This has been a very busy start of the year for me.  I fulfilled some personal objectives and made an effort to be social, not just online but in person.  To this goal, I attended two very different conferences, SXSWi (South by Southwest Interactive) in March, and BlogHer Business (BHB) at the beginning of April.  I got done with SXSWi, and while it wasn’t perfect, I was happy that I went there.  That is, until I went to BHB and saw what a conference could and should be.

Don’t get me wrong – a lot of people GET SWSW and what they’re trying to accomplish.  I heard many times that I shouldn’t expect too much from the sessions, and SXSW is “all about the hallways.”  But why did I come out of those 4 days feeling like I had wasted a lot of time, after spending 2 incredibly productive days with the BlogHer crowd?  Three main areas of comparison come to mind:

Sessions - At SXSW, I got the feeling that a lot of them were winging it.  The session I always come back to as the best example of “phoning it in”, literally and figuratively, is the one on creative mobile content that featured Jeremiah Owyang, Chris Heuer and Chris Brogan.  These are thought leaders, people who have blogs I follow religiously and often quote in my own dealings.  No offense guys, but your session was useless.  Essentially, they broke the audience up and took us out of the room to “create”.  My group stood in the Bloghaus while Jerimiah talked with someone into what looked like a tape recorder.  I didn’t get any perspective into why he was asking the questions that he was (if he even was asking questions).  I got the feeling that Chris Heuer was trying harder, but still, it wasn’t working for me.  I didn’t see Brogan, so I can’t say what he was or wasn’t doing.   When you put the thought leaders of social media in a room, you expect more.   I got really angry when I realized that I was missing Kathy Sierra’s session, and after about 10 minutes of staring at this, I headed to Kathy’s well-prepared session (and learned a ton).  

In contrast, all of the BlogHer Business sessions were focused, information packed, and productive.  Plus, they run on time!  Speakers spend a great time planning what they are going to say, whether they have powerpoints or not.  Moderators add value by directing the conversation and adding their own viewpoints where appropriate.  In the two days at BHB, I got enough inspiration to last me at least a year.  Until I next BH event, I suppose!

Focus – SXSW is huge, and offers a lot for more than just me.  So, truth be told, you may be an interactive designer, or some other field than marketing and really would get more out of SXSW that I can.  BHB is totally focused on me and what I do – it’s for marketers, PR folks, advertisers and the like.  For that reason alone, I found myself at home there. 

Socialization – OK, so SXSW is all about the hallways.  But I have to tell you, I made more connections, and more valuable connections at BHB in 2 hours of meet and greet than I did in all my time at SXSW.  I’ll pull BHB’s hallways up against SXSW’s any day. 

I’m sure I’m opening myself up to some flaming and negative comments, but BlogHer Business was such an amazing and productive meeting for me, and I really wanted to give Jory, Elisa, Lisa and Kristy some love for making that happen.  I also want people to know for next year, when I have a choice, I’m going to BHB and skipping SXSW.  Anyone looking to better understand women bloggers and learn how to make connections with them cannot afford to miss BHB.   

Soapbox dismounted.  Flame away. 

Well, I survived to tell the tale.  I’m not talking about the most excellent BlogHer Business conference in NY.  No, I’m talking about commuting home on MetroNorth.  Mr IT took his usual 5:30 train, and I took a 6:15 train, figuring I would take a cab home from the train station.  Once we got out of the tunnel, I got an email from him telling me that his train was stuck due to brake problems.  Net net, I got home 20 minutes before he did.  Little IT was at play practice, and then at the science fair, so she hadn’t eaten dinner.  We got take away from our local Chinese joint and all sat around the dinner table to decompress.

ANYHOW, back to the matter at hand.  I continue to be impressed at the quality of a conference BlogHer puts on.  Today was a review of the state of social media today and presentation of successful case studies in using social media and engaging bloggers.  The speakers were thoughtful and inspiring, and ranged from a true small business (a farmer who sells worms online), to mainstream marketers from GM and Method, to bloggers from Microsoft.   I was fortunate to experience these speakers surrounded by my co-workers, who were alternately inspired to do more in the social media space, and freaked out/frustrated that we aren’t doing more as a group in this space.  But we’re here, we’re listening, and we’re learning how to join the conversation.

Most of the case studies focused on how a company had a product or service they wanted to promote, and how they decided to court bloggers to help promote it.  The stories were charming in some cases, belying the fact that these are very savvy companies looking to push their products.  This was downplayed in almost all cases.  “We want to engage the bloggers, but not dicate to them.”  “We never tell the bloggers they must write about us.”  In a sense that reminded me of when Amazon first came online.  I would email their editor (editor singular – they have 50 or so, but back then there was only one) with suggestions for books to promote on the site.  They were always selected around a theme, but they were not always Wiley books.  Todd was always happy to take ideas into consideration and often did feature books I suggested.  Now, of course, there’s a 50 page manual that details the cooperative marketing plans involved in something like this.  I can’t help but think that the next time GM approaches someone like the Manic Mommies to provide complimentary transportation for their escape weekend that they will be more savvy (or cynical, take your pick) and present them with a “sponsorship” plan involving beaucoup bucks. 

