Apparently, another characteristic of weekend unconferences is that I’m unable to get to them on time. I also forgot my camera (brought the accessories, though) and had a hard time finding parking, so I was a little frazzled — I missed the agenda-setting and first session, so it took me a while to get settled in.

The event was held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (aka the DC Public Library), spread between the basement meeting rooms and some of the upstairs lobby rooms. I don’t think I’d ever actually been inside the library before. Access to power and wifi was good (except for one room); outside of some early temperature shifts and the occasional random passerby wandering through the upstairs lobby rooms, the space was fine.

The first session I attended (second of the day) was about developing gadgets for Google Wave, though also covered the essential question, “What the heck is Google Wave and what’s it good for?” (I got my invite and have used it, but admit I still have no good answer to the question.) A lot of attention has been focused on the real-time chat aspect (where you can others’ typing as it happens), though we were encouraged to not get distracted by that and look at Wave more as interconnected, embeddable, commentable document collaboration (with gadgets), without having to worry about servers and protocols, and that it will iterate and evolve according to how users actually use it.

The lunch session I sat in on sought to form organizing committee for a TEDx event in DC; TEDx essentially licenses the TED concept, bringing thought leaders across disciplines to speak (there had been a TEDx Mid Atlantic just this month that’d I’d managed to miss completely). TEDx is the kind of prestige event that I most likely wouldn’t be able to attend unless I was helping to organize it, and there’s no shortage of star power in DC, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens.

Post-lunch was a neat session looking at free, location-based mashup technologies (that broadened to look at other mashup technologies); I’ll just throw out a bunch of links mentioned including GeoNames, MaxMind, ip2location, GeoHash, OpenCalais, ProgrammableWeb, and my favorite, StupidFilter.

The next session I split between a discussion of computer-generated audio and video (I would characterize it as trying to build Anthem, the everything-to-music converter from Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency), and a wide-ranging discussion of generalist vs. specialist (which covered everything from the elevation of manual labor, work-life balance, networking and personal growth).

The final session was a pretty useful discussion on how to be a good freelancer; there was a lot of good, though sometimes contradictory info about how to talk to your employer about side gigs, corporate structure, the role of lawyers, accounting tips, managing clients, managing projects and scope creep, and billing.

Because of scheduling, the last session was abandoned (or rather, continued at the bar) — the happy hour included BarCamp participants, as well as the woman-oriented DC She’s Geeky (scheduled at the same time as BarCamp, it may account for the particularly male-heavy attendance there).

For more information, check out posts, photos, and tweets tagged “barcampdc3″ and “barcamp.”

WebmasterWorld is the leading source for Search Engine and Internet marketing news, best practices and educational events. Founded by Brett Tabke, an early ’80s innovator in running BBS (Bulletin Board Systems), the WebmasterWorld Forum began in 1996 and is now the largest community of online marketing professionals with more than 2 million posts and more than 100 discussion topics.

Network Solutions is represented by me  and Ben Cook our Search Engine Marketing expert. Conferences such as this help us keep in touch with the latest trends in online marketing, websites and ecommerce.

Day 1 started off with a Keynote by Tony Hsieh CEO of Zappos. Zappos grew from a small business selling shoes online to a Billion dollar company which Amazon acquired. ( http://blogs.zappos.com/amazonclosing ). Tony Hsieh clearly said that concentrating on company culture and defining the core values was the hallmark of success for Zappos. His advice is to concentrate on customer service, encourage all employees to use Twitterand be transparent.

The theme of Tony Hsieh’s talk was on “Delivering Happiness” also the title of  is forthcoming book. “What would you be happy doing for 10 years, even if you never made a dime?” Tony Hsieh asked the audience.Tony told me in a conversation ater his keynote that he had delivered the draft of his  book, “Delivering Happiness“, a few weeks ago to his publisher and is going to be published in 2010. he reads a lot of books and also told the audience that they can download a free copy of Tribal Leadership audio book he recmmends  from Zappos website: http://about.zappos.com/tribal

See more coverage of his keynote in this article by Amanda Finnegan Las Vegas Sun

The advantage of having a large number of bloggers at a conference is that there are several informative posts on the first day’s sessions and Search Engine Land did a great job making a list of Pubcon 2009 coverage of Day 1

I would like to recommend the coverage of the session Top Shelf SEO: Hot Topics and Trends by Lisa Barone

Pubcon Las Vegas Day 1: Twitter Sessions by Vertical Measures

Smart Keyword Research & Selection by Guillaume Bouchard

If you are here at PubCon Please say hi to me @shashib or Ben @skitzzo . Hope you will leave comments and questions on what you want us to cover when we go to conferences?

