New Media Conventions 2009
I attended the New Media Conventions 2009 event in Virginia Beach this past Friday. It was wonderful to meet with a large group of people to discuss the latest news and information in Social Media. The speakers at the event were very knowledgeable in their respective fields and offered valuable information. We discussed at length twitter, facebook, blogging tools and social media resources in general.
One of the speakers delivered her keynote via Skype, remotely (Julie Maloney, Momspective). The convention was very informational and educational, and I was able to learn a lot about the direction of Social Media and how professionals are applying the technology to reach their consumers and communicate in an open-dialogue manner. Another speaker, Kurt Noer (Customer Magnetism), spoke about search engine optimization (SEO) and boosting your company’s visibility on top search engines, with or without buying advertising space and sponsored link positions.
This reminded me of something: the average middle-schooler today has grown up in a world where Google has always existed, whereas myself and others attending the Convention didn’t know and/or use the Internet or social networking until around 1990 (or later). What other networks do I not know about?
A recent survey in USA Today showed that consumers were fairly split on their willingness to spend more for products with social and environmental benefits in tougher economic times. 51% of those polled responded they were willing to spend more, while 49% voting no.
Eight years since 9/11, the anniversary of the terror attacks still brings back memories of a frightening but unifying time. Displays of unity and solidarity are especially present when memories are brought to the forefront of our thoughts. We make sure our neighbors are ok. We call our families to tell them how much we love them. We spend more time with loved ones and focus more on the smaller things in life.