Oakland Digital (www.odalc.org), a 501(c)(3) non-profit that educates and inspires low-income communities through technology, brought the Hammer down on Oakland, wrapping a successful year with educational classes and capping it off with its second annual Inspiration Awards, honoring MC Hammer, singer/artist Goapele and technology leader Alex Bernstein of North Social.

Social Media Marketing Made Simple presented by Oakland Digital (ODALC), Constant Contact & Laney College. This educational seminar will review the essential strategies and best practices a business or organization should understand in order to successfully get started with social media marketing.

The “Inspire Oakland” campaign was launched to generate interest in graphic design and information technology through creative expression, while also encouraging artists to help project a positive image of Oakland through their designs. Nearly 400 design submissions were submitted this year, thanks to Laney College and McClymonds High School, which both implemented “Inspire Oakland” into their respective art programs.

At the end of March I had the honor of speaking at the Oakland City Hall, at their Social Media for Small Business event. It was very well attended, with almost 200 business owners who are just now really starting to focus on how they can use social media to grow their business. It was exceptionally well run by Shaun Tai, executive director of Oakland Digital, culminating in a special visit from Oakland’s Mayor Jean Quan, and featuring stellar speakers such as Andreas Weigand (Social Data Revolution, Stanford University, Amazon), folks from Yahoo! and Constant Contact. What I loved about it, though, was that it inspired me to revisit what we do at Get Satisfaction with fresh eyes.

When used properly, social media can be a great tool to help your small business reach untapped, potential customers and stay connected to current ones. But there are a few things you’ll need to know to help you get the most out of social media as well as your online presence in its entirety. “Social Media for Small Business” will help break social media down into easy-to-understand pieces, so you can make sense of and make use of this powerful resource in a way that grows your business.

It was a night of culmination for Oakland Digital Arts & Literacy Center (ODALC). After more than a year of striving to establish itself in a time of economic downturn, the local technology nonprofit succeeded in hosting its first annual Inspiration Awards, which celebrated the City of Oakland and honored three influential people for their significant contributions to the community…

Exclusive behind-the-scenes video at #TweediaDay / Warriors Media 2010 as seen through the eyes of Shaun Tai (@shaun_tai) of SHAUN TAI Films. SHAUN TAI Films was selected as one of ten social media journalists to attend Warriors Media Day, Tweedia Day. “This is FRESH, we (Warriors) are ready to GO.”

On Monday, September 27th, ODALC Executive Director Shaun Tai will be attending the Golden State Warriors’ 2010 Media Day, or “Tweedia Day”, a press-only event where Shaun will be acting as one of ten social media journalists.

The students from “The Economics of Philanthropy” class (UGBA 196) and the Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership invited ODALC to join an event where attendees learned about becoming effective philanthropists, heard from the President of Kiva, Premal Shah, watched live artistic performances (spoken word, hip hop, and Brazilian drumming), and enjoyed free food and drinks. Local nonprofits had tables at the event, providing attendees with the opportunity to get connected and learn about a wide array of local service opportunities and programs.

A picture is worth a thousand words. And these say volumes about the beauty, energy and people behind OaklandSeen. And the power – candidates, elected officials and community leaders were out in full force at the OaklandSeen launch party. Who do you recognize from the crowd?