Fast forward a year later and I signed up for this new product still in beta called PeopleBrowsr (spelling is correct here) and was intrigued by its approach to monitoring your life stream. I used it a little bit over the last year and when I was in LA last week for the 140 conference I saw that PeopleBrowsr was sponsoring and Dave was there with the PeopleBrowsr team to promote its new release and demo the product.

According to their site “PeopleBrowsr is a data mine and social search engine for real time conversations. We’ve built a set of applications sitting on the data mine to monitor your brand, identify your audience, analyze tweets sentiment, filter the buzz, manage feedback, share accounts, run campaigns, track keywords, build widgets and engage across multiple social networks simultaneously.”

I find it is great for personal brand and corporate brand monitoring but I will let Dave tell you himself. Here is the interview with him and the demo in the video below:

Find out answers to all of the above and more at the Social Media Workshop sponsored by Network Solutions in Richmond, VA. Key learning points from this half-day FREE workshop include:

• Advantages of social media marketing over traditional tactics
• How to start blogging with WordPress?
• How to turn Twitter into a customer service tool?
• How to increase your Google ranking with Search Engine Optimization tricks?

Speakers to include:

• Doug Meacham Managing Consultant – Retail Delivery at IBM
• Shashi Bellamkonda, Social Media Strategist, Network Solutions
• Randall Windsor, Web Marketing Manager, Network Solutions
• Priya Ramesh, Director, Social Media Strategy, CRT-tanaka

Event Details:

• DATE: Friday, Nov 20th, 2009.
• VENUE: CRT-tanaka, 101 W Commerce Rd, Richmond, VA 23224
• TIME: 8:30AM – 12PM

Agenda:

• 8:30AM – 9:30AM: Light breakfast and Networking
• 9:30AM – 10:00AM: Intro to Social Media Best Practices (Doug Meacham)
• 10:00AM – 11:00AM: Maximize Customer Satisfaction Via Blogs and Twitter
• 11:00AM – 11:30AM: Importance of Search Engine Optimization
• 11:30AM – 12:00PM: Q&A

Sign up today! Limited seating available. Don’t forget to bring you laptops to take your first steps in blogging. Attendees will learn how to use the Network Solutions WordPress Hosting package for free!

Highlight #1 – Twitter and Education

On of the first panels was on education and was comprised of Aparna Vashisht (@Parentella) – Founder, Parentella, Eric Sheninger (@NMHS_Principal) – New Milford High School, NJ, Shelly S Terrell (@ShellTerrell) – Educator and Blogger, Teacher ReBoot Camp, Steven W. Anderson (@web20classroom) – Educator and Blogger, Web 2.0 Connected Classroom, Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby) – Professor of English, Secondary English. They discussed all of the ways Twitter is engaging those in the classroom.

Highlight #2 – Twitter and Public Health Messaging

Right after a discussion on education, health care professionals talked about how was comprised of Amy DeMaria (@AmyDeMaria) – Sr. Vice President of Communications, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Beverly Robertson (@marchofdimes) – National Director, Pregnancy & Newborn Health Education Center, Colleen Patterson (@colleenpattrson) – National Aboriginal Health Organization, Marc Sirkin (@autismspeaks) – Chief Community Officer, Autism Speaks , Nedra Weinreich (@Nedra) – Founder, Weinreich Communications (moderator). They discussed non-profits and how people are using social media to find information about health issues. They discussed how Twitter has become such a rich community for people to connect and engage in raising awareness. The video of the panel is below (courtesy of Blip.TV):

Highlight #3 – Twitter and the News

Next came the panel discussion about the impact of Twitter and Real-Time web on the news cycle. It was called Making. News. Now. Participants in the panel included Alexia Tsotsis (@alexiatsotsis) – ech/Business Lifestyle Reporter, SF Weekly, Andrew Nystrom @ LAT (@latimesnystrom) – Digital Media Strategist, Los Angeles Times, Kevin Sablan (@ksablan) – Blogger, 140pix.com and AlmightyLink.com , Mark Milian (@mmilian) – LA Times Writer: Tech + Social media + Politics + Indie Rock Music, Richard Rushfield (@richardrushfield) – West Coast Editor, Gawker.

They talked about the Miracle on the Hudson, fake Twitter deaths and how mainstream news organizations have to use this tool but be very careful in who they are sourcing because rumors and bad reporting can occur. The video of the panel is below (courtesy of Blip.TV):

AND ALL THESE PRESENTATIONS WERE FROM 8-9am. Wow.

