Joanne Jacobs is up and talking.
These are emergent media. There is a perception out there that social media has produced personal to personal business. It could be the other way around - because we're naturally social, we had to produce this system.
We are now at a point where you can explore where these tools can help you in your business.
"The vast majority of the market don't have an iPhone and aren't going to get one"
The ability to have conversations based on location, based on context is interesting.
Symbian - already capable of geotagging. Technology is here.If you have a service you can offer to people, you can use existing technologies.
Augmented reality - retail - good way of informing customers about alternatives on the shelf.
We are developing society which is more visually-orientated. People over 30 are more text-oriented. Under 30 are more visual. This is where games are an opportunity.
We're spending 68 hours per month online. Time is precious - we need to be doing things that are interesting, engaging and effective. Right info, right place and right time - we need filtering systems.
Most techs are at innovator stage - but gap between that and mainstream adoption is five years. Invest now.
Everyone in the world is a publisher and player. What becomes scarce? Editors and referees. Create businesses around better filters. That creates better person to person communication.
yes, augmented reality is a great way for retail to inform customers about the alternatives on the shelf.
But....let's use the more available and easier to implement technology first! 2D/QR codes have SO MUCH POTENTIAL for retail it blows me away.
Check out the new site http://www.2dcodeme.com It's oriented toward consumers but also includes a link for marketers.
Think about it. Linking the offline world to the online world via the display screens on smartphones. What offline content? Ask the folds at 2DCodeMe.com. They have amazing ideas.
Adam,
Just briefly skipped through your coverage and I am willing to admit that there are parts I have missed but, as regards these events in general aren't they...
1. Saying the same old things that they have always said which are..
2. The absolute bleeding obvious
3. As ever only talking in the most general terms because...
4. None of us really know anything
Ever since I started becoming interested in social media I've kept an eye open for this stuff but this has become increasingly pointless as the same old ideas and concepts are repeatedly rehashed.
It's old ground for the converted and yet unlikely to convert the yet-to-adopt.
I can't help but think that while social media is now its own industry there's also another one of the social media event/workshop/conference etc. It never ceases to amaze me how many people I follow are at the events who are retweeting every word.
I find it incredible that employers really pay the high costs of entrance plus travel etc?
If social media is so fabulous (and I actually believe it is) then why is it so necessary to put down the laptops and travel to these events?
Could it be, because they can? A jolly out of the office? The chance to meet real people for those that live through their laptops? Is the rehashed "it's all about the conversation" sound bytes, simply trying to justify the time and expense?
I'll admit I have attended only one such conference and, from reading other's coverage of similar events, it appears the one conference I attended pretty much covered the same ground as every other one.
Is it just me?
This certainly isn't directed at you or your coverage - you're just a handy and relevant comment box. But can you agree even slightly with what I have written?
Steve,
I don't think conferences like this one really aim to "convert" anyone. They spark thoughts and ideas, which each person can interpret for their unique situation and business. And the presentations and panels are just the beginning. I was at Like Minds, and the conversations I had with people gave me the following value:
- Confirmed and validated business decisions that we have recently made, and gave useful opinion AND DATA into ones we are making.
- Relationships with people I otherwise would not have met, at least one of which will generate real revenue in the short term.
- Sparked my thinking on new sectors for our products, which I had not previously considered (ie I found out about other companies' problems, which our technology solves}.
- Gave me examples of how other businesses had solved problems similar to those that we and our clients face.
For £50.
I am very picky about the events to which I go, and I completely agree with you that some can be worthless, and just repeat the same mantra. And yes, I don't think there will ever be a conference where everything is new and valuable! However, if I never got out to them now and again (and more importantly, never spoke to lots of different people at the event rather than just attending), I know I wouldn't bring the same insight to my business and my clients.
Andrew
Thanks for taking time to post and Steve, thanks for taking time to comment.
Bottom line: Absolutely, positively, unhesitantly, emphatically, and explicitly folks must state the obvious over and over and over again. The problem is, so many people simply miss the obvious.
Some of the unseen obvious things:
1. Business is about taking care of people. Business behaves like business is all about creating profit.
2. Social media is a collection of tools for taking care of people. Business behaves like all media is all about them.
3. Conferences are about making connections with people. Conference goers and viewers sometimes behave like conferences are about content.
Content serves as a framework for individuals and companies to self-select into or out of. A key planning question is: "Is this content likely to draw together into one place the type of people I need to know?"
Content is also fuel. Fuel, by itself, is passive. For fuel to be effective, it must be placed where it can be consumed by something empowered by it. Even then, when you, as a conference attendee, encounter the fuel in the vehicle of the conference, you must still place yourself in the driver's seat, turn on the ignition, mash the accelerator, and drive (hopefully, you've also pre-planned a destination).
The fuel won't do anything by itself.
For a good example of someone who immediately used the fuel of LikeMinds, check out Molly Flatt's blog post. She beautifully represents why anyone would go to a conference.
Cheers.