Los Angeles

April Presa is Director of Content Development at Radical Axis and is an advisor for SMWLA.

April unofficially began her career in college where she spearheaded The Fifth Humour, Yale University’s first original sketch comedy troupe. Upon graduating college, April began working as a production assistant on the Warner Brothers sitcom “Rewind” and remained in network prime-time TV for several years to come. She had the good fortune of landing a script coordinator job on NBC’s “Scrubs.” After writing the “Scrubs” episode “My Kingdom,” April was staffed onto the ABC sitcom “I’m With Her.” Soon after, April sold a half-hour pilot, “Static,” to Adelstein-Parouse/20th Century Fox Television and sold and developed another pilot, “SexyPrettyPerfect,” for Dawn Parouse Productions/20th/FOX.

In 2007 she crossed paths with Radical Axis and been with the studio ever since, seeking out and developing original animated content.

April took some time to answer our six questions about her topics! Below are her replies that help elaborate on the panel and why it’s important to social media.

1) Why did you chose to participate in this particular panel? How did you get involved with this topic specifically?

I wanted to help organize an event intended to educate writers on the benefits of becoming more entrepreneurial in this new age of social media.  Having worked within the writing community for years, I think now is as good a time as any for writers to learn how to become their own mini-studios.

2) How has social media influenced or informed the discussion surrounding your topic?

Audiences are discovering original content, regardless of platform, thanks to Facebook, Twitter and powerful influencers.  Writers need to understand how this works as well as understand how to utilize crowdfunding resources to raise financing.  I think the writing community needs a better grasp on how to tap into this new energy in the marketplace.

3) What social media websites are key players for your topic? (linkedin, foursquare, facebook)

Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, IndieGoGo, Kickstarter.

4) How has your background in other fields shaped your approach to social media?

Having worked for traditional media conglomerates for years, I’ve come to appreciate how nimble social media companies are in their ability to constantly iterate and do so much faster than their traditional media counterparts.

5) How can social media bring more awareness to your topic?

If writers are well-versed in social media platforms, they can share new tools of the social media trade with each other within the community, thereby educating each other on how to build, maintain, and ultimately earn a profit from an audience.

6)  If you had to describe your panel with three adjectives,  what would they words be?

Ambitious, liberating, and entertaining.

Justin Williams is cofounder of Social Media Breakfast LA and an advisor for SMWLA. On Sept. 22, SMBLA will be hosting the event Social Media Breakfast: Social Media Monitoring and Measurement with special guest speaker Dr. Natalie Petouhoff. The event will take place at 7:30am at the Coupa Café of Beverly Hills.

Justin took some time to answer our six questions about his topics! Below are his replies that help elaborate on the panel and why it’s important to social media.

1)   Why did you choose to participate in this particular panel? How did you get involved with this topic specifically?

Since I’m the cofounder of Social Media Breakfast LA, bringing this breakfast meet up to Social Media Week was a no brainer. Our monthly breakfasts give our intimate audience the opportunity to eat, meet, network, and learn about the latest trends in social media marketing. Bringing this topic to the table has always been a goal of mine, especially since so many brands are confused about measurable metrics. I met Dr. Natalie at our August SMBLA and she was incredibly enthusiastic and well versed on the topic, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity.

2)   How has social media influenced or informed the discussion surrounding your topic?

I’ve found that one of the biggest problems brands have with social media is the confusion around monitoring and measurement. Brands want metrics, but many don’t know where to find them online. And once they do, they have no idea how to interpret what they mean or apply the findings to their overall strategy.

My hope is that this breakfast keynote will influence the entire audience by encouraging them to use social media more fully without worry or doubt.

3) What social media websites are key players for your topic? (linkedin, foursquare, facebook)

All social media sites are relevant to this topic, but I’ve found that people have the most concern and confusion surrounding Twitter.

4) How has your background in other fields shaped your approach to social media?

My background in event planning and branding has shaped my approach to social media in a very strong way. With my company, sketchbookLA, I’ve decided to focus on event-centric social media—meaning engagement that affects a users experience both on and offline. Being able to interact with an audience “in the moment” at an event or party and amplify their experience across the web is extremely powerful.

5) How can social media bring more awareness to your topic?

Social media can bring more awareness to the topic of measurement and monitoring by making it easier for brands to see and understand exactly where their dollars are going. I know… this is a tough goal, but I do believe it’s possible.

6)  If you had to describe your panel with three adjectives,  what would they words be? 

Informative, Early, Worth It.

Michael Mothner is an advisor for SMWLA and along with his company Wpromote and ONEHOPE Wine is hosting the “Social Good” Party and presenting a panel surrounding Social Good: Taking Social Media to Social Action.

Michael is a serial entrepreneur and Internet pioneer, having founded his first software company at the age of fourteen. In 2001, out of his dorm room at Dartmouth College, Michael founded Wpromote, Inc. where he is currently the President and CEO. Michael is an active member of the online marketing community and was featured by Inc Magazine as one of “30 CEO’s under 30 To Watch” and was the recipient  of the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Entrepreneurial Spirit Award.

Michael took some time to answer our six questions about his topics! Below are his replies that help elaborate on the panel and why it’s important to social media.

1) Why did you chose to participate in this particular panel? How did you get involved with this topic specifically

We came up with the concept of the panel because the fusion of entrepreneurship and social good is such an amazingly exciting trend. To have amazingly sharp business minds apply themselves to bettering the world is a topic that deserves attention.

2) How has social media influenced or informed the discussion surrounding your topic?

Social media is right at the center of the topic of social entrepreneurship; it is at the heart of how the companies featured grow their following, engage with their customers, and even contributes to how they effect positive change on the world.

3) What social media websites are key players for your topic? (linkedin, foursquare, Facebook)

The social media websites and services are going to be the usual suspects: Facebook, Twitter and I think given the virility of the topic of socially responsible entrepreneurship, video plays a key role as well, so YouTube is most definitely in the mix.

4) How has your background in other fields shaped your approach to social media?

I have worked in online marketing — specifically focused on search engine marketing — since it’s inception, so a deep understanding of how people learn, buy, share and collaborate online is very helpful in understanding social media. What we are really seeing in the broadest sense is the “socialization” of so much of our online experience; it is really becoming a layer on top of productivity, commerce, consuming media and making it a far richer experience.

5) How can social media bring more awareness to your topic? 

Truly, social media is our topic. The panelists we have all have incorporated social media deeply into their business models; without social media, these innovative startups very well may not be where they are today.

6) If you had to describe your panel with three adjectives,  what would they words be?

Innovative, fast-paced, and inspiring.