Other Presentations of Note and Some Final Thoughts

Throughout the day people talked about innovative ways they have used Twitter to engage customers, talk to fans, build brands, fight cancer and generally is creating impact to make change all over the world. You can see more videos at the 140Conf Blip.TV Channel.

As the day wrapped I was truly impressed with a conference that before I came thought might just be an echo chamber of technology people telling themselves how awesome Twitter is and how awesome they are because they use the cool tools.

Photo Credit: Ken Yeung

I have been to LA more times than I can count but I had never been to the Kodak Theatre which is where they hold the Oscars every year. What was really suprising was that it was connected to a kind of outdoor California mall but the place has so much history and our event co-host Jeffrey Hazlett along with the Kodak social media team, was a very involved participant.

Kicking Things Off

Jeff Pulver, creator and co-host of the 140Conf LA, kicked things off and had this to say in his recap of the event “Two words: Serendipity and Humanity”. I couldn’t agree more. The event started with this funny opening video from Mashcast and the opening video is below (courtesy of Blip.TV):

Jeff explained the extremely packed agenda and small presentation windows (usually 10 minutes) – 140 characters over two days just like the length of a Tweet (140 character post on Twitter) – very clever. What was great about it was that people had to get to the point and in true Oscar fashion, they played the Oscar “get off the stage your time is up music” (Ben Hur soundtrack) which a few people did on purpose just so they can say they were kicked off the stage at the Kodak.

Being in Hollywood you would expect that many of the topics and speakers would revolve around the impact of Twitter and real-time communications on the entertainment industry.

Highlight #1 – Virgin America and Twitter

First half of the morning had Porter Gale (@porterVA), VP Marketing at Virgin America. If you haven’t flown this airline, it is truly amazing – power in every seat and fleet wide wi-fi. She talked about some amazing experiences of people using Twitter to share experiences, reach out for customer service and even order a drink for someone on the same flight because they were listening on Twitter. She also made one of my favorite analogies “Flying on VA is like flying inside an iPod”. Below is the video of her talk (via Blip.TV):

Highlight #3 – Mark Horvath, Lizard Man of Hollywood Blvd

Around 4pm, Mark Horvath (@hardlynormal) gave a presentation on how the homeless are using Twitter to communicate. He was homeless on Hollywood Blvd for about 5 years in the 1990’s. I first met him at the Gnomedex conference and it was a truly amazing thing he is doing getting awareness for a topic most of us ignore everyday, homelessness. You would be blown away with the real faces of who is homeless. Twitter is a free real-time tool that they can use and he got a truly deserved standing ovation. You really need to watch this presentation. Below is the video of his talk (via Blip.TV):

Highlight #4 – Marc Salsberry: Passion + Cancer= Perfect Wingman

Many of you in the tech industry might know Marc (@wmmarc) and for those of you that don’t, he makes us in the tech industry look like rock stars and has a saying that sums it all: “A life without passion is mere existence, and merely existing isn’t living”. He is an entrepreneur but takes amazing pictures and it was a gateway to really network and meet new people. He says “before Rolling Stone, they were musicians with greasy hair that didn’t bathe, but after Rolling Stone, they were rock stars”. He wants to do the same for and show people those in the tech community for the rock stars they are.

He spoke emotionally about his brother’s recent fight and loss to cancer. It was truly inspiring and how he used Twitter to share his life and his brother’s fight. He talked about how people have been introduced to their wife or their next business partner and how his being a photographer has connected his to so many amazing people and to become the perfect wingman.

Below is the video of his talk (via Blip.TV):

Highlight #5 – Kevin Pollack

Around 5pm Kevin Pollack (@kevinpollack) was interviewed by Jeff Pulver and went right after Marc Salsberry. Kevin is a total class act and asked Marc if it was “ok to be a smart ass”. He talked about how “the meek shall inherit the earth 140 characters at a time”.  “Using Twitter for Pursuing Your Passion”. He talked about his show, the Kevin Pollack Show, Below is the video of their talk (via Blip.TV):

End of Day 1 – All I can say is “WOW”

As you can see above, these talks were just a sample of the amazing talks which you can watch all on the 140Conf Blip.TV channel. Truly a stellar first day and I can’t wait until day 2.

NEXT TIME: Day 2 Recap

Photo Credits: Ken Yeung

Don’t have any objectives at all.

I would imagine this to be a pretty good objective to keep in mind. The best way to actually understand what’s being said is to just not have any distraction. Don’t set any goals or accomplishments in mind when having conversations with your customers and partners. Just listen to them talk and that’s it.

