We all know the feeling of falling behind a bit, unable to keep abreast of the latest developments as they unfold. With the social media that really shouldn’t pose a real problem any more – plus: Where’s the harm in showing your support of an organisation to your liking?

HSMAI Europe offers the following outlets:

The HSMAI Fan page, with events, news, photos, discussions and video clips. Please note that the page opened on 28 October, which means there’s very little of either for the moment, but we would really appreciate your support – here.

We try to share interesting news and events on Twitter whenever we come across them. Besides, Twitter is an excellent channel for instant dialogue, and we try to follow followers back – to the best of our ability, which again helps us staying in the loop of things.  Please follow @HSMAIeurope here.

LinkedIn is the “professional” equivalent to Facebook, with a somewhat more trade and profession-oriented profile, perhaps also a little less social, in the private meaning of the word.  HSMAI Europe has a group on LinkedIn, open for members and other hospitality colleagues, where we welcome discussions, events and job tips, for instance. Welcome over!

Flickr is an excellent photo sharing resource, offering endless amounts of photographs, usually under Creative Commons licences, opening for free re-use, under certain conditions. Up until now we have to admit that we haven’t really been that good at sharing, but will try to improve. Either way, you may follow our photostream, if you like, and here’s where.

YouTube should need no further introduction, even though our industry has yet to use the service to its full potential, including HSMAI Europe. We have seen an increase in travel and hospitality companies using YouTube as a social – and free – distribution channel for TV ads, which has proven to be extremely successful in concert with other social media outlets, such as Facebook. Please join HSMAI Europe’s own YouTube channel here.

For the time being we do not update HSMAI.eu on a daily basis, but do on the other hand offer a daily update through The hospitality Daily (click green UPDATE button if it hasn’t updated since your last visit), based on links from a list of resources we follow on Twitter, which you may find handy. Please inform us of  Twitter profiles you think we should include.

You must have noticed that our updates of late have been scant, which, in part, pertains to the simple fact that these are lazy days, albeit not for us. Au contraire, we’re busy building new websites and enhancing HSMAI’s European presence in the social media.

First off, HSMAI Chapther Norway, whose website is currently under construction, to reappear as an HSMAI.eu clone with national chapter colours and features, shares secretarial functions with HSMAI Europe. Amid preparations prior to the autumn’s big events, the organisation is busy building online relations and networks, with groups on Facebook and LinkedIn, in addition to our Twitter, Flickr and YouTube profiles.

We will however try to publish news as they occur. Please notify our editorial staff if you know of any noteworthy news: newsdesk@hsmai-europe.com

Whilst these time-consuming enterprises take place, we hope you forgive that our website has entered a summer mode, and wish you all a fabulous summer.

For some time we have had a separate website for the European division of HSMAI in the pipeline, in addition to the national chapters – plans that finally materialise with our launch of hsmai.eu, albeit hosted on hsmai-europe.com.

We’ve decided to take things step by step, by first launching a public version of hsmai.eu, to be followed by national chapters, of which HSMAI Chapter Norway is first, upon which protected sections for members, sporting Special Interest Groups (SIG’s), fora, live chat and a host of member-exclusive features will be implemented, as well as chapter and division president blogs, to mention but a few.

Ingunn Hofseth, president, HSMAI Europe and HSMAI Chapter Norway.

As already touched on in other news, we are very eager to explore the infinite possibilities offered through social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Flickr, as we’re confident that our presence in the arenas frequented by our members, partners, the industry itself and prospective members, will improve our over-all ability to communicate – as well as to provide a long overdue on-line dialogue.

We also acknowledge that such presence is compulsory for any kind of business or organisation in this day and age, which is why we’ve decided to be at the forefront of the so-called Web 2.0 development. As a matter of fact, our new site is based on a well-known open source blog software, so advanced it even serves as a full-blown CMS (Content Management System), tweaked and customised by our very own Internet and media specialist, in order for the site to adapt the many interactive features of the surrounding social media.

It is our sincerest hope that you find the website – and our yet very recent social media presence – useful. We also hope you take the opportunity to interact with us, which is the general idea with social media.

At this point we hope you share your views on our approach, by voicing your opinion in the comment field below.

Welcome to hsmai.eu – and welcome as our member!

We also hope you’ll join us over at:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Flickr
• YouTube

OSLO, Norway — HSMAI Chapter Norway’s breakfast meeting on social media last Tuesday was a success, spurring members and other attendants, as well as the Norwegian chapter itself, to explore the Web 2.0 possibilities.

The 45 attendants were met with fresh coffee and croissant outside the auditorium of VG (Norway’s largest daily newspaper) at eight o’clock, before the immensely inspiring lecture given by Sermo Consulting’s Ingeborg Volan, who, for more than an hour gave numerous concrete examples of successful corporate use of the social media, after an in-depth introduction.

“You simply can’t help feeling happy and inspired by someone able to instigate enthusiasm in the audience, as Ingeborg did during our breakfast meeting,” HSMAI Chapter Norway president Ingunn Hofseth says.

And you have to agree. Only hours following the breakfast meeting, new twitterers from the meeting popped up on our screen, full of praise.

If you don’t have a Twitter profile yourself; hesitate no more. Register here.

The success has led HSMAI Chapter Norway to set up a series of courses on the Internet and social media during the upcoming autumn – with just Ms. Ingeborg Volan.

Here’s a YouTube clip from the event (we’re sorry for the distorted wide-screen format):

Top photo: Some 45 members and non-members attended HSMAI Chapter Norway’s breakfast meeting on social media on Tuesday. Photographer: Jarle Petterson

A day and a half later, the routine, captured by hidden cameras, showed up during a break in the reality television show “Celebrity Big Brother.” The seemingly spontaneous performance turned out to have been an advertising stunt for T-Mobile, a wireless telephone network that used it for a campaign built around the slogan “Life’s for Sharing.”

Read more at the NYT