E-venting.net

But do we make good Moderators?

I've said that Bloggers make good conference speakers, but how are we at moderating?

I guess we'll find out. I'll be moderating a panel on "The State of Online Advertising" at Digital Media Wire's 3rd Annual Digital Media Conference in McLean, VA on June 23rd.

I'm really looking forward to it. I've spent the past 4 years putting other people on stage, coaching speakers and moderators, developing sessions and conversations, but haven't done any speaking myself during that time. But I should. Everyone who programs conferences should try their hand at moderating - somewhere. I plan to follow my own advice to speakers and moderators and see if it works, or if I'm full of crap. (I followed my advice on getting a speaking gig and that seemed to work out, so maybe I'm onto something after all...) And I'll review my performance here, and let you know where I was wrong, and what doesn't work, and otherwise let you profit from whatever pain I engender.

I used to be an analyst, and I remember saying then that one of the hardest things about that job was that the longer I spent as an analyst, the more difficult it was to understand the industry because I was no longer a practitioner of what I was analyzing. Sure I spent tons of hours studying, researching, contemplating, and meeting with folks chin-deep in the field, but I wasn't there grinding it out myself anymore. And I feared that while I had a good grasp of the industry facts and theories, there were nuances of practical execution that eluded me. It was hard for me to feel authentic after a while, so I moved out of research into Event Programming. And now that I've found myself in an Events Ivory Tower, I'm excited to get back to class and learn.

So go forth and moderate.

Out of Office Reply: The Industry is at a Conference Next Week

The industry events calendar is starting to look a lot like a snake pit, as I predicted. Here's what's up for Next Week alone:

Search Engine Strategies: April 25-26, Toronto
eMarketing 6 West: April 25-26, San Francisco
Digital Media Wire Games and Mobile Forum: April 25-26, NYC
Shop.org Online Marketing Workshop: April 26-28, Orlando
Ad-Tech SF: April 26-28, San Francisco
MediaPost Outfront Conference: April 27, New York

... plus about a dozen regional events on everything from marketing to the Upfront. I calculate (ok, conjure up) that about 75% of the industry will be within 50 miles of an interactive event at some point next week.

And I can't attend any of them because I'm producing a client summit (it's invite only, so please don't register expecting to hear Bob Garfield, Steve Rubel, Joseph Jaffe, Jeff Cole and others for free) for Sympatico/MSN in Toronto (which we had the good fortune/sense of not overlapping with SES).

As soon as I get back, it's back to work on this Industry Calendar Project - we sure need it. I don't think these shows are wilfully overlapping. But what I propose is an open wiki-calendar where everyone can at least indicate tentative dates for shows as soon as they start thinking of them. I know (believe me) that first choices are rarely captured, largely because of venue unavailability (particularly for larger shows, where the venue pickings are slimmest), but at least an open calendar would allow producers to see who is aiming for where and when, to avoid conflict and - in some cases - even prompt partnership or co-location conversations.

But it's not just conference producers I'm watching out for. Attendees, speakers and particularly sponsors should see where the conflicts are likely to happen, and make plans accordingly.

Please leave me any thoughts and feedback here or by email. I can't take this one on by myself.

And The Winner Is...

If I had an inbound link for every person at OMMA Hollywood who complained about the overlapping schedule between OMMA, iMedia Breakthough and/or Digital Hollywood, I'd be well on my way to breaking into 5-digits on Technorati.

I've posted before on building an Interactive Events Calendar Wiki, and shopped the idea around a bit at the show. Unwavering support. Which is great, although I should have asked for a written commitment. Still, now that I'm through OMMA and have some breathing room, I'm plowing ahead with the idea and hope it gets some traction. If you can spare bandwidth of any type to support, please raise your hand.

Because I'm competitive, I did some hunting around today to see how well OMMA Hollywood fared against the other shows running simultaneously. I know in absolute terms the show was a success: over 2000 registrations, 1200+ folks at the show just on the first day, packed rooms throughout, and really strong speakers. I couldn't have been (much) more pleased with the way it shaped up. Thanks so much to everyone who contributed a voice to the show - 120+ of them, in pleasant discord. What a conversation!

