Podcamp Offers Fresh Perspectives on Social Media
In Mitch Joel’s book “Six Pixels of Separation” he talks about a new kind of conference that is being created by people who are organizing online but meeting up in the real world. Anyone can create an unconference and anyone can speak at an unconference.
This past Saturday I attended “Podcamp 2010” in Toronto. Podcamp is a free unconference for anyone interested in exploring the cutting-edge of social media. It was started by Chris Brogen, President of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency, in September 2006 and there are now 89 Podcamps throughout the world. (http://bit.ly/c7b051)
I had no idea what to expect. The event was held at Ryerson University and 1400 people showed people showed up (double the size from last year) Not a penny was spent on marketing. It was all done through social media.
Presentations were 30 minutes – fast paced and lots of info. I loved the short format. I loved the pace. Loved the energy of the crowd (who were mostly under 30). Definitely an interesting way of doing a conference. Overall a fun day and I learned a lot.
Lesson to be learned from Podcamp? If you have a smart idea, “The world is your oyster”. You just have to put yourself out there and take a chance. How many long boring conferences do we go to? What can we do in the marketing world that’s fresh new and exciting?
