Silicone Bitch: Happy Blog Birthday, SxSe, 30-Day Blog Challenge and More!

Summer was rather slow for Silicone Bitch but the fall season is picking up to a nice pace.

Sex and the Beach celebrated its 5th anniversary in 2010. Where else but on Miami Beach? This month, the blog is seven years old. Maybe we'll throw another party at the decade mark. Photo by Liam Crotty.

FREE SEXUAL FAVORS

But before we get into the latest news, behold the beautiful graphic to the right. Miami New Times must love me long time, because they nominated Sex and the Beach plus my Twitter account for Web Awards!  You may recall that Silicone Bitch is an offshoot of the Silicon Beach column I used to pen for Riptide.  Well, I heart Miami New Times, too!

If you heart me and the exhilarating content I have been providing for donkey's ages, perhaps you'll kindly vote for me under the Miami, Art/Culture and Twitter (@vicequeenmaria) categories.

Thanks for the nominations, Miami New Times! I couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift, since Sex and the Beach celebrated its seventh anniversary on October 5th. (Funny, I forgot about it.)

SXSE

SxSe attendees none the worse for wear during Sunday's late breakfast in Key Largo.

A group of social media friends got together at the end of September for the 5th annual SxSe, South Florida's oldest continuing tweetup tradition and unconference. This year, the group consisted mostly of social media professionals, many of whom discussed the finer points of Google + and other topics while sipping cool cocktails under the palm trees.  South by Southeast just so happened to take place at the tail end of Social Media Week; however, the two events were unrelated.

Prior to the weekend, yours truly, @alexdc and @lisadsparks presented lectures on blogging for business, mobile marketing and email marketing, respectively.  The event?  The Florida Keys Digital Media Conference -- a first of its kind social media educational event in Monroe County.

Florida Keys individuals and businesses connected with Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and even Tampa peeps over the subject of social media. Kudos to Shirley Wilson (@keys2bsocial) for organizing a great conference.

But back to the party, which coincidentally happened to piggy back on the conference. SxSe headquarters was the elegant but laid-back Key Largo Hilton, where lazing in the crystal-clear water beach was the order of the day, even if we did talk shop.  The tweetup took place at The Pilot House Glass Bottom Bar, where we enjoyed Pirate's Booty, an award-winning rum cocktail by owner Don Brown.

SEA TWEETUP

Another great social event is coming up this week: the second annual SeaTweetup social media conference and gathering aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. Sea Tweetup is sold out, so you can't sail on this particular love boat, but stop by the EPIC hotel on Thursday for a Bon Voyage party at Area 31.

30-DAY BLOGGER CHALLENGE

A bunch of South Floridians heard the call by @alexdc of Social Media Club South Florida to get disciplined about blogging.  When it comes to blogging, consistency is key. You gotta do it and stick to it, just like any fitness routine. Below is the list of participating bloggers, some of whom are businesses.  Yours truly isn't part of the challenge, but I'll be cheering everyone on from the sidelines.

Follow the blogging shenanigans on Twitter as well with the hashtag #SMCSFBlogOff.

(We hope Rick from South Florida Daily Blog will forgive us for this long reading list!)

http://BrendaLeguisamo.com

http://heartsdesireintl.com

http://themarkethacker.com

http://marcenriquez.com/blog

http://vizred.com/blog

http://tonyvainosky.com

http://theaublog.wordpress.com/

http://nonseafoodeats.wordpress.com/

http://flamingolips.com

http://www.mynameisnotlisa.com

http://SeymourResults.com

http://alexdc.org

http://bohemianbabushka.blogspot.com/

http://www.underwaterportraitphotography.blogspot.com/

http://le-manchot.blogspot.fr/

http://theinnovativeconsultant.com

http://www.waxcom.com/impressions/

http://tatianacast.com/category/blog/

http://www.smallbizninja.com/

http://bluecompassmarketing.wordpress.com

http://amaroedolce.wordpress.com

http://tacotamer.com/

http://andreinthetropics.wordpress.com/

http://westcoconutgrovecrimewatch.tumblr.com/

http://thepassionistablog.wordpress.com/

http://debracortese.com/blog/

http://shirleywilson.com/

http://marlenembryan.wordpress.com/

http://thedudeoforkut.blogspot.com

http://www.giglogo.com

http://www.yourcommercialsucks.tumblr.com

http://missionlaunch.com/frontpage

http://www.onesoulholistic.com/anahataom/blog

http://www.jessicaalexandre.com

http://www.supernerdo.net

http://huff.to/SILauR

http://freeammy.wordpress.com

MORE LOCAL SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS

Left to right: Joe Martinez, Hanae Kimura and Cynthia Seymour discuss Google + at Social Media Club South Florida in a panel moderated by Liza Walton.

Social Media Club South Florida is in full swing. We met earlier this month to discuss Google + and have a November meetup scheduled the second Tuesday of the month about Wordpress. Yours truly is on the board now but as always, I encourage you to join us for free, educational networking meetups. Follow Social Media Club South Florida on Facebook.

Refresh Miami, a web and tech meetup community, has also started gearing up for a great season.  Learn more at Refresh Miami.

Did you know the "Fantastic Four of Miami" has a tech startup that's all about social shopping?   Read more at Startropica.

Maria's Florida Keys Favorites

The Eden House boutique hotel in Key West definitely lives up to its name.

I recently hosted this year's fourth annual SxSe, a South Florida social media retreat and tweetup, in the Florida Keys. The location turned out to be perfect for the event and if you weren't able to attend, that doesn't mean you shouldn't pack your bags and enjoy some of my favorite Florida Keys spots on your own.

So here goes, just some of many reasons I love the Florida Keys.


Alabama Jack's knows what grows well in gardening zone 10. This backcountry restaurant is close by, right at the border of Miami-Dade and Monroe counties on Card Sound Road, but it's a world apart from the 305 mindset.



Something amazing happens at the Seven Mile Bridge. Miami becomes a distant memory. It's like stress gets scrubbed off your soul by a giant spiritual loofah.



Reading, Key West style, at the Eden House.



I dare you to not fall into blissful sleep in this cozy, tropical nook at the Eden House.



Conch Carpaccio, served with capers, bell peppers, Parmesan cheese and a heavenly lime vinaigrette at Café Solé, is worth the 180-mile drive. The menu boasts: "So tender and delicate it will make you cry." It will do more: raw conch is said to be an aphrodisiac.



No snivelling is allowed at the legendary Green Parrot Bar. Actually, that should be a rule at every bar in Miami, too. I like this bar so much, I brought a tank top like the one the bartender is wearing to add to my "Favorite Florida Bars" wardrobe collection. Oh and Green Parrot also has a cool blog.



No visit to Key West is complete without a dark and stormy from Bahama Bob Leonard at the Rum Bar inside the Speakeasy Inn. That's Gosling's black rum and Barritt's Ginger Beer, two great exports from Bermuda.



The Pirate Museum may have moved to St. Augustine, but even the bathroom tile is swashbuckling at The Rum Barrel on Front Street. Catch live music, grub and grog upstairs on the rooftop terrace.



Key West's best late night snack is a big fat Cheesesteak sandwich from Mr. Z's, made to order by this fine gentleman. Seven bucks gets you 12 inches of meaty goodness and yes, I mean the sandwich.



One of my favorite strolls in Key West begins at Mac's Sea Garden in the Historic Seaport. Actually, there are several bars and restaurants here, so it's more like a long, leisurely walk on a short plank.



Just in case you can't function without your shot of diesel, stop by the Cuban Coffee Queen next to Mac's Sea Garden.



Nobody gives you shit about cocktails to go and nobody acts like a dick head. That kind of thing would never fly in South Beach.



Fried Key Lime Pie at Porky's Bayside BBQ in Marathon. It's as scrumptious as it looks.



I almost don't want to share Rum Runners Holiday Isle with you. I want it all to myself and my friends. Nothing beats a cold one sipped in the crow's nests at this dreamy beach side bar.