But to see how the show fared in comparative terms, I turned (natch) to the blogosphere, particularly IceRocket.com. I used their Trends Tool to measure buzz for each of the three shows in the month leading up to the event, through yesterday:

Digital Hollywood had the largest share of e-voice for the month, which isn't surprising given how long the show has run, and also that "Digital Hollywood" refers to the entire series, not just one show.

"OMMA Hollywood," by contrast, is a single show, and one that didn't exist more than 6 months ago. So we did all right.

If you look closely, you'll see a little orange slash on the graph around March 16, for iMedia Breakthrough. The blogosphere didn't really light up about that show. No real surprise, given the exclusive-nature of the show and its deliberately smaller scale than the other two.

This is pure quantity, by the way. There's nothing in here to indicate the quality of the references, and in truth quite a few of the OMMA listings are from a company exhibiting and speaking at the show that happens to be a SEO, and has several blogs suspiciously redundant in their entries.

I'll probably run this analysis again in a few weeks, to see what the post-show buzz looks like for all 3. Most of the lead-up was 'I'm speaking here - come see me.' The post-event (and real-time) buzz is where true feedback will reside.

My Next Project

It's actually two projects:

Project 1: Speaker Wiki
For the MediaPost show I'm working on currently, I'm in speaker-headshot-and-bio hell. I'm collecting about 100 high-res headshots and 100 bios (via website link, on PDFs, in Word docs and in the body of emails), organizing them, and then sending them via www.yousendit.com in 1MB chunks to my client for publishing in the conference book.

Every other conference producer is does the same thing, and everyone in the interactive industry is doing the same thing with - in many cases - the same speaker bios and headshots. The process is rife with redundance and inefficiency. Worse, it puts the burden on the show producer - and not the speaker - to get all the information right. So the likelihood of error is massive.

So I'm going to create an Interactive Industry Speaker Wiki. As soon as I confirm any speaker for an event, I'll ask him or her to update the wiki him/herself. Even better, I'll work with PR agencies and PR departments to update the wiki even before a speaker is confirmed. Anyone who wants to speak at an interactive industry event should have his or her info up there. Not only will this make it easier for conference producers to assemble show content, as they'll just be able to select by show and pull down everything at once - as a programmer, having a real-time database of who is available to speak on what topics is a huge asset. It's essentially a mass-collaborative speakers' bureau, for any conference programmer to use. (And press and litigators, for that matter - it's a catalog of talking heads and experts.)

Project 2: Interactive Industry Event Calendar Wiki
During the same week at the end of this month, three separate and overlapping shows are running: OMMA Hollywood, iMedia Breakthrough and Digital Hollywood. And it's not the first time - last September, shows by MediaPost, IAB and iMedia all ran simultaneously as well. Think that's bad? Try scheduling a road show this summer. Just try it.

So we need another wiki - an Interactive Industry Event Calendar Wiki - one where everyone can post confirmed or tentative dates for their events in order to avoid conflicts. True, some will use it to create conflicts, but at least there will be some transparency in what different show organizers are doing, and why.

It will also include call for speaker terms and deadlines, various contact and promotional information about the show, a list (with appropriate links to aforementioned wiki) of confirmed speakers, etc.

So those are my next projects. Anyone want to chip in with suggestions, advice, $upport or feedback?

To start, can anyone make me a recommendation of which wiki software I should use?

Picks of Six - Top Road Show City #4: San Francisco, CA

I'm surprised at SF's ranking on this list, and I bet you are too - but not for the same reasons. Every single road show I've ever been associated with in interactive advertising and media has always started with the 'big 3' of New York, Chicago and San Francisco. So, why, you may wonder, is SF showing up here as #4?

Well, here's what surprises me: For almost all of those road shows I've taken across the country, the stop in San Francisco was routinely below expectations. Attrition is higher than other cities, client turnout is a smaller percentage of total audience, and the energy and enthusiasm of the industry has dramatically flagged over the past few years. I'm surprised SF showed up on this list as high as it did.

To be sure, there's a cadre of well-known agencies in SF - including AKQA, Butler Shine & Stern, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Mediasmith, SF Interactive, Venables Bell & Partners, Y&R and others, as well as a small army of boutique and niche shops (I include SEMs as 'niche' - debate me on that if you wish). But to better gauge the life of the industry in SF, you need to put your thumb on the client pulse. Here it's Tech heavy, with some retail and finance.

