UnConference

The UnConference and the Corporate Marketer

August 13th, 2008 | Author: Beth Harte

I went to my first UnConference last week (Social Media Camp NYC). Before April, I didn’t even know what an UnConference was and I suspect a lot other corporate marketers don’t either.

I was excited to attend SMCamp because I wanted to see how an UnConference was setup, who attended, and what topics were thrown up on the board (this much I was prepared for).

With my ‘Social Media Cap’ on my initial reactions were:

This is great! A democratic approach to topic suggestions and conversations (Hooray!)
Interesting! Lots of other smart social media folks here. (“I know him/her from Twitter!”)
Freedom! I love being able to leave—and go to another session—if I don’t like the topic. (Although it felt a little rude the first time, the second time was much easier.)
Love the community aspect! (It’s great to learn from others.)
It’s free! (Awesome, my social media budget is zero.)

With my ‘Corporate Marketing Cap’ on my initial reactions were:

What the hell? (Where is the structure and organization?)
How do I know the presenter is experienced enough to be speaking on said topic? (“Who is this person speaking about fake personas?!”)
Three tracks and all have great topics, what’s a marketer to do? (Admittedly, I have marketing ADD, but I couldn’t very well jump around all day…what would that accomplish?)
This just feels wrong. How about they talk and then I ask questions. (After all, that’s what I am used to.)
It’s free. (Hmmm, does that equate to cheap, non-professional and unknown speakers?)

I am not alone.

Recently I was helping to promote PodCamp Philly and SearchCamp Philly to local organizations (AMA, PRSA, IABC, etc.) and local chambers to get more corporate marketers (and agencies) to attend to learn about Social Media and Web 2.0.

I got a sense—from some of the feedback and questions I received—that the “unknown” (in this case topics, sessions, lunch & coffee breaks) doesn’t work for many corporate marketers. They just aren’t comfortable signing up for something they don’t understand or without knowing who is presenting what topic. They also want to know what they are going to get—even if it’s free (or in this case $20).

That’s why I am excited to attend PodCamp Philly and SearchCamp Philly in September. PodCamp will be the typical UnConference style and it will be like the surprise in the Cracker Jack box. The social media cap loves this. SