We're now 24 hours out from what I will call one of the more successful camps that I have participated in. Austin was definitely a worthwhile city to host a Social Media Camp brought to you by Social Media Club.For starters let me just say that I was not totally high on the location of the event, but ultimately it worked itself out. I will say for the record though, there truly was no excuse for lack of an internet connection. Those of us that tried were welcomed with constant dropped signals and constant appearing and disappearing signals. It was frustrating and a great many of us joked that this was perhaps the longest any of us had ever been without a network connection.
Thank goodness for mobile phones! These little devices really saved us from what may have been an complete blackout in terms of connection to the outside world. It was definitely a weird feeling.
Nevertheless the "unconference" format was the backbone of the event and all sorts of media types took the opportunity to set themselves up with sessions that would eventually lead to some pretty outstanding discussions.
Some of the sessions that stand out most in my mind were Scott Allen's virtual etiquette lesson. As a communications major myself, I found it fascinating that so many of us forget the common courtesies when meeting someone via online. It's as if the excuse of not being face to face is enough to warrant a complete dismissal of common courtesy. To read up more about Scott's message check out The Virtual Handshake.
The two sessions I found phenomenal was the session done by Dell, "Defining A Community of Business," and Michelle Greer's "Data Portability" discussion. Both were relevant discussions on the forward movement of social media and information in general. I really wish that Michelle would have had more time, or perhaps could have been moved to the smaller room because I think the discussion could have gone on longer.Brad's topic of utilizing social media as a tool for educating at risk youth was amazing. Now this is a guy that is changing the world! By harnessing the global power of social networks and the ability to broadcast yourself around the net, his students are not only getting real world application, they are realizing they are not alone in the world.
I got to experience my first Half Baked session which was more than I bargained for, but a whole lot of fun! Here's what Half Baked is for those that don't know. 50 words, 2 are selected, 15 min. to create a biz plan and marketing plan, 5 min. to present. Talk about a fast and furious challenge, but the biz plans that came out of it were very funny.
Want to know what the biz plans were? Was "Porn for Priests" an idea? Find out by doing a Twitter Search for #smcampaustin and follow my posts. That will give you an entire run down of the event along with the Half Baked competition.
Despite the lack of an internet connection which was not the fault of Social Media Camp or it's sponsors, I think everyone had a blast and really connected at this event. There are only a few more stops left on the Social Media Camp Tour, Miami, Boston, and New York. If you can make it GO! The price is always right, FREE!
Also to see photos of the Mashable After party, check @michaelcummings Flickr site.
Photo Credit, wmmarc
