Every month, the NetSquared Community comes together offline at Net Tuesday events around the world to mix, swap stories and ideas, build new relationships, and collaborate to help the local community. Our local organizers are volunteers dedicated to helping create local opportunities for learning, sharing and using technology to make a difference. In this Organizer Spotlight series we bring you interviews with organizers from around the world.

We're happy to introduce: Maggie McDonald!

Maggie is a co-organizer of the Net Tuesday group in Houston, TX, USA. You can check out her profile and ways to connect on the Net Tuesday Organizer Team page. Are you in Houston? Connect to the Net Tuesday group here!

Tell us who you are in less than 140 characters:

Volunteer, Hopeless believer in fairy tales, Voracious reader of all things, Event Planner, Runner.... did I mention Believer?

How do you spend your time when you're not organizing Net Tuesdays?

I'm from Texas so I do a lot of bull riding. When I am not doing that….

I work at Schipul The Web Marketing Company in our Public Relations department. Right now my big project is our first annual Schipul Web Marketing Conference. We're taking over the Houston Zoo this October 15 & 16 and it is going to be AWESOME! The amazing Deirdre Breakenridge is going to be our keynote and I'm super excited. She is my PR crush. We'll also have Meerkats. And Red Pandas. And lots of knowledge sharing (of course)! So you should come. I'll give you a cupcake and a hug.  

Because I like to stay super busy, I have a lot of other projects outside of my beloved 9-5.

I'm one of the organizers for the Mom 2.0 Summit. 2010 will be our second year and we'll be in Houston again this February. The focus of the conference is "open conversation" and everyone is welcome.… we'll be talking shop with social media influencers, industry leaders and leading brands. I'm not a mom (just have mad respect for them) and I enjoyed the heck out of it last year and learned a TON! So whether you're a Mom or a Marketer, join us in H-Town!!  

Some of my favorite people in the world are the Kirtsy girls and I'm super excited to be one of their Hands on Social Media Instructors. Teaching and writing are definitely my passions and with HOSM I get to wear my teaching hat. As for writing; you can check out my very cheesy blog at MagsMac dot com!!  

When I am not in front of the computer (or bull riding), I'm running, reading, or tripping over something. Clumsy girl!  

What inspired you to organize local Net Tuesday events in your community?

I work with Katie Laird, Jason McElweenie and Ed Schipul, who are the three founders of Houston Net2. My Mother has been an audiologist at a Non-Profit (Houston Ear Research Foundation) for 22 years and because of her influence, non-profits have a super special place in my heart. NPO employees work harder than anyone else, boast the biggest hearts and give the BEST hugs.  

As soon as I started at Schipul and discovered our Net2 involvement, I fell in love with our group. The minds in our group constantly amaze me and our NPOs are beyond inspiring. I elbowed my way in to planning and have been helping out ever since. It is definitely one of the most inspiring things I do every month and I'm thankful to Katie, Jason and Ed for bringing Net2 to Houston!!  

What's the hardest part of the job?

I think that hardest part is thinking that no matter how much you do, it will never be enough. There is always another non-profit that needs help and more to do…. Which is why we need a whole Army of Net2-ers!!

How do you measure the success of your events?

We've started making "To-Do"   lists at our events of our featured NPO's needs. We look back at the list later and see what was accomplished and what wasn't and that is how we measure our success. It's still a new process but it seems to be working so far.

Tell us about the best Net Tuesday event. What did you learn from that experience?

I don't think there has been one "best" Net Tuesday event because we've learned so much from every single one of them!! We have a really passionate group of people in Houston and some serious debates usually occur and we get a lot out of every meeting. Yes…. Some are smoother than others but to me, every single one has been a success.

What's the local social-web-tech scene like in Houston?

BOOMING! Seriously. I know Austin has SXSW and thinks they are way cooler than us, but we're bringing the Social-Web-Tech Smackdown. We have an absolutely brilliant group of people in Houston and it's only a matter of time before the whole world knows :)

How do you envision Net Tuesday events evolving over time?

Ours is more "Do" centered now. We used to spend a lot of time on presentations and then Q&A but we've cut down speaker time so we can break up into small groups and work on the NPO's needs then and there. I think this works really well and everyone learns a lot from each other. It is awesome to watch the "tech-sperts" and the NPOs passing knowledge back and forth!!  

What's your change-the-world philosophy?

Do Good. If you start every day with the intention of doing good, you can't go wrong!

What music are you listening to now-a-days?

Michael Jackson. Non-stop.

Other random Maggie facts?

I am an expert Bridesmaid, I hate off numbers and I LOVE EXCLAMATION MARKS!

Favorite Quote?

"If you see the magic in a fairy tale, you can face the future." - Danielle Steele  

Learn more:

• Find Net Tuesday in your city
• Learn more about the Net Tuesday Organizers
• Start a group in your city