If you do go, make sure you let the world know you were there.

Got more Florida Keys favorites? Share in my thread at the Miami Beach 411 travel forums.

Silicone Bitch: Not SXSW March Madness

News and notes about the South Florida social media and blogging scene, with a little tech thrown in for good measure. And maybe some other random events, too.

Eager hands at WordCamp Miami. Photo by Alexdesigns via Flickr.

It's a long story on why I didn't go to SXSW earlier this month, and it's a story I'm not particularly happy about, so we shall have no coverage for you of the biggest social media circle jerk of the year. However, Silicone Bitch kept a watchful eye on the local social media and blogging scene, as usual. Somebody had to stay home and take care of the chickens. April will be the one-year anniversary of this column!

STARTUP BUS MIAMI

Yet we must mention this: what happens when you put a bunch of geeks on a bus, forced to brainstorm great ideas in a span of 48 hours? This, my friends, is what a bunch of geeks did on their way to SXSW this year. Spearheaded in part by West Palm Beach-based Marc Kaplan (@sflsocialgeeks), Startup Bus Miami was one of six buses vying to win a national competition.

Other buses made their way to Austin from San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, Cleveland and Chicago. Ironically, though, the bus itself wasn't filled exclusively with Floridian passengers -- only a handful from Southeast Florida and Tampa, with others joining in from Louisiana and Atlanta.

Thirty five geeks worked hard to come up with seven pitches. The one that made it to the finals -- mynewman.com, an "anti-social" network -- didn't win the competition, unfortunately.

Startup Bus Miami will have another incarnation next year. "I'd like to see more local people participating next year," said Kaplan over a phone interview. "Let's show them that Florida is a force to contend with."

Yes. We're Silicon Beach, after all.


NEWS AND NOTES

• WordCamp Miami was a smashing success this year. Over 300 people showed up to learn everything from blogging basics to developer tricks. Anyone interested in blogging should attend this event in 2012. If you couldn't make it this year, there's still much to learn from the videos and presentations page. You'll find my Blogging 101 slide there, too.
  

• Never doubt the power of social media and online communities. Over at Miami Beach 411, we helped nab an alleged craigslist scammer (aka Monica Brown) just by doing some basic gumshoe work inspired by a forum thread warning would-be South Beach residents about roommate and rental shenanigans.

• The second annual Sun Sentinel "Best of Blogs" Award is currently accepting nominations. I wish they would curate this competition so it doesn't become one big social media popularity contest. We already learned that lesson over at South Florida Daily Blog, where a panel of of devoted bloggers and readers oversees the process now.

RANDOM GOOD STUFF

• My friend @kimcelenza is helping organize an ULTRA music event called Cirque du Pool for March 26. That's not normally my scene, but it seems like a good deal, so I'm giving them a little love here. $100 VIP tickets get you in with bottomless champagne on the rooftop, corner of 5th and Ocean Drive. South Beach's wildest "seen and be seen" corner will be buzzing with the sounds of groovy DJs like Ralph Falcon. Soul of Miami has all the details and links.

• Save the date for sometime in the doldrums of summer -- possibly July, maybe August. SxSe (South By Southeast), Southeast Florida's best and brightest old-school tweetup, will take place somewhere in the Florida Keys. We're courting several properties down there to see who will have us and give us the best deals.

Miami Is So SxSe!

A bunch of Twitter people are getting together again for a second time in the magic city April 16-20. Some folks are even flying in from out of town to enjoy our hospitality.

This is a very informal, casual and relaxed un-event, un-featuring dinner at iconic Cuban restaurant Versailles, an Afro-Cuban funk performance by PALO! in a great Little Havana music lounge, brunch at JJ's in South Miami, a meet-up at Carrabbas on Miami Beach and a lazy day trip down to Morada Bay in the Keys. You pay for your own shit and get there on your own. Come to one or all. Just show up! Only extra cost is a $10 contribution for the musical performance.

All local bloggers are welcome -- you needn't be on Twitter!

Curious? Everything you need to know is at www.sxse.info ... including information about our supporters.