Mix these particular verticals with the distended boom and amplified bust that SF went through a few years back, and you get an unwavering cry for accountability in advertising. On the one hand, this has given launch to some innovative new agencies and concepts (check out Gregory Wilson's Red Ball Tiger, for example). But more commonly accountability drives risk aversion and dampens creativity. You get the sense at some SF shows of a quiet, nostalgic despair.

So why go to SF at all? It is a major media market and you will fill a room, though with a little more effort than most of your other stops. But I also continue to go because SF remains poised for idea-greatness. I'll take a city glum on Creativity Lost over one where it was never the lifeblood of an industry, as it once was in SF. A road show on Creativity I produced there last summer showed me some of SF's old fire, and I believe also the influence of MacWorld Expo (with all its innovation in design) every year at the Moscone Center helps kindle the city's passion for innovation in marketing, product design and - now - media strategy.

The SF Bay Area Internet Group (SFBig) is the local regional association to work with out there. They hold a monthly event for their membership and are usually very keen on getting their (impressive) board of directors involved in visiting shows.

Strengths: Venue Availability, Media Market Size
Weaknesses: Appetite for Events, Creative Vibrancy, Operational Affordability
Overall Score (0-100): 68

Related Entries:
Picks of Six - Road Show

Picks of Six - Top Road Show City #5: Dallas, TX

I must really like Dallas. I've been through there for Road Shows twice - once in July and once in August. In July it was a warm 99 degrees. The August trip was downright hot. When I arrived both times, I feared I made a mistake and should have scheduled a southern swing for October or November, half expecting the entire town to stay indoors. But it turns out I was the only one deterred by the heat, and Dallas' denizens turned out en masse for all the shows I have produced there.

There are some strong retail clients in Dallas, including JcPenney, Mary Kay, Dell Computer, Fossil, Verizon, Zales, Radio Shack and Southwest Airlines, making the town a strong choice for Search or Analytics content. There are also some sizable agencies, most notably TM (formerly Temerlin-McClain), The Richards Group, Dieste Harmel and Winnercomm, including some standout interactive shops such as t:m interactive, Tribal DDB and Click Here.

Dallas has hit the radar of Road Show organizers, and is normally at the top of the Tier 2 cities (the Tier 1 are NYC, SF, LA and Chi), so it has seen a fair number of shows come through. Still, the industry there remains warm and receptive, and eager for education and networking.

The folks at DFWIMA (Dallas-Fort Worth Interactive Marketing Association) are downright indispensible when entering the Dallas market. DFWIMA is one of the best organized -IMAs in the country. Pete Lerma of Click Here was our main contact last time we went through. According to the organization's web site, James Hering of t:m is now President, with Pete relieved of his helmsman's duties and transferred (promoted?) to the Chair of the Golf Tournament. If you go to Dallas, get in touch with these folks - and do it early. They produce their own events and work with many of the shows coming through, and can help you schedule around conflicts you might not know about yet.

Because of the heavy retail client influence, the town plays well to Search, Analytics and E-mail. That's not to say that Creative or Rich Media or Branding content won't fly there. It may, but don't expect it to soar in the way that Direct Response programming will.

Strengths: Strength of Regional Association, Media Market Size
Weaknesses: Venue Availability
Overall Score (0-100): 62

Related Entries:
Picks of Six - Road Show

Interactive Events Calendar Update Redux

Today's bit of good news is that I've found a way to easily update the 'Upcoming Interactive Events' list on the left nav bar, so have a look. My intention is to list all the significant industry events in the current and following month, and also some of the major industry events slightly further out. As always, let me know if there is a show I should know about and list here.

The good news that will have to wait for another day is that I haven't assembled the full-year industry calendar that I promised to previously. Maybe this weekend. It's something I need to do for myself anyway - the only holdup is that the Excel Spreadsheet I use isn't suitable for blog-distribution. So I have to find a frictionless way of converting and posting. I've almost got it, but the solution isn't quite as elegant as I'd like. And I know that if it's not elegant, I won't update it regularly.