Tracking of brand mentions.

With social media, the purpose of listening is to understand what others are saying about you and your brand. The objective of listening is to make sure you’re tracking each of those mentions. Through tools such as Radian6, ScoutLabs, Mighty Brands and others, you’re going to be able to do a pretty good job understanding what’s being said – the good AND the bad.

Identifying market risks and opportunities.

If you’re always talking, how are you going to be aware of what the risks are when foraying into a new demographic or market? The same will go for the opportunities as well. Will you be letting all of this pass you by?

Improving campaign efficiency.

Once you’ve launched a campaign, isn’t it important to measure whether you’re on the mark with your marketing efforts or would you rather just spray and pray that you’ve achieved the maximum amount of attention? Listen to your audience and you’ll be able to do practically real-time updates to your performance.

Measuring support efforts.

Like with improving campaign efficiency, by listening to the crowd and the customers, you’re going to want to pay attention to how you’re reacting to them from a customer service standpoint. Just because you’ve reached out and your customers are convinced that they really want to buy your product, don’t make it seem like the service stops there. It doesn’t. Monitor the wave of sentiment towards your product even after the sale.

Responding to customer inquiry.

This probably can go without saying. If your customer has any complaints, feedback or suggestions, make sure that they feel appreciated. Social media has become customer service. It’s about the people. And their voices can be heard much clearer than yours.

Better understand customers.

Social media has become market research 2.0. It’s allowed businesses to better understand their customers in a more targeted way. No longer are people just numbers on a table or chart. The human side of research will appear and give you personalities and traits that can go a longer way to make your company a success.

Being proactive and anticipating customers.

If you think you know your customers, then get out there and anticipate their every move, complaint, suggestion, feedback and even idea. If you know that a customer’s anniversary is coming up, make a proactive choice to reach out via social media to congratulate them. If it’s another special occasion or perhaps just something important in their lives, use it to have a positive connection.

Still think that there isn’t enough reason for you to listen to your customers using social media? The objectives given above by Jeremiah Owyang are pretty powerful individually and combined, all eight can really carry some weight with customers. Show them that you care by not talking…and listen to THEIR needs.

What is INNOVATIONS 2009?

INNOVATIONS 2009 is an event designed to educate attendees on how to grow their opportunities and enhance their skills by gaining a better understanding of how to leverage today’s new and emerging technologies.  Attendees and exhibitors will have the opportunity to connect with technology experts and prospective teaming partners, clients, investors, employees, educators, and service providers.

Promoters: The Chamber, GMU, Media, Exhibitors, and S&T Council members

Registration: You can register on eventbrite and it is FREE for all attendees

AGENDA

2:00 – Open Doors

2:00 – 2:15 – Attendees Assemble in Bull Run Hall to Network and Explore Displays

- Exhibitors may man exhibit or send in materials ahead of time to set on their table

2:30 – 3:15 – Workshops Round One

1. Using Social Media to grow your business (Shashi B, Network Solutions)

2. Understanding the benefits of Cloud Computing (Carl Tidwell, ATCC)

3:30 – 4:15 – Workshops Round Two

1. Cyber Security, protecting your most important asset – your company data (Joe Yanda, Websense)

2. Current and Future States of Regional Advancements and Opportunities in Biotechnology

(Panel moderated and opening remarks by Ron Carmichael, GMU PW Campus Administrator)

- Dr. Chip Petricoin, Co-Director of Applied Proteomics & Molecular Medicine at GMU

- Thomas Seoh, former CEO of Faust Pharmaceuticals

- Joe Reilly, of Theranostics Health, LLC (tentative)

4:30 – 5:00 -  Keynote Address

4:30 Welcome by Chair – Purpose of the S&T Committee – Thanks all sponsors and volunteers – Introduce Platinum sponsor

4:32 Platinum sponsor introduces Keynote speaker

4:35 Keynote Address (Roy Dunbar, CEO of Network Solutions)

4:30 – 6:30 – Exhibits, Networking, and Cash Bar

- Exhibitors displaying their technologies and intern matchmaking station (GMU staffed)

Attendees are directed to approximately 20 exhibitor tables in the main entrance hall lined up with the front window.  Also present shall be light fare and high top tables with stools.  S&T Committee Ambassadors will be floating about assisting attendees, soliciting feedback/comments, and snapping pictures. One business card shall be drawn for the door prize and an award shall be presented to one exhibitor at the end of the program.

6:10 – Last call for cash bar is announced

6:15 – Draw one business card for door prize and present award to best exhibit

In case you hadn’t registered, here is the page to sign up. See you there!