Event
Free New Media Atlanta Tickets
Tune into @jakrose at 4pm EST today for a chance to win one of four free tickets to the New Media Atlanta conference this Friday, 9/25/09. Chris Brogan is one of the speakers and it should be some great networking.
- Starts at 4pm EST
- 4 Atlanta Trivia Questions
- Follow @jakrose for questions and answers
- 1 Winner per question, randomly selected form the first 5 correct answers
Why I Travel To Conferences Last Minute
So, as I scramble around my room this morning to throw a few items in a suitcase for the #Blogher conference in Chicago this weekend (big thanks to Whrrl for giving me a free ticket), I am starting to see a pattern.
I have been to 4 conferences this year, Blogher being number 5, where I decided to actually attend the event the week before it was held. Meaning no conference registration, hotel, or flight was booked.
Seems like poor planning, but for the most part these events were not must attends for me. The most recent was the Enterprise 2.0 event in Boston. I went because there were dozens of people that I have met at other conferences that I just wanted to see.
I Invest In People
If you know me, you know I love to travel and I don’t go to conferences for the content. I go purely to see the people. Occasionally I wander into a session or keynote when I have to, but it is reluctantly.
Do not get me wrong, there is plenty of great content out there, though I would argue at most events it is pretty hit and miss. And I am sure I am missing out on some of it. But I much smaller intimate conversations with the smart people and people that I call friends at these events. I go to connect with them, to learn from them, to challenge and be challenged by them.
This connecting and challenging happens less for me when I sit and listen to an unorganized panel or a speaker talk about how to improve my blog.
Events Get Louder As They Get Closer
So considering my focus on people, I rarely see a conference announced and KNOW right away that I want to be there. What typically happens is I hear a little bit about it from one person, and then another, and so on. As events get closer, these little teasers get more frequent and louder.
And while I love meeting new people, the more friends I know will be at an event, the more likely I am to attend. It seems this usually builds to a crescendo the week before the conference. I eventually see too many cool cats are going, and I have to give in and share in the fun.
So if you see me at a conference, please say hello, and let’s skip a session or two and talk shop.
Social Fresh Launching in Charlotte
Social Fresh is a Social Media event series I am very proud to be launching in Charlotte, NC on August 24th this year, just a couple months away. The first event is a one day conference in Uptown Charlotte and is packed with great content.
I have seen the demand for social media education skyrocket these last couple months and really want to add an event that brings exciting and quality content to the social media marketing discussion.
Social Fresh is about 2 things, bringing tangible business examples of social media marketing success and discussing the future of the technology that drives social media.
If you are in the Southeast and want to learn from some amazing Social Media Thought leaders, you should definitely try to make it.
Who Will Be There?
We already have some amazing speakers, sponsors, and attendees signed up from companies like IBM, Facebook, Myspace, Rubbermaid, Best Buy, the Humane Society, Crocs, and more. Tickets have been on sale for just over a week and we have already sold 20% of what is available. With a couple months to go, I am very happy to see such great response.
Here are a few of the speakers. Get more info on them and their expertise on the website.
How Much Is It?
Prices are $195 for May, $235 in June and will go up again in July and August. If you are interested in attending, just watch the Social Fresh main site for updates about discounts that we are partnering with different people on. Keep in mind though, the ticket cost will rise each month. For the next couple of days a $45 discount is still available on our Early Bird registration.
More on Social Fresh
The Charlotte event is the first Social Fresh event, but we have already received interest in bringing it to a few other cities and are looking into some other spin off possibilities. No big announcements yet, but if you are interested in partnering with Social Fresh or want to bring an event like this to your city, shoot me an email (jason at jasonkeath dot com) or @jakrose me on Twitter.
Mashlanta, Where The Players Play
Big thanks to Mashable and Regator for a great Social Media event last week in Atlanta.
Wayne Sutton and Jeff Cohen put together a great set of interviews of some of characters who attended the 400 person event. I love events like these for this very reason, the people. It was no SXSW, but it was a great who’s who of Social Media in the southeast – a fast growing crowd.
Check out Wayne’s interview of me below and the rest of them over at TalkSocialNews. Not sure how my hair got so out of control. Rest assured, a haircut has taken care of that mop sense then.
Some of my favorite people from the event
@WayneSutton - Hardest working man in Social Media
@dgtlpapercuts - Photo man, co-founder of SocialMediaB2B.com
@Tessa - Atlanta liaison for the NC folks that traveled in, big thanks
@AndSheSpeaks - best Twitter handle at the event
@DaveDelaney - the inside scoop on all the latest Griffin iPhone tech
@Regator - blog aggregation central, cohost of the night
@AshevilleAllie - Do-gooder, recent NC resident
@Corvida - Blogger extraordinaire, style hooligan
@dejon97 - fellow idea guy and entrepreneur
@adambloom - Helped launch original WebMD
NASCAR meets Social Media
For those of you who are fans of Twitter and NASCAR, the NASCAR Tweetup was built for you (aka Ultimate Race Day). It is at Whiskey River this weekend and is free, go RSVP right now. Not convinced? Read on…
Twitter and NASCAR are not the most natural of friends at first glance, but if nothing else, they are two of the fastest forms of entertainment. Sporting events all over the country are embracing Twitter. In the past month in North Carolina alone, we have seen our NHL, NBA, and PGA event all embrace Twitter in big ways. It is great to see, but the real money in Charlotte sports is racing. Don’t worry, there is plenty of racing folks finally embracing the microblogging format, even the (still under construction) NASCAR Hall of Fame is sending out tweets.
We are in the middle of Speed Week in Charlotte (actually two weeks long), which means a few hundred thousand race fans are in town embracing their love of all things stock car. They shut down Uptown Charlotte for a few days for a street festival called Speed Street. See Speed Street/Twitter giveaway.
Now I am not sure how many people on Twitter are NASCAR fans or vice versa. But this weekend, the first NASCAR Tweetup is happening at Dale Jr’s very Whishkey River Bar. I am not a huge race fan, but I would not miss the opportunity to network at such a unique get together. The event is being put together by Stephanie Agresta, who also cofounded TechSet, a social media and technology event series.
Come out and enjoy the NASCAR Tweetup, meet some cool people, and embrace your inner Race Fan.