Right now, we have a small window of time where the bloggers are happy with the engagement these companies are getting into.  Individual bloggers all tell tales of the thrill that came when someone offered them something for free for the first time.  Now, many of them have stacks of products lined up that they have little time to review.  Virginity in the blogosphere dies hard.   

Overall at the conference, there is less networking than at SXSW, but that’s more because it’s a smaller group.  However, the quality in attendance is the cream of the crop.  The people here are a mix of PR and marketing types, true bloggers, and folks in the media business.  I feel I like I made better contacts on line for lunch than I did in a day in Austin.   And I look forward to more of the same tomorrow.   

Wiley author Daniel Terdiman, who I met for the first time at SXSW, published a great piece revealing exactly what attendees at the conference received when they picked up their badges.  A bag.  A BIG BAG.  A BIG BAG full of stuff. 

As a SXSW newbee, I was surprised when after I got my badge I was told to go get my bag.  Cool, I thought, a fun pack o’swag.  Uh, no.  Not in the least.  A huge bag of flyers, postcards, and magazines, oh my.  CDs I’ll never listen to or use.  Guitar picks (ok, so I thought Little IT would like those).  And more stuff than I’ve ever seen from a conference.

I was horrified and a little bit ashamed to be a marketer at that moment.  Yes, we all want to promote ourselves here, but at what cost to the planet and the backs of the attendees carting this crap around.   Daniel wisely points out that the convention organizers encourage people to recycle the stuff by leaving it in the convention center if they aren’t going to use it.  But isn’t the path REDUCE reuse recycle?  Why make the crap in the first place. 

Agreed, we want to get into the minds of attendees.  Agreed, the conference needs the money that will come from these sponsorship deals.  But how can we do this better?

First, how about putting something useful in there?  A notebook or notepad, as old school as it seems, is great, because who has anything other than their laptops to take notes on.  A pen is also a good idea.  Can’t tell you how many times I’ve need a pen here to not have one.  I like O’Reilly’s minibook – they had a game book in there with old school pen and paper games.  I saved that.

Next, how about using less paper?  A postcard directing me to a web site is better than a full catalog (I’m talking about you, New Riders).  Even so, there are a LOT of pieces of paper in there.  Card stock does stand out more, but again, is more costly and harmful to the environment.  I’m not all that crunchy, but seriously. 

But there has to be a better solution.  I’ve heard other marketers suggest a small slip of paper in the bag directed to a web site, but I want to think out of the box bag.  What can we do to get our message across, deliver sponsorship money to SXSW, and still not contribute to the heapload of crap that’s about to descend on the Austin TX landfills?

Marketers, the challenge is up to you.

Hi, it’s Ellen.  Remember me?  I just finished a stay with you.  For the most part, I tend towards Starwood properties because I have their Amex, but you were very close to the convention center, so I thought you would be a good choice. Except, you weren’t.

I wanted to write this while I was currently a guest, but your Internet wasn’t working.  ALL WEEKEND.  DURING SXSW.  Seriously, an interactive conference comes to town and you don’t have your ducks all in a row?

Anyhow, while I enjoyed your comfy bedding and thought your breakfasts and fitness center rocked, there are other problems with your hotel that need to be addressed.  Namely SECURITY.

First, my room key got switched with someone else’s in the fitness center.  When I went downstairs to see if I could get my key remade, the person at the desk said, “This isn’t for room 123 it’s for 321.”  So, she effectively told me that I had a key to someone else’s room.  Great.  Maybe she has better snacks in her fridge.  So I took the key back to the fitness center and straightened out the mess.  Of course, then my key didn’t work, so I went back down to the front desk to have it remade.  I told the woman I had no ID, but would be happy to have someone from security or the front desk follow me to my room to check my ID.  She waved that off, saying it wasn’t necessary.  I figured I didn’t want to be any later for breakfast than I already was, so I moved on. 

Truthfully, stuff like that happens to me all the time.  I get really paranoid about that, as I usually travel alone.  But oh, it gets better. 

My dad came from Houston to visit me on Saturday.  I gave him my room number and the name the room was under (sometimes I travel under aliases – Ellen Ramone for instance <g>) so he could valet the car.  Around noon, I hadn’t heard from him so I sent him a text asking where he was.  He said he was in my room.  Yep, IN MY ROOM.  The person at the front desk gave him a key to my room.  Now, I certainly didn’t ask my dad to do that, and didn’t give him permission to do that, and I didn’t get mad at him for doing that, but that isn’t the point.  You should not give keys to people who are not registered to the room!  Period.  End of sentence.  Yes, he was my dad, but how did you know that?  He could have faked the email from me.  I found the manager over at the adjoining Courtyard and requested that he change my room to allow only me, and me with ID to get keys.  He agreed that what happened should never have. 

I certainly have other complaints:

• No one reset the time on the automated wake up calls, so the call came 1 hour late. 
• Breakfast got taken away at random times (9:37) so you never knew if you were going to miss it
• There was no microwave popcorn in the room.  A Res Inn trademark.  And the front desk had none.

