xPotomac: It's Not Just for Pornographers!

One of my big goals for this year is to get out in the DC social media scene a bit more. More than what? I am ashamed to admit I have been a relative shut-in to my geographic community of virtual virtuosos. To be fair, I run my own company, am a mom and wife, and speak a fair bit so I always seem to be on the go, but I really can't make excuses anymore; not with so many talented people located so close to where I live. It just isn't right.

Then I heard about xPotomac and it seemed the perfect place to act on my goal to connect. And hallelujah, I was right.

Vanessa Fox speaks to the audience on voice search.

At this point I might point out some other reviews of this event you could read as companion pieces to my own thoughts, located here, and here, and here (and there are many others...the room was full of bloggers). 

Like any tech event worth going to, xPotomac (formerly known as Blog Potomac) witnessed its Twitter hashtag seized by pornographers early on in the day giving the attendees, myself included, more evidence that we were exactly where we were supposed to be. 

Throughout the day we heard about voice search, the growing use of images and infographics, blogging platforms, online influence, augmented reality, and the future, as well as hearing from the infamous Andrew Keen (the self-proclaimed "Antichrist of Silicon Valley") who shared a more dystopian view of technology...and who managed to piss off a large number of attendees. Keen could still be found nibbling on cheese at the after party, though, so he wasn't a speaker who insulted his audience and ran...he had the cojones strength of character to face his audience afterwards. Or he just really likes cheese. Either way, he did attend the after party with all of the other speakers who were simply amazing.

Me with the effervescent Jill Foster.

The event was chockablock with social media dynamos both on stage and in the audience and well before the end of the day I knew that what I paid to attend was worth it. The speakers were top-notch and the audience was gifted with intelligent participants who made the Q and A every bit as valuable as the presentations themselves. In short, the event rocked.

A moment captured during a break at x Potomac. Photo by Shonali Burke.

Speakers Vanessa Fox, Dino Dogan, Geoff Livingston, Patrick Ashmalla, Shonali Burke, Greg Verdino, Jen Consalvo and Andrew Keen were dynamic and thought-provoking. If the event organizers had offered a chance to sign up for the next event while we were still there, I would have without a doubt paid that day...it was that good.

My takeaways were as follows:

1. The right format makes all the difference for events: Targeted audience, intimate venue, sessions with plenty of Q&A, smart well-selected speakers, ...these all led to a phenomenal outcome. Remind me of this when I have to plan an event.
2. Closing with a thought provoking/controversial speaker keeps the conversation going: Call me crazy, but the conversation was definitely buzzing along following Keen's presentation. Maybe Keen had angered the crowd, but it didn't stop everyone from chatting; in fact, it seemed to give people more to discuss. Smart move. Also, I am completely contradicting myself from how I viewed it at the time. At the time, I wondered if the conference organizers hadn't made a mistake ending on a sour note with Keen. Ah, the joys of being human.
3. Bring on the wearables: I'm ready for Google glasses, Burberry's synced clothing, and everything else. Bring it!

Want more information about xPotomac? Check out the website or follow the @xPotomac on Twitter or you can see the Flickr photos. The new hashtag we used (following the pornographers' siege) was #xpotomac13, if you want to play detective and try to find some of the tweets from that day.

Were you there? Followed along by Twitter? What were your takeaways?

Design Thinking for Associations

Have you heard of "design thinking?" Here is Wikipedia's view:

Design thinking is a process for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that looks for an improved future result. It is the essential ability to combine empathy, creativity and rationality to meet user needs and drive business success. Unlike analytical thinking, design thinking is a creative process based around the "building up" of ideas. There are no judgments early on in design thinking. This eliminates the fear of failure and encourages maximum input and participation in the ideation and prototype phases. Outside the box thinking is encouraged in these earlier processes since this can often lead to creative solutions.

Design thinking. (2010, February 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:29, March 18, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Design_thinking&oldid=346501047

In the world of associations, there is a need for busting through the "we've always done it that way" mentality and envisioning new possibilities. But we are the only ones who can do it - those of us working in the association industry. Those of us who care about our organizations and the way we spend our days and those of us who are willing to think of new ways, new questions, and new answers.

That's why I am hyper-excited about the upcoming "No More Talk" event Jeff De Cagna (Principled Innovation) and I (DelCor) are facilitating on April 22 in Washington, DC. If you have ever wanted to try something truly different using design thinking to approach association issues, this is your chance! Actually, I am really excited because I've never even heard of anyone doing something like this and it seems full of possibility.

No More Talk is about turning words into action to innovate the association community. You can bring your idea to the table or come up with a good one there and work with a team of similarly passionate association professionals to develop that idea. Winning ideas can potentially receive $1,000 seed grants to make action possible after the event ends. But the point is not about the money - the point is about bringing together a group of people with a pioneering spirit to do something new.

This event was inspired by the active online conversation surrounding Acronym Blog's month-long focus on "big ideas" at the end of 2009. You can read some of those posts here, here, and here for more background. I guess I figured that if I was willing to voice my opinion about big ideas as a blogger, I owed the community (and myself) to follow it up with action.

Who's invited? Advocacy professionals, association folks, consultants... anyone working in the non-profit realm who want to challenge themselves to breaking new ground. This is our think tank - this is our playground - this is our chance to be unpredictable by nature.

Don't be scared. Be excited and join us for this special event! Registration is open now and limited to the first 50 people. The cost is $30 (for meals) and we can't wait to see you there!

View the commercial here: http://delcor.typepad.com/delcor-blog/2010/02/animotocom.html

More Event Hype: Have You Signed Up For My Talk Yet?

Next Thursday (Dec. 10) I am joining forces with smart-guy Sean Bordner to talk about "Private Social Networks vs Publicly Available Tools" at the Grand Hyatt Washington. 

I'm pretty excited about this presentation topic because it is a question a lot of association people ask me and one that I faced previously in my career. How does one know if it is enough to have a presence on Facebook and interact with members from there as opposed to using a private network built to work with a database?

Not every association has the same goals or needs. We'll get to talk about that during the session (I'll be giving examples of associations who have successfully stayed with a public social networking tool) and it should be a good time.

The event is free, but you need to register to attend. It starts at 8 a.m. and runs until 11 a.m.

If you have any suggestions about association examples I should use or if you have any questions about the event, please let me know by commenting here or emailing me at klitalien [at] delcor [dot] com.

Here's what we're scheduled to go over:

• How are associations utilizing publicly available tools?
• What is the process to follow when making the decision?
• What should you look for in a public or private solution?
• Can both options peacefully coexist within the same organization?
• How do you measure ROI for a community?
• How can you make sure that whatever you choose integrates with your overall strategy?

Hope to see you there!