Four billion pieces of content are shared each day on Facebook.  More than 200 million tweets are sent every day.  People watch more than 3 billion videos each day on YouTube.

These were just a few of the facts highlighted on screens throughout Proper Gastro Pub during this week’s San Diego Wine Wednesday gathering.  The sold out event, presented by Nuffer, Smith, Tucker and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), was designed to give people an opportunity to chat about the latest social media trends, best practices, lessons learned and what to expect in the future (with a beverage in hand, of course).

Our very own Bill Trumpfheller highlighted some trends that has our team buzzing about:

NST and WOMMA Host Wine Wednesday

• The growth in mobile – consumers increasingly use on-the-go forms of communication
• The cultural shift in privacy concerns – a growing divide between privacy advocates and those willing to share everything
• The growth of e-commerce throughout social media, and how it will drive deeper brand loyalty
• Simpler content generation and sharing, and how brands can cut through the clutter
• The future for social media and word-of-mouth marketing is changing and unknown, but at the end of the day it’s about recognizing that a happy customer is the greatest endorsement.

Thanks to Proper Gastro Pub, who provided great service, delicious wine and appetizers, and a stunning view of Petco Park, and congrats to Kari Luu from Harrah’s Rincon, who won a free ticket to the upcoming San Diego Social Media Symposium by posting her own burning social media question on our listening board!

You can check out photos of the event on NST’s Facebook page, and help us continue the dialogue year-round by posting on the wall and interacting with each of us on Twitter (just follow #NSTPR).  Also, please share your ideas for the upcoming San Diego Social Media Symposium by going to SDSocialMediaSymposium.com.

Since our business is based primarily on relationships, the NST staff periodically invites local reporters and media representatives to our offices for what we’ve dubbed, Brown Bag Lunches.  It’s an informal, lunchtime roundtable discussion (with a strict no pitching rule – this is supposed to be educational, not a way to corner a poor unsuspecting journalist) to help us better understand the needs of local media outlets and learn how to work better together.

Touring one of the control rooms, where live and satellite feeds are brought into the station.

Getting a firsthand look at the 10News newsroom.

The conversation can cover a myriad of topics, including how outlets like to receive story ideas, best times to reach reporters, a clearer understanding of an outlet’s editorial philosophy, how story decisions are made and specific areas of interest.

A few weeks ago, after approaching San Diego’s ABC affiliate KGTV, we received an invite to come to the studio and sit down with assignment editor Brad McClellan. A small group of NSTers headed to the 10 News Studio, and after a thorough tour (including editing bays, control room, studio and meeting rooms), we sat down for a conversation with Brad to learn more about the station and how we as NST can help the station provide relevant news to their viewers.

We had a very engaging dialog and while I won’t spill all the top secret tips (psst, the best time to call the assignment desk is between 1 and 2 p.m.), we all came away with a deeper understanding of the station’s editorial philosophy and what opportunities are available for our clients.

A big thank you to Brad for taking the time to chat with us, as we know he had a good 8,000 email messages (no joke) to attend to after his recent week-long vacation.