This past Friday was likemind Chicago. This monthly meetup (with the exception of 1 date for November & December) brings together an eclectic mix of people. Where typically people work in and around the Web, media, advertising and marketing, it also brings out a number of people who work in different fields who have interests in these areas. We meet at Argo Tea on Adams and Dearborn Streets at 8 am, where their great teas and coffee compliment what’s happening.

Myself and Bruno Pieroni “host” the meetup – we greet everyone, but we are by no means the pivot point of the gathering. Over the past couple of years we have been proud to host the local meetup of what is a global networking meetup. We have had people from around the world – literally – come by as they attend a likemind gathering in their home city. We also have many people who come by each month, and some who come once and we never see them again.

Where Were You?

On average a dozen people come to likemind, and I have always wondered why more don’t. Where we meet at 8 am, surely people are up at this hour. Maybe people indicate on Facebook they are coming but don’t really plan to. Rather than overanalyze this, I thought instead I would share some of the topics of conversation at last Friday’s likemind, and leave it to you to determine if you are missing out on anything!

Here goes, as many as I could write down, in a somewhat chronological order:

• Pek gave a demo of his “Amazon instant” Web app called ShelfLuv and iPad app BizTome
• Erin talked about SteepandCheap.com where she got her 66 North jacket, and we talked about how it was an Icelandic brand, and told the story about an employer who bought a coffee pot for a late-night project
• BookBook is an iPad case that looks like a vintage book binding
• Ryan showed us his Droid X, which he bought to “fit in” with everyone else’s smartphones
• There is a likemind Chicago location in Foursquare, and Mike took the mayorship from Bruno
• Kate said the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is more than butterflies
• Talk about various marathons around the US
• How Foursquare’s School Night badge is awarded for checking in anywhere after 3 am, even at work
• Bruno referred to a colleague as, “my other Pek” and talked about an app he created called GeoPollster which integrates with Foursquare and you can tag a location with a political party
• Interhoods is a location-based designer and developer showcase, now in Chicago, New York and San Francisco
• Sortfolio is another location-based showcase, which presents project price ranges
• A lot of discussion around passive, recurring revenue
• Victoria is working on a Web site for the Girl Scouts
• Mike inserted QR codes into conversations whenever and wherever possible
• Discussion on examples of augmented reality
• Comparing TEDx Windy City vs. TEDx Midwest vs. TEDx Naperville
• Mike brought up the Nokia Qt mobile development platform and some wondered why they hadn’t heard about it
• Discussion around where people worked and some asked Mike about OfficePort Chicago
• The Windows 7 Phone compares with Android and the iPhone

As well, a few things were talked about which some felt were private conversations and shouldn’t have been mentioned here!

All this, in just under 2 hours. Would you have learned something being there? Could you have contributed? Watch for the announcement of the next likemind Chicgao on our Facebook group.

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The next likemind will be Friday, October 15, 2010 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in the Loop from 8:00 am to 10:00 am.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more on likemind, read this great article on likemind Chicago from the Newcity and likemind from the New York Times.

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Editor’s Note – This post is in follow-up and support of The State of Your Web Site, a checklist from Dunkirk Systems, LLC which helps guide Web site owners to objectivity on the current state of their Web site. You can download a free, no obligation PDF copy at TheStateOfYourWebSite.com.

Do you have goals for your Web site? Did you ever think of setting goals for your Web site?! As a Web site is a living, breathing 24/7 representative of your business, you should have goals – even just one goal – set in writing for your Web site. This fact is why it is near the top of the list on The State of Your Web Site checklist.

Yes, “goal” is a 4-letter word. Whenever people talk about goals, they often cringes or get defensive or have some adverse reaction to it. Even if they have goals for their life or their business in general, when it comes to their Web site, they will wonder why they are needed. With the expense and exposure that comes with a Web site, there is the reason right there to do so.

Where To Start

What your goals should be depend on your business and the Web site itself. If you have a store but do not sell products and services online, your goals would be much different from someone selling online with an eCommerce Web site. A “brochure” Web site is also much different than one with an extensive support forum.

Like anything in business, start someplace with goals, and review and refine as necessary. Write down statements such as “drive more traffic into my store” and “10% of overall sales made online.” Then you will want to ensure your Web site has the content or functionality to accommodate these – a printable in-store coupon and an eCommerce are part of this. Then measure – review your Web site analytics and ask new customers who come into your store how they heard about you. This is a simple example, but a point to start from.

If you are still unclear about your Web site’s goals, talk to your Web consultant. At Dunkirk Systems, LLC we work with our clients, both those with established Web sites or new ones, to set such goals, and integrate their measurement into their overall business analytics and review.

Do you have goals for your Web site? How has the goal-setting and review process worked for you? And if you do not have goals, why? Please share your thoughts in the comments for this post.

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As a full-service Web consulting firm, we at Dunkirk Systems, LLC offer social media consulting services to clients. For many of our clients, social media is a new area for themselves and their business. Where they may be familiar with Facebook or Twitter, they may be unsure how this would relate to their business or where to start. This opinion has come from the many conversations I have had with clients as well as colleagues.

To help gain some understanding with social media, I have created a presentation titled “Social Media Primer - Using the Tools of Social Media to Extend Your Reach” which I am offering to everyone using the service SlideShare. The presentation is embedded in this post below, or follow this link to view the Social Media Primer presentation.

Please share any comments or questions you may have on this presentation in the comments of this post. Where this is geared towards those who are new to social media, I welcome thoughts from anyone on this.

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In the September/October 2010 edition of NFIB MyBusiness magazine there is an article called “Click Here for Profits” which is geared towards new, moderate and experienced Web site owners. The magazine is published by the National Federation of Independent Business and is geared towards its members, all business owners. In the section titled “Getting Online for the Moderately Experienced” by Christina Galoozis, I was proud to have been able to contribute to this part of the overall article. You can read the article here at the NFIB Web site.

In the article, I shared several points, including offering a variety of content in your company’s blog, planning and writing a blog consistently, and on local search. I had a great conversation with Christina who asked me very insightful questions, and related my thoughts very well in the article.

Thanks to Christina for the opportunity to be in this article, and if you are visiting The Hot Iron as a result of the article, welcome! I also welcome your thoughts and opinions on the article here in the comments to this blog post.

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