Event
Why Do Conferences Suck?
I absolutely crave face to face time with people. I see offline relationships as the heart of marketing.
This is why I keep going to conferences despite the face that most conferences suck. I am in the heart of this world now since creating my own social media conference series, Social Fresh. Here are just a few of the things that encouraged me to find my own solution.
The Four Horsemen of the Conference Apocalypse
Too much hyperbole there?
- No Networking – Many conferences just cram as much content in as possible and lose track of encouraging conversations. Provide physical space that encourages connecting. Provide time in the day that allows connecting. Create reason for people to connect.
- Bad Speakers – Where to begin… Unreadable slides, reading from slides verbatim, simply boring, no examples, no case studies, and please, I do not need your life story as an intro. Cut to the meat.
- Too Big – Don’t get me wrong, I love SXSW and Blogworld, and Web 2.0 for the shear scale of what they do. And they fill a need. But at some point, finding good content, relevant connections, and just navigating these events successfully takes too much effort.
- Too Serious – Yes we are there to learn. No, I don’t need an all day happy hour. But, please lighten up a bit. Throw some spice into the recipe. People like getting away from their desks. Make the day a little more than just instruction. Make it an experience.
Complaints that don’t bother me so much
- No Wifi – I get it, we all want to tweet about an event. It is worth complaining about, but let’s face it, there are plenty of venues and cities that just have crappy cell and wifi capabilities. Wifi does not make an event. And I can attend a great event with no wifi and get just as much out of it.
- Bad Food – Again, I am not there for the food.
- Too Expensive – It is business. Charge what you want. I either think it is worth it or I don’t. Conferences can be expensive endeavors. This value equation is completely different for each person.
Over the last year I have shifted from spending most of my professional time on social media consulting to spending most of my time working on Social Fresh. It is much more rewarding. But it is also not for everyone.
Social Fresh is simple. It is specifically for marketers that want to see the full potential of social media. We bring big brands and smart people in the social media space to a city near you. Big event content, small event networking and discussion.
Social Media: The Bad and The Ugly
In response to Patrick O’Keefe‘s ManagingCommunities.com post on his BlogWorld Expo Panel “Social Media: The Bad and the Ugly”. My ugly social media is simply the knee jerk attack responses that I seem to see more and more of each day.
I try not to be negative at all online outside of customer service complaints. But especially when a more constructive response or the offering of a solution would be a better response.
I hope more people will decide to stay positive when reacting to individuals and companies that are making a strong effort to enter the social media space.
Patrick’s Blogworld Expo panel will include Patrick, Wayne Sutton, Amber Naslund, and Robert Scoble.
4 Free Tickets to Social Media Business Forum
Social Media History Trivia
- October 9th, 1pm EST
- Follow @jakrose for questions
- Random draw from the first 5 correct answers wins a ticket for each question
- 4 Questions
4 Free Tickets to Social Media Business Forum (October 23rd – Durham, NC)
Speaking with Bank of America and LendingTree
I was lucky to join local Social Media professionals from Bank of America (Brian A. Wright) and LendingTree.com (Nicole Hall) last week for the local Interactive Marketing Association. It was great to hear the unique perspectives from these two financial players and the challenges they face.
Overall, I was impressed by how savvy many of the attendees were. It was a great mix of interactive pros from E-retail to NASCAR to Fortune 500.
David Wells not only caught the whole thing on video, but took out some of our key points (with Timestamps, wow). Oh, and he has an audio download. Check out the video below and go read David’s blog post for the extended content. The lighting was pretty poor, so excuse the shadowy table from which we speak.
“The panel explores how to determine if social networking is right for your business, which social media is right for your business, what to outsource and what to keep in-house, and how to know when your social media strategy is working.
Put on by the Charlotte Interactive Marketing Association“
Do Backchannels Know No Boundaries?
Allie Sullivan (@ashevilleallie) is an online marketing and advertising specialist, formerly from the non-profit industry. She is a do-gooder, connector, and trying to make a difference in the world.
The Ugly Was Brought!
On Friday I was very excited to attend New Media Atlanta. Thursday evening I was fortunate to go to the speaker dinner and meet several of the presenters, the co-founders, and those who worked behind the scenes. The one thing that each player had in common is that they were all pumped about being part of the very first New Media Atlanta! I was excited too!
At the start of New Media Atlanta, after the opening comments by conference founders Matt Fagioli and Brad Nix, Jeff Turner took the stage for his presentation on Social Media Is Here To Stay. It was 10 a.m., the conference was just kicking off, and Jeff brought attention to the conversations that were going on through BackNoise. BackNoise claims …
“BackNoise lets you create conversations on the fly, in meetings, watching TV, during class, on the train, anywhere and anytime. Talk about what you want, when you want, where you want, and how you want.”
BackNoise is a channel that allows people to express themselves, anonymously or known, in a real-time online conversation. What started out on BackNoise that day as speaker feedback and comments that people were tired or thirsty, quickly spiraled downhill to what I believe, people who brought out their “ugly.”
Photo via @BeeRealty
There are certain people in this world that have the disco balls to say pretty much about anything. Chris Brogan was the main speaker at New Media Atlanta and embraced BackNoise by presenting with the backchannel behind him. There were some interesting comments such as his fly was down and that the more he cursed, the more an anonymous BackNoise user wanted to kiss him. Funny, right? Brogan has the disco balls though. Everyone in conference attendance was waiting for the moment that he took the stage. They know him, or have heard of him, and respect his reputation.
What about a speaker that isn’t as well known and adored? Does this mean that it’s okay to send a BackNoise comment that encourages the audience to cough two times if you don’t like their presentation? What about stretch if you don’t like the next one? Believe it or not, that’s what happened!
I’m sorry, but to attend a conference and revert back to middle-school mentality is pathetic. If I knew who started these behaviors on BackNoise that day, I would call you out publicly, but alas, you were anonymous. I have no problem with people suggesting that the content presented was weak, or that you’re bored or tired but at some point, grow the heck up!
If you are bored, say why. If you were a speaker and getting bashed, wouldn’t you want to know why?
I don’t think trying to get people to cough is going to help someone learn where and how they can improve. I also don’t think that by creating fear for future speakers is going to make any speaker become better at it!
We encourage people in the online space to be real and transparent, pay-it-forward, not to be a social media douche bag, etc. Why do these understood rules of common decency fly out the window when you don’t actually have to be accountable for your words and actions? They shouldn’t.
When users on the backchannel complained about it being too dark, the lights were turned on. When comments suggested that we needed a break, a break was given.
It is very clear that New Media Atlanta was paying attention to what attendees were saying and constructive criticism was able to bring about positive change. I like that. This also means that speakers were able to see what was said about them. Comments that attacked speakers on a personal level more so than the content that they were delivering, well, I tend to like that less.
Backchannels Are Here To Stay
There is no doubt in my mind that people will continue to use backchannels. After attending New Media Atlanta, it is only my hope that people will choose to use them in a more constructive way. We all like to laugh and feel part of a group, which is what platforms such as BackNoise allows, but where do you draw the line?
I admit that I looked at the backchannel conversations that took place at the conference. I admit that some comments made me laugh. There is something extremely intriguing about watching a stream of thoughts from people that don’t have to identify themselves for speaking what a lot of us might be thinking … but crossing the line of professionalism to middle-school bully is something that can be avoided.
Think about your words. Thumper said, “If you can’t say something nice … don’t say nothing at all.” Backchannels give us the room to dismiss that message and also the accountability of our words. Would you participate on a backchannel? If so, where would you draw the line?
