by @thesicklecircle): People get the social part of social media, but they forget about the media part. Social media is public.

Here are links to some of the resources on my blog relevant to the questions and comments shared:

• A Field Guide to the Twitter Language: help for those trying to discern how to read and write effectively in tweets.
• 20 Digital Thinkers to Follow on Twitter
• Civility, Technology, and a Digital Society
• Resources for Digital Strategic Communication Professionals
• Book reviews: Digital and Strategic Communication texts to read

Thanks again to WFAE, Julie Rose, my fellow panelists, and the audience for an excellent conversation.