It can be difficult to make a local business visible online to customers. This month, we'll see how cutting-edge SoLoMo, or online promotions combining social, local and mobile techniques - can elevate a local brand presence in today's noisy stream.

It's simple to create a Facebook page for your business or organization, but then what? On Friday, Feb. 3, social media pro Jennifer Navarrete will lead a Brain Jam for branding your Facebook page, monitoring and curating activity, and building a following.

Creating, Promoting and Maintaining a Facebook Page

You already know how to use Facebook. Everybody's on Facebook. And creating a Facebook page for business is easy too. Here's what's not so easy:

• Branding the page beyond the logo
• Deciding what content to offer
• Building a fan base

Friday, February 3, 2012
Coworking (open house, just hang out and work) 10:30 am - 3:30 pm
Lunch discussion Noon - 1:30 pm

Where?

Firecat Studio 918 Nolan #104, San Antonio, TX 78202

You're welcome to come get some work done anytime between 10:30 am and 3:30 pm, just like working from a coffee shop but with cooler people and free coffee. Yes, you are welcome to invite others, but there's limited space, so make sure your friends register!

Coworking in March

On Friday, March 2, we're going Local! We'll discuss tactics for getting a local business or branch better online visibility with Google Places, Yelp, Foursquare and more. Save the date!

As always, please feel free to suggest upcoming brown bag topics. Thanks!

Firecat is hosting an all-day Jelly coworking session on Friday, January 20 as part of Worldwide Jelly Week. Bring your laptop, cell phone, or pen and paper and get some work done with some fresh faces and ideas around you.

What Is Jelly?

Jelly is a worldwide coworking movement, and it's how Firecat Studio was introduced to the coworking concept in 2006. Knowledge workers and creatives can pretty much work where ever they like, as long as they have an Internet connection. The next logical step is - where do you want to work from? For a lot of us, that's often home. But home can be isolating; you can miss the water cooler chats with coworkers and the face time with other human beings. Coworking, and Jelly, have sprung up as an alternative place to work.

To quote from the Jelly website:

Jelly started in NYC in February of 2006 when roommates Amit and Luke realized that they loved working from home, but they missed the creative brainstorming, sharing, and camaraderie of a traditional office. (Office politics, not so much.)

So they started inviting friends to come work from their home one day a week. They soon found that working in close proximity to new and interesting people every couple weeks resulted in new ideas and interesting conversations.

Emboldened by their early success, they made it a more regular thing. Jelly was born.

And What's Worldwide Jelly Day 2012?

It's a celebratory week of coworking happening worldwide. San Antonio's godfather of coworking, Todd O'Neill, has organized coworking sessions in San Antonio each day of the week. Here's the schedule so far:

• Monday, January 16 - Geekdom, Weston Centre, 112 East Pecan, 11th Floor, San Antonio, TX 78205. Map
  
• Tuesday, January 17 - La Taza Coffeehouse, 15060 San Pedro Ave/281, SATX 78232
• Wednesday, January 18 - TBD 
• Thursday, January 19 - TBD
• Friday, January 20 - Firecat Studio, 918 Nolan #104, San Antonio, TX 78202. Free of charge, soft drinks provided. Brownbag lunch. Map