All in all, I can forgive most things, but a security glitch is unforgivable.  I’m not happy, and suggest that anyone staying here, or frankly in any hotel, take steps to assure that the front desk staff doesn’t allow people to socially engineer their way into your room.

I’m leaving Austin today, and I just couldn’t be happier.  I certainly won’t find myself at your hotel again if I can help it. 

MediaBistrosummarizes the bloggers who have added to the conversation about Facebook founder’s Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote at SXSW.  Most reports talk about how awkward it was to be in the room as the interview went on.  And then some, dude. 

I’m  almost to the point of feeling sorry for Sarah Lacy, but not quite.  Her tone from the beginning was off.  When she sat down, she basked in the applause meant for Mark by saying, what, not for me?  Then she proceeded to be swarmy, interrupt him and generally ruin what should have been a chance to hear from someone young enough to start a company that has people of all ages talking.  She even plugged her book – admirable, but totally out of place.  Admittedly, he is a tough interviewee, as any twentysomething taking the advice of PR people would be.  But that doesn’t mean you have to put yourself in the interview, put down who you are interviewing, and proclaim that you’re having a ”Leslie Stahl moment”.  Because you’re not.  It was like watching a train wreck, yet I could not look away. 

On Thursday, I was greeted by someone who excitedly exclaimed, “Emilie told me to hug you!” and then proceeded to do so. She was pleased to see my awkward stance at being in contact with her, and said, “Wow, Emilie was right!”

A step back. A few years ago, Emilie and I were among a group of people who attended a “Communications Style Workshop.” It was supposed to teach our team how to communicate better. I called it “Tribal Council” and begged to be voted off the island. Communicate THAT.

What we learned was that we have different communication styles. I was “conflict avoidant”. Surprise. I don’t remember what Emilie is, but I do remember that I called it the “huggy” group. Emilie, then, became “the Hugger.”

I will admit I am not a hugger. With the family, sure. But not really with anyone else. Having dinner with our author Erin Manning, an LA resident, I asked her to explain why southern California residents felt obligated to hug you when they first met you, and after! She laughed and said it’s just what they did.

It’s not what I do. An author hugged me once, and we still refer to it as the day that XXX hugged me, and not in a good way. The hugging thing, it just isn’t me.

There’s a lot of hugging here at SXSW, which is nice and frightening at the same time. Nice that people seem to be connecting with old friends. Frightening because sometimes they seem to be coming at me. Know that if you try and hug me, I’m not hugging back. Nothing personal, it’s just my thing.

Emilie, your time will come. Watch your back…

Andy Beal, the author of “Radically Tranparent“ was interviewed here at SXSW by John Havens of BlogTalkRadio.  You can listen to the interview here. 

I also attended Andy’s book reading at SXSW and it was great.  I have to admit, if I didn’t work for the company, he would have convinced me that I need this book.  Not just for reputation monitoring and personal brand management, but to learn the best ways to communicate with my customers and figure out what we as a company can do better.  He made a very sweet plea at the end to attendees to help insure he was not the only author at the end of a session with no one to sign for, but that was not the case.  Even though I was questioning the book stage venue, it brought out the book buyers, so something is working!

Interested in getting the scoop from SXSW but not planning on being in Austin?  We’ve got a great solution for you.  Wiley has partnered with BlogTalkRadio, who will be featuring interviews from many of our authors at the conference, including:

Joelle Reeder, Katherine Scoleri -The IT Girl’s Guide to Blogging with Moxie

Lisa Sabin-Wilson – WordPress For Dummies

Andy Beal – Radically Transparent

Susie Gardner/Shane Birley – Blogging For Dummies, 2e 

Daniel Terdiman – The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Second Life

Shows will be streaming live at blogtalkradio/wileyand the call-in number is: 347-945-7081. Additionally, interviews can be accessed at the 2020 Blog (joewikert.com).  I’ll also be posting updates with times, etc here.

Chris Brogan pointed me to an excellent site that allowed me to compile my SXSW schedule.  You’ll notice a bit of overlap, but that’s to be expected with so many great sessions.  You’ll also see events after 9pm listed here, and we all know that I tend to be in bed before that, so don’t really think you’re going to find me at the Rock Band party or similar youth fests. 

I’d be interested in seeing what others are attending, so feel free to tweet me (@elleinthecity) or post in comments below. 

Ssssh!  Don’t tell my manager, who is out of town at a senior management off site meeting, but I just snagged his copy of “Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker guide to working smarter, faster, better.”  On the one hand, he has to appreciate the fact that I have the desire to work faster, smarter and better.  On the other hand, this is one tech book that I know he wanted to get his mitts on, so it’s a good thing he’s not here.  Gina Trapani’s last book was published when I was on IT Boy leave, so I’m not going to have as much time to peruse this new one.  But, of course, since said manager is on said off site with a boatload of other senior managers, I’m in fewer meetings and amazingly getting more done.  Just in case, I think I’ll be able to carve out some time on the plane ride to SXSW to check this out.  And then I can have Gina sign it at her session.  Perfect planning.  I feel upgraded already.