CES is finally (legimately) an Interactive Industry event

CES kicks off tomorrow in Vegas (link is to the 'Conference' page as the CES home page has, predictably, garish audio and flash). As a technology and electronics show, it's always been top-shelf. But as an interactive media show, I frankly haven't paid much attention to it since about 2000. And I wouldn't have this year, except Charlene Li of Forrester tipped me off in her blog that the Day 2 Keynotes are Terry Semel of Yahoo! and Larry Page of Google.

This year, CES IS an interactive media event. Consider the 8 product categories CES features in its 2500 exhibits, and how they've nosed into interactive media, even within the past 6 months:

  Audio: iPod, iPod, iPod. And Steve Jobs was just named 'Radio Person of the Year' by, of all people, 'The Daily Voice and Journal of Broadcasting' (thanks to Jaffe for the reference)

  Digital Imaging: Yahoo! acquires Flickr, Flickr becomes a blogosphere standard, suddenly photos that wouldn't even have been snapped previously  are shared with reckless abandon without printing (all while subsidized through advertising, hopes Yahoo!).

  Emerging Technologies: This has almost always referred to online and interactivity.

  Gaming: Finally, gaming has become a venue worth embracing for marketers. Increasingly, even shows rooted firmly in interactive are devoting space to it.

  Home Networking: My guess is that the interactive media story in this category at CES is the announcement that isn't made, as it's being held for another show the following week.

Home Theatre / Video: In a keynote address at OMMA EAST in New York last September, Samsung marketing chief Peter Weedfald detailed Samsung's plans to own the inch of space just on the other side of the plasma or LCD screen. And see also 'Home Networking' above.

Mobile Electronics: See 'Wireless' below. 'Pimp my Ride' meets the neverending Hot-Spot.

Wireless: Ask Google if Wireless is an Interactive Media play now.

I'll be keeping an eye on the CES Blog RSS feed to see what new products are unveiled on the show floor, and probably make plans to attend next year.

Picks of Six - Top Road Show City #6: Seattle, WA

Out of the 13 cities I evaluated for the Picks of Six Road Show ranking, Seattle, WA comes in at #6. That's good news indeed for the folks at Aquantive (Avenue A | Razorfish, DRIVEpm, Atlas), WongDoody, answerthink, Tattoo Media, and the dozens of other Seattle-based agencies who are starved for advertising road shows.

Seattle is also home to some of the country's most interactively-progressive clients, inlcuding Microsoft, Starbucks, Nordstrom, Amazon.com, RealNetworks, Washington Mutual, and tons more, especially in technology, business-to-business, and transportation verticals.

Yet few advertising road shows visit the Silicon Rainforest. Why? Same reason the music industry didn't venture up there in the 80s and 90s - it's seen by outsiders as very much like San Francisco but with fewer people and worse weather. Two decades ago, this myopia almost caused the music industry to miss out on the vibrant grunge movement. Seattle is hotly creative, and road shows that overlook it today are squandering a receptive audience, far freer of the industry distractions common to SF, LA, Chicago and New York.

I'm sure the folks at Ad:Tech hope I'm right. The first of their new Ad:Tech IMPACT events kicks off in Seattle on February 28th.

Strengths: Appetite for Events, Creative Vibrancy
Weaknesses: Media Market Size
Overall Score (0-100): 61

Related Entries:
Picks of Six - Road Show

Welcome!

Welcome to E-venting-net, my blog on Interactive Advertising and Marketing Events. If this is your first visit, here are a few links that are a good overview of the site:

Call for Speakers: I'm programming a bunch of shows right now, including OMMA HOLLYWOOD, The Shop.org Annual Summit and a few others. Pitch me speaker ideas here.

Events as Product Launchpads: Advice from a Show Producer (me) on how to get your speaker pitches accepted more frequently.

Optimize your Events as Media Budget: Best Practices on sponsoring interactive advertising conferences and events.

MediaPost Articles: I write regularly for the MediaPost Online Publishing Insider. My most recent article is on The Sphere of Influence and the Small Online Publisher.

I also keep a calendar of upcoming Interactive Media and Marketing Events over to the left, and invite you to email me if there is an event I should keep an eye on, or attend.
 

Who I am and how to contact me are here. Thanks for poking your head in.