Meet the new cloud consumer

Are you ready for the next billion? There are 7 billion people on the planet today, and another billion are predicted to arrive in the next 10 years. A child born today will experience a terabyte of data in a single year. She will own her first computer by the age of five. And with another 15 billion connected devices coming online in the next 3 to 4 years, the way she will experience the world will be fundamentally different than the way we understand it.

The new cloud consumer is redefining ownership. This generation understands that people don’t own entertainment content anymore—it’s simply borrowed from the cloud.

It’s time we start thinking about brands in the same way.

Tips for succeeding in the cloud

Encouraging your consumers to become your brand advocates is the new currency of the cloud. Creating opportunities for them to have authentic peer-to-peer communication is the best way to continue to build an engaged customer base. Doing so enables your customers to promote your brand far more effectively than relying on traditional top-down messages, which often come across as heavy-handed, no matter how clever the headline.

No matter the type of cloud platform, and regardless of who your customer is, be it a Fortune 500 CXO or a 14-year-old girl who is considering diet cola, the following guidelines can help build your brand in the cloud.

Content. King of the Cloud.

Drive your success by giving your consumers content they can own, feel a part of, and share with their peers.

Create engaging content. Think infographics instead of whitepapers. Short videos over lengthy manifestos. Develop animations and simple, useful tools and apps that encourage customers to engage with your brand.

Embrace a syndication engine. Engagement is not a one-time event, it’s an ongoing conversation, requiring constant encouragement and updating. Push content out to your consumer regularly and consistently.

Create content that is adaptable to all devices, but optimized for each platform. An incredible iPhone app looks less impressive on the iPad, for example.

Brand your content, not the content container. Find subtle, smart ways to keep your brand ever present within the content, not just on your landing page.

Going beyond Content

Add a thought leadership strategy to the mix. Doing so positions your company and brand as an innovator. It’s critical, especially considering how quickly data—and brand advocates—move in the cloud.

Capturing the Cloud

Are your customers talking about your brand? If so, where? And how often? Use a dashboard that provides a single view of your brand’s relevance across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (and many others).

Track your brand’s impressions and reach in the cloud. Use analytics to figure out how many people are seeing your brand and, even more importantly, sharing it with friends and colleagues. Doing so can help shape content responses and further maintain your brand’s momentum in the cloud.

While the cloud can aid in building your brand, increased awareness isn’t the only benefit it has to offer. At CMD, we believe that taking your company to the cloud can help reduce costs, improve efficiency and boost flexibility. What do you think some of the biggest advantages of the cloud will be for your business in the future?

There’s a lot of coverage right now about personal resolutions like eating healthy food and exercising, however brands and marketers should also consider activities that they want to change this year. If 2011 wasn’t up to par, or you wish you had done things differently when it came to your marketing activity, you’re not alone. It’s healthy to take a pause and review what worked and what didn’t over the course of the last year, and make appropriate adjustments.  Now is the time to evolve and learn from the past.

Our team here at CMD did a lot of evaluation on the strategies and tactics that we implemented for our clients over the past 12 months and without question, it was helpful. After all, the definition of insanity is performing the same function time and time again and hoping for a different outcome. The bottom line? Status quo rarely works.

So, here are three resolutions that brands should strongly consider in 2012 if they want to shake things up and keep evolving in 2012:

Plan, plan, plan: It’s easy to look quarter-by-quarter, but nothing brings clarity to a marketing initiative like looking ahead 12 months, especially when it comes to content on your social channels. Take a shot at planning out your content for the year by asking yourself, “Where are all of our tradeshows? What messages do we want to hit, and when is the right time to deploy?”  Just like attacking a cluttered closet that you’ve been meaning to get to, keep the valuable content items and toss the rest. It will clear your mind and your marketing plans.

Pull the trigger:  How many of you have an idea in the drawer that’s never seen the light of day? Like a bowl-induced, New Year’s Day football coma, inertia kills marketing success quickly. Sitting on an idea or making a plan and thinking it to death doesn’t generate results. Take a proactive approach this year, trust your agency to deliver a campaign that hits your objectives, and go for it.

Remember traditional PR: Because I’m in the Earned Media/Public Relations group at CMD, I’m biased toward utilizing traditional PR channels. I love calling the desks at publications and pitching a great story. Social media has dominated the conversation the past four years, but remember that there are still traditional media outlets that can spread your word far and wide. They are looking for content. A few strategic pitches could bring you more good luck than a dish of black-eyed peas (it’s a Southern New Year’s tradition, look it up.)

What are your marketing resolutions for 2012?

Some futurists predict that one day, we may not feel so compelled to post, update, check in and share as much as we do today.

But right now, the irresistible drive to publish what we’re doing, thinking and experiencing—and the social media platforms to do it on—seem to be getting more prolific by the minute. You also may have noticed your audiences are getting pickier to boot. Now, you pretty much need something new, interesting and unique to say, show or share on each social media channel you adopt (much to the chagrin of those who use handy little apps to simply spew the same thing across all their digital profiles).

This is a good thing for better, more fitting content, but it’s also causing users to have an identity crisis of sorts. The conflict is no longer just about whether to friend an old flame on Facebook. Oh no. The dilemmas of these new offerings draw out and surface the multiple dimensions and personalities that can be found within ourselves, forcing us to decide whether the reflection that social media mirrors back is an accurate one. Consider just some of the soul-searching the average social media user now has to ponder:

-        Should I let my personal and professional life mingle on Facebook and just how awkward could it get?

-        How and what do I focus on in conversations I have with my Google+ circles? Should I share with everybody?

-        Will my obsessions with unicorns and knitting be best featured on Pinterest?

-        Is Tumblr going to be about my serious professional self or completely focused on my cat?

-        Do I want to share my fondness for fried foods on Instagram?

-        What will my coworkers think when they see I’m the mayor of Spartacus on Foursquare?

-        Will my friends listen to my Spotify playlist and believe I’m hopelessly behind the times?

-        If I tweet about these things, will I confuse my followers or run the risk that my boss will see it on LinkedIn?

Here are a few suggestions to help you organize and manage your somewhat split social media personalities:

Partition out of respect, not because you have something to hide

Ok, so you mainly tweet about your profession via Twitter. Given that, it makes sense that the photos of your cat you upload on Instagram may not interest your Twitter followers. Therefore, separating the two is probably a good idea. But the idea is to look at it from your audiences’ point of view and spare them things they may not find interesting, not to try to hide anything from certain people out of fear or embarrassment about what they might see. With that in mind, however . . .

. . . If you’re worried your mother, boss, spouse, etc., might see something, it’s probably best not to share it.

Common sense rules here. It really doesn’t matter how protected you think your circles are, or how well you’ve blocked select content from certain groups of friends, someone can still easily quote you or take something you’ve said and share it with others. With social getting more searchable, and open APIs, it’s pretty foolhardy to believe online activity will always be protected from view and won’t pop up in a search somewhere at some time. Which gets us to the next point . . .

. . . Don’t be so rigid about building those walls

This may seem contradictory to the first point, but keep in mind that the most interesting folks and brands on social don’t always stick to the party line—randomness of conversation, sharing something that may not be strictly in the wheelhouse of what you mainly focus on—is simply part of the culture. So if you want to share that particularly adorable picture of your cat in the bathtub via Twitter, even if it’s outside the things you typically talk about there, do it. Just don’t do it all the time (again, respect for your connections always reigns). That said . . .

. . . It’s ok to sit on the sidelines

Just because you’re using a channel, you don’t always have to swim with the fish. Sometimes, you can sit on the banks and enjoy the stream. For example, amazing photos are shared via Instagram every day. If you don’t feel like putting your photos out there for everyone to judge, it’s perfectly acceptable to join Instagram simply for the viewing pleasure of seeing what others are posting.  Finally, as with everything else in life . . .

. . . Decide what’s right for you

Social media is awesome for people who like to discover and explore. But not everyone is comfortable revealing so much online. That’s smart, and it makes sense to be protective and cautious. Figure out what works for you and don’t feel pressured to participate just because everyone’s doing it and it’s the hot new thing. This also goes to the point of sheer practicality. Unless it’s your job, let’s face it, managing all this stuff is incredibly time-consuming, as it takes lots of care and nurturing. Therefore, decide on your personal favorites and focus time and energy there if you’d like, vs. trying to do it all.

As you try out social media tools, what are some of the ways you use them to share different dimensions of yourself with others? What are your thoughts and suggestions for how to best manage it all?

1. Etsy’s Gift Ideas for Facebook Friends. Everyone wants to give a unique, one-of-a-kind gift to that special someone, and Etsy’s community of crafters and specialty designers is the perfect place to find those gifts. That’s why the Facebook app on their site caught my attention. Here’s how it works: Use the app to select one of your Facebook friends. Etsy will then serve up a handful of suggested gifts based on the information from your friend’s profile. And, shhhh, it’s all secret so that your friends won’t know you’re shopping for them!
2. eBay’s Give-A-Toy Store. Now here’s a great idea that attracted both offline and online audiences. eBay set up interactive window displays in New York and San Francisco. Passersby used their eBay mobile app to scan the QR code on the toys shown in the display to make a direct donation to Toys for Tots. Users not in New York or San Francisco were able to make donations online.
3. American Express’ Small Business Saturday. Now in its second year, Small Business Saturday has become a mainstream movement – securing local TV coverage and even an official declaration from Mayor Bloomberg. The social media extensions for this campaign were endless. One cool thing they introduced this year: Sync your American Express card with either your Facebook or Foursquare profiles, and if you spend at least $25 at a small business, you’ll get a $25 credit on your statement.
4. Intel Partners with The Pioneer Woman. I think I’d be remiss in this post if I didn’t include a brief, shameless plug for a holiday campaign that the CMD team worked on this season … right? Knowing that gift givers are quite busy during the holidays, CMD and Intel went right to the source instead of trying to avert attention elsewhere. Intel and one of the most well-known female bloggers, The Pioneer Woman (aka Ree Drummond), teamed up to host a holiday card challenge where readers submitted their digital works of art for judging by Ree. The effort tied together Ree’s passion for digital photography along with the visual capabilities of Intel’s latest technology. Extensions on Twitter and through a charitable giving effort also helped drive momentum for a monthlong program that drove engagement in spades.

What are the creative concepts that you came across this past holiday season?

With thousands of headlines and tips being shared on Twitter alone each hour, we think it’s helpful to share our favorites—the articles and blog posts from 2011 that really stood out as being most relevant, interesting and insightful. This month we’re sharing our thoughts about the top news, social tools and more for the year. Browse the list and then tell us about your favorite news from 2011.

Melissa Lion: I think this article from Venture Beat pretty much sums up 2011 for me: Surprise hit Pinterest a top 10 most trafficked social network. Go ahead and click that link so you can see for yourself that Pinterest (or as I fondly think of it—crack) has more users than both Google+ and Tumblr. Here’s to more inspirational quotes in pretty typefaces, cupcakes shaped like pandas and nail polish/messy bun/smoky eyeliner tutorials in 2012.

Darcie Meihoff: My favorite re-read of 2011 is not new, nor is it from an online source (although there is a Kindle version). Now in its fourth edition, The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White, remains the authority on clear and concise writing. In a world where bad prose can be summed up in as little as 140 characters, this book promotes and celebrates such ideas as, “Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating and noncommittal language.” Cheers to Strunk and White, whose fight to improve the quality of writing rings as true today as ever.

Erik Sebellin-Ross: TechDirt does a great, thorough recap of the Ocean Marketting [sic] debacle that proved to be this week’s cause de jour, driving hardcore gamers to rage. What lessons can we gain from this? 1) Your parents gave you good advice when they said you should be polite to people; 2) Don’t plagiarize; 3) Pretty much anyone can call themselves a marketer, so check credentials before you hire someone to represent your brand.

Sarah Biedak: My favorite reads this year haven’t been individual posts as much as daily digests from my favorite sites: Mashable.com and Incredible Things. There is a reason articles from Mashable get tweeted and quoted over and over. The content is timely, relevant and interesting to anyone with an interest in social media. Mashable recently posted a series of 2011 wrap-up/2012 prediction articles; here’s one of my favorites: 5 Tech Trends to Watch in 2012. Incredible Things delivers what the title promises: unique, clever, odd and amazing people, places and things. I look to this site as both an entertaining break from the social media news feed as well as a pulse on what is happening on the fringe of consumer culture. I mean, where else would I find out that the Human Slinky is now available for sale, or that there is a toy that will tweet every time your cat plays with it?

Stefanie Week: One of the most interesting articles I came across this year was a bit of an investigative piece, The Dirty Little Secrets of Search, from the New York Times about J.C. Penney’s search optimization practices. The article gives a great introduction to SEM and also some clear warnings about how to play by the rules.

Pip says, “Don’t believe the hype.”

There are rumors going around that Facebook ads don’t perform as well as banner ads. In fact, Mashable says they “perform half as well as regular banner ads.” I’m not one to believe all things I read on the Internet (just most of them), but we are living proof that Facebook ads can really rock if you follow some basic guidelines.

We recently ran a Facebook ad for a client, the purpose for which was to drive new likes to their Facebook page. The results? Our CTR was .071 percent (industry average for 2010 was .051 percent). We averaged a 57 percent conversion rate, which topped out at 76 percent. We saw a 20 percent increase in the number of fans and paid less than $2 for each conversion. Not bad for a Facebook ad. How’d we do it?


We kept it relevant.

Our client was making an exclusive announcement at an industry-only trade show. We timed our ad to run at the same time and draw new community members in with the promise of a big reveal.

We provided good content.

Our ad had a strong call to action: “like” this page for the announcement. After we made the announcement, we promised news from the trade show. On the page itself we posted pictures from the floor and took photo requests from our fans. If a fan wanted to see a specific type of product, even if it wasn’t from our client, no problem — we took the picture. We then replied directly to the person who made the request, letting them know that the picture they requested was up.

We changed up our ad’s picture.

After our client made the announcement, we changed our picture to an image of the product itself. It was like a mid-ad makeover! We were able to keep the content fresh and we gave our audience a first look at the new product.

We listened to our audience.

Facebook lets you update your ad’s keywords and change the people you’re reaching at any point. As we read news from the conference, we adjusted our keywords and our targeted audience to better reflect what we were hearing on the wires and the things our audience was writing about both on Facebook and Twitter.

Just goes to show, sometimes the Internet doesn’t know what it’s talking about (what was up with last week’s Jon Bon Jovi rumor?!? I totally believed it and nearly cried at my desk). I know this whole Facebook ad thing has some good data behind it, but if you follow the steps above, your ad will perform better. I promise. Now let’s all rejoice in the fact that the Internet was wrong about Jon Bon Jovi.

SEM

Search got social in 2011 when Bing and Google laid the groundwork for changing how search results are delivered. High relevancy scores will only go so far—Bing now prioritizes results that your Facebook friends have liked, and Google is doing the same with its +1 service.

What’s coming in 2012: Social will be even more integrated in search. Users will see the value of signing in while searching. Search results move from a list of blue links to a collection of things your friends and those with similar interests have tried and liked. Search becomes personal in the way that shopping on Amazon has become personal. Marketers need to be ready by making sure that their pages are instrumented with social buttons. In 2012, the most important part of your Web page may just be a few pixels wide.

Web
HTML5 became real in 2011. No technology in recent memory has made it through the hype curve, past the trough of disillusionment, and back to practical and useful faster. HTML5 and its collection of related technologies are delivering on the promise of the Web like no other technology before it.

What’s coming in 2012: In 2012, designers and developers late to the game start learning HTML5 and usher in a new era of innovation in the sites we use daily. At the same time, Flash gets branded as old and tired—its traditional supporters start moving away.

On the enterprise front, corporate sites go roguish in 2012. Companies will realize they can’t centralize all content, navigation and style. So instead of policing the Web and forcing all content into a single set of templates and designs, they begin letting business groups do their own thing. A great home page, and some universal structure is needed, but everything below the header becomes fair game.  This will allow more flexibility in how different divisions, brands and product lines talk to their customers.

Mobile
Wow, there are a lot of apps . . . and a lot of them are bad. Mobile is almost ubiquitous. In 2010 and early 2011, everyone needed an app.  As we got deeper into 2011, people started to realize it’s easy to build an app, but it’s difficult to make it useful. As the year evolved, marketers figured out that building an app isn’t enough. You need a good-size promotion plan to drive adoption and a generous number of notifications to keep your audience using it semi-regularly.

What’s coming in 2012: More of the same: mobile usage will grow, and apps and mobile Web will get better. Marketers will often focus mobile strategies around existing social networks and social platforms rather than always building their own app.

You’ll also start to see more companies use HTML5 to create sites that scale for any device. Toward the end of 2012, the line will blur between Web and app.  The OS manufacturers will race to be able to find a way to allow the mobile Web to interact with the device just like apps do. The one who figures it out could shake up the playing field.

Social
“The only thing constant in life is change,” just like in social media.

The first part of the above statement is attributed to François de la Rochefoucauld. The second part can be attributed to marketers everywhere.

Organizations have matured significantly in the last year. Adoption of social CRM and social measurement systems has grown. Companies are determining what they can handle internally day-to-day, but are looking to agencies for planning, strategy, creation of sharable content, social promotions, and building systems and engagement tools.

What’s coming in 2012: 2012 will see a continued maturation of engagement tools and how companies approach social. From a user perspective, mobile will be the primary point of interaction with the leading social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  Expect to see more functions of the enterprise adopt social media. Corporate leaders will begin to see the value of social beyond marketing and PR.

Online Advertising
2011 was the year that didn’t. Near field communications were expected to enter the mainstream and they didn’t. Mobile advertising was expected to become more local and it didn’t. Contextual advertising was supposed to be everywhere, and it wasn’t. One thing that did happen was continued growth. Many experts predicted social media would steal some of online advertising’s thunder, but spend on online advertising continued to grow.

What’s coming in 2012: Hopefully some of the 2011 expectations will become real, but then again, we’re all still waiting for flying cars. I do think you’ll see an evolution in mobile advertising and in interactive signage. Mobile advertising will just keep getting better and become more integrated into the mobile context. Interactive or digital signage will be more responsive and more informative based on user input.

Stefanie Week: Is anyone else as perplexed as I am about why it’s taking Twitter so long to publicly introduce their ad platform? It seems like they’ve been in beta for years now (or maybe I’m just really impatient.) Mashable says that Twitter has finally introduced their self-serve ad platform… but it’s still being tested.

Sarah Biedak: Who sits and watches TV without surfing the Internet or checking Facebook? I know I don’t. According to a recent study conducted by Google, tablets have emerged as the go-to multitasking devices which has strong implications for mobile advertising.

Gary Rubin: Sometimes, you just need to read a story that makes you smile and tip your hat to the journalist assigned with telling the tale. Or tail.

Bill Fisher: From Mashable: With the recent announcement of Google+ brand pages, many companies – and their agency partners – are wondering “We’re already active on Facebook and Twitter. Why should we bother with yet another social media channel?” While on the surface Google+ brand pages can seem like just another Facebook with a fraction of the user base, there are a few unique elements that are absolutely worth considering.

Julie Yamamoto: From the Harvard Business Review, What I Learned Building the Apple Store.

Melissa Lion: As a knitter, I’ve been spoiled by Ravelry, possibly the best database ever. As a cook, I’ve been disappointed by communities and databases for food. The sites either seem clunky or the recipes have been reviewed by so many people with different tastes than mine, I can’t trust the ratings. So I was very excited to explore Food52. The creators hoped to build the first community-sourced cookbook, but it’s evolved into a community of fellow food lovers and home cooks.  And it’s the home to the All I Want for Christmas Peanut Butter Cookies.

What did you read this week?

No doubt marketers dream about that magic moment when a video goes viral, but statistics show that the odds of your video becoming a viral sensation are stacked against you. While it’s impossible to force viral, you can give your video the best chance of connecting to the audience and successfully relaying your message:

• Keep it short and sweet or go more deeply: According to the Jun Group’s report on video views, only 10 percent of videos are 15 seconds or less, yet they have the most engagement. The second most effective video length is 60 seconds or more.
• It’s all entertainment: If you have the option, add a little humor to your video. Jun Group’s report found that viewers are three times more likely to click to a brand’s Facebook page after viewing a funny video. Essentially, try to keep your video interesting while providing valuable information. As with every other form of media, content is king.
• Does your measurement make sense? Most companies’ go-to measurement for social video is number of views. This is all fine and dandy if the content’s objective is awareness. However, if your video encourages viewers to follow a link, the number of clicks to the URL in combination with the number of views would be a more telling measurement of engagement.
• Music—what’s a video without it? Have you ever watched a scary movie without the sound? It’s not scary at all. Music brings video to the next level. Match your music’s tempo and style to your video content to help set the right mood (e.g., the CMD-produced video “A Birthday and a Bucket of Voodoo Doughnuts Walk into an Agency…”). Even interviews with talking heads (not the band) can incorporate music to enliven the video’s content. In post-production, adjust the volume levels enough to hear the primary content, and fade the music in and out during silent moments.

CMD Voodoo Doughnut video without sound

CMD Voodoo Doughnut video with sound

• Build some excitement: People love contests and challenges, so why not incorporate a promotion or user engagement into your video? Contests are great because they encourage the audience to take action, stimulate site traffic and are ideal for social sharing, which helps increase the number of views. Make sure you follow the terms and conditions of the social site you’re using or your site could get shut down.
• If content is king, is video quality queen? Without quality, polished content, your video will miss the mark. A video shot with poor audio on a cell phone, without a tripod and filled with jump cuts, might be tolerated these days within channels filled with user-created video, but most audiences will tell you it is not preferable. Stabilize your camera, use an external lavalier mic and shoot in full HD resolution if at all possible. It’s all about representing your brand well and conveying the quality your audience has come to expect.

These tips, tricks and techniques won’t necessarily get you the dream viral video, but they will help your video gain traction and reach the viewers you’re looking for.

Do you have any other tips for a successful video? Let us know.

Perhaps you’re budgeting for and planning what 2012 conferences you’ll be hitting. Or maybe you’re even thinking about hosting one of your own.  With more conferences competing for dollars, I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a lot pickier. So as someone who has experienced plenty of vegetable lasagna luncheons, here’s my opinion on what makes a conference memorable (for better or worse):

- The ones that teach, but don’t do.  For example, if your conference is all about imparting the latest social media wisdom, for god sake, practice it. No excuses for not integrating social efforts, from responding (rapidly) to attendees’ questions and needs, to engaging and providing content through social channels, at the very least. That goes for any conference topic you are espousing: Green conferences with no recycling or waste reduction efforts onsite? #fail.

- The broad shotgun approach. Big crowds don’t necessarily mean a great conference. The best events understand their audience and plan the agenda, speakers and topics accordingly. I’m willing to pay more for conferences that cut out the 101 content designed for newbies and focus on intensive, higher level topics (please, no more “Facebook is a big deal” sessions at events that are billed as being for experienced social media practitioners. We get it.). Federated Media’s Signal events are an example of a well-crafted approach. These events are relatively small and by invitation only, but because they are designed for top-level online marketers and major brands, and they get incredible speakers and go much deeper in terms of content that is both thought provoking and helps spark new ideas. These conferences are definitely more expensive, but in terms of time and value delivered, they provide a far greater return than a conference that tries (and typically fails) to appeal to broad swathes of audiences. 

- The time wasters. Along those lines, less is definitely not more when it comes to conferences. Most pros who are investing in attending a conference want to jam as much in as possible. I’m not a fan of big long breaks in the middle of the day and too many structured “networking” sessions.  Most attendees are capable of deciding how they want to spend their time. SXSW is a good example; some people don’t like this show for the sheer magnitude of offerings, (go to one and you potentially miss 20 other fantastic sessions) but I love it. Find one session not to your liking? Pop over to another. Looking for something very niche vs general? It’s at your fingertips. Parties are everywhere and it’s more about discovery vs manufactured playtime experiences. It makes the energy of the show exhilarating.

-The hucksters turned speakers. Um, no thanks. Seriously, conferences that give speakership preferences to whomever bankrolls the event have got to go. I understand why events do this, but it’s shortsighted. Making your event one big commercial message pretty much guarantees the audience isn’t going to come back next year. Conference organizers, please either make it clear to audiences that it’s a paid placement (transparency, right?) or actually review the content (not just the speaker’s pitch). Set the bar high for sponsors’ presentations and work with them to edit out overt sales messages. That way, everyone, including the sponsors, will have a better experience.

-The “good luck and see you next year” send-off. Don’t know about you, but things move so quickly, the massive conference once a year schedule doesn’t really work. Neither does  providing only in-person learning opportunities. Creative conference organizers could cut down on the annual event and use smaller, ongoing, online and roadshow events to explore topics more deeply and carry on the conversation. That way, new developments could be better addressed through more frequent learning opportunities. I don’t actually know of a conference that has embraced this format but if you do, I’d love to hear about it.

It’s not just organizers that make or break a great conference. If you are an attendee, you have a role too. Don’t sacrifice honesty for the risk of offending organizers and presenters. I recently sat in a keynote session that had absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand. The Twitter stream limped lamely along with people trying desperately to share something of value. Incredibly, no one called it for what it was. Hey, it’s your time, money and brain space, so demand more. SXSW attendees know that if a speaker isn’t delivering, the crowd has no problem sharing its opinion and being honest – sometimes brutally so. But the response on Twitter is like a real-time gauge. Smart presenters take that feedback in stride and use it to change things up midstream to help satisfy what the audience is seeking.

No doubt, a good conference can motivate, inspire and spark great creativity. A bad one does the opposite. What have been some of your most memorable conferences this year? What made them great?