CM Summit Gets an A

I spent the last two days at the Conversational Marketing Summit in the gem of a Presidio in San Francisco. CM Summit, for short. I give it a solid A. Big thanks to John Battelle and the team at FM, along with the speakers.

So, what did I like about it?

I captured 32 ideas for blogs. T h i r t y - t w o. Not just boring blog ideas, not just linking to someone else with a “lookee here, check this out”, but potentially good ideas. Now I just have to write and post. Piece of cake, right?

The venue was inspired—and inspiring. Sitting in a conference room at the Golden Gate Club with a gorgeous view of the Marin headlands rising out of the Pacific blue and framed by Eucalyptus trees, how can you help but be creative?

I met people I liked. Yeah, I know, this is part of the deal at conferences: networking, right? Yet it was unusual for me, and not because other conferences lack in interesting people. Perhaps because I didn’t have a ready set of 30 people I already knew, perhaps because none of us were leaving to go out during breaks and lunches (the Presidio is somewhat isolated), and perhaps because the people I met are, in fact, doing such interesting things. I spent time visiting with execs from SixApart, DoubleClick, WebMama, along with the FM author of 5 Blogs Before Lunch and a few others.

I learned stuff. I try to get something out of each talk; for the few topics that didn’t resonate (hey, I don’t expect every session to cater to my particular world view), I found value by researching the topic on my laptop in parallel with the discussion. To make sure that the points made didn’t go in one ear and out the other: I took notes. I type fast, so it’s easy, and sometimes I find kernels of wisdom in my notes that might have been lost on a casual listener.

A few of my favorite speakers:

• Evan Williams on twitter, and his thoughts about their various challenges.
• Joel Hyatt on Current TV and their super creative VCAMs: viewer created ad messages.
• Porter Gale on Virgin America: not just the marketing, but the oh so differentiated product behind the marketing.
• Rick Farman of Superfly Productions, the team behind the Outside Lands and Bonnaroo music & arts festivals. What a great case study for differentiated offerings, viral marketing, and thinking hard about what your customers might want and haven’t been getting.

Good food and drink. The foodie in me gives a thumbs-up for the meals, and the drinks, and the coffee. As any good host or hostess knows, quality food and drink often lead to good conversation. And that’s what the 2 days were about: the conversation.