1. The enthusiasm level is down from 2 years ago, the last time I attended. The crowd seemed smaller, the buzz more muted.
2. Social media has become corporate media. This was all business. From presenters pitching their wares to audiences seeking the next big thing.
3. The next big thing is Facebook. Three out of five presenters mentioned that one in seven people IN THE WORLD is on Facebook - repeating a theme my buddy John started talking about too many years ago - anyone who doesn't think Facebook is for business is crazy.
4. The next new thing is Pinterest. For now. Everyone was talking about it. What I learned. In North America at least, it's for women and images - so magazines love it. One brave and creative soul did talk about pinning his resume.
5. Apple is the technology of Podcamp. iPhones and iPads. Paper was also surprisingly prevalent.
6. New term from yesterday: 'profersonal'. The mix of personal and professional on social media.
7. Most intriguing story from yesterday - the use of Facebook by the Hard Rock Cafe in Florence Italy. Contest to draw prospective staff from all over Europe. Free meal coupons for everyone who applied. Self-booking interview slots using Event-Brite. Arranging accommodation, and self-scheduling all on Facebook.
8. Another sign of the trouble BB is in. An app developer from Cleveland talking about having to go to eBay to find a BB so she could develop an app for a client. Her advice to other developers. Don't bother.
9. And a special call-out for the two young dudes who lead the session on not giving the same presentation. You guys asked for this. And you know it. You sucked. Being young and smart doesn't mean you know what you're talking about. It's even worse when you call people out by name and generally put down the rest of the people in your space. Your schtick was funny for five minutes - then your presentation wasn't any different from any other presentation (hey, nice use of Powerpoint!) - and it really came crashing to earth when you gave all the same answers that everyone else has. You might want to think about your ROI and how-to-measure-social-media answer. It was disappointingly irrelevant ("talk to my friend"?!?). Suggestion - you seem like nice, smart guys. Stop partying, get off of Facebook and go explore social media.
10. Bottom line. There was tons of great stuff yesterday but I came away feeling that the un-conference idea - and the corprification of Social Media is taking it's toll on PodCamp. Un-conferencing hurts because it opens the doors to anyone with a presentation. Corprification hurts because those attending, or thinking of attending are all thinking in terms of ROI. There's a conflict there.
Podcamp is on today too.
1 comment:
The pre-IPO release of information by Facebook indicates they have 850 billion user accounts. If you assume that half of the population of the world can't access Facebook then the ration is more like one out of every 3 people has a Facebook account.
Let's say there are also a bunch of dormant accounts in the 850 billion. You are still talking one in 5 or 6 people has a Facebook account.
It doesn't matter how you do the math it's a lot of people.
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