Commentary by blog and social media consultant Josh Hallett on the use of blogs for public relations, media, marketing, communication & branding and from time-to-time the unsolicited opinion.
After a so-so second session, the lunch and afternoon sessions at SoCon07 got back to the core focus, conversation. A number of folks said they really 'got' something out of the sessions they went to in the afternoon.
I had the pleasure/problem of leading two sessions. Pleasure, because it's always good to interact with folks and help share a passion for a topic. A problem since you can't attend any other sessions. The last session I lead was called "Off the Record". I did a similar thing at BlogOrlando and the discussion was very similar at SoCon07.
At the end of the day the entire group gathered in the main auditorium to briefly talk things over. Overall I think the event was a great success. Like BlogOrlando and BlogSavannah, this event served as the first real local gathering point for people interested in social media. The entire audience was perhaps a bit too corporate, but I think that's a function of some of the promotion that went out via TechLinks and other business/technology organizations.
On a personal level I finally got to meet Jeneane Sessum after what seems like a few years of trading blog comments and e-mails. Hanging out with Nik Willets was also a blast.
Congrats to Leonard, Jeff and Sherry on a great event. Also a throwback to Kevin Howarth one of the instigators of social media/blogging in ATL a while ago (Kevin wasn't able to make it to SoCon07).
Jeff, Sherry, Leonard
See you at SoCon08.
After a quick commercial break, thanking the sponsors, the second group session of the morning was lead by Christopher Klaus of Kaneva. Chris talked about the evolution of media, virtual worlds and online interactions . Chris is doing more of a presentation, so many heads in laptops in the audience. After a great kick-off session things are slowing down. I mean we're talking about set-top boxes for TV. I'm checking out for now.
It's painful to watch things grind to a halt. The wifi is good though!
At BlogOrlando one of the session leaders started with slideware, after about 10 minutes I walked up and said, no more slides.
One interesting comment from Chris, "I want somebody to create a virtual world where people are themselves."
Update: I was glad to see things pick back up at lunch and in the afternoon.
Leonard Witt with Kennesaw State University kicked off the opening session entitled: How Will Web 2.0 Affect You. To set the stage, Leonard provided a quick history of the open-source-software movement and the ramp up to Web 2.0.
One of the founding principles of Web 2.0 is that the sites get smarter with use.
In the journalism space there was OhMyNews in Korea, citizens became journalists. Then came craigslist. Things are changing.
However, much of this new world is build on trust. We have to trust that everybody is working toward a greater good. All these technologies are disruptive. Leonard is showing some examples of Web 2.0 apps. The Chicago Crime Map is a great example. Flickr, YouTube, FaceBook are all examples of communities that are being built by the users.
One of the goals of this event is to find out how we can use these tools for good, and from a local standpoint how can Georgia get ahead of the curve on these issues.
The room has opened up for questions and discussion.
One audience member took a riff on a 'pro-firefox' comment, he doesn't like the elitism in the movement. Specifically how there is so much anti-IE sentiment, you need to remember that the majority of people out there are using IE.
The conversation steers to a tools discussion and then moves away...whew. Good conversation so far. But some Waffle House bashing.
Comment from the audience: "Web 2.0 is just an online extension of what we've been doing for the past 300 years. Sharing stories, sharing ideas."
An un-conference vet next to me says, "These are the same debates that always occur..." I pointed out like I did at BlogSavannah that for many of the people are hearing this debate for the first time so it is informative.
A number of people in the room are truly concerned about using social media for social good. That's a refreshing thing.
Amber is doing a good job of following the conversation.
Other thoughts from Nik and Mark.
SoCon07 is being held today in Atlanta...well technically not Atlanta but Kennesaw State University. Things are about to kick off. I'll be posting some session recaps from the morning and taking some photos. My photos will be here, the photo group is here.
I'm sitting in the Orlando airport getting ready to fly to Atlanta for SoCon07. The event kicks-off tonight with a dinner at the Marietta Conference Center. I'll be leading one of the tables and a few sessions for the main event on Saturday.
See you there!
With BlogSavannah in the books, the next un-conference is SoCon07 in Atlanta on Feb 10th. In advance of the event I am going to write a series of posts about how to prepare for (and what to expect) at an un-con. One of the biggest issues with any un-conference is managing the expectations of un-con virgins (that sounds dirty).
I just put up my first item in this thread over at the SoCon07 blog. If you've been to an un-conference before I'd appreciate any comments you can leave for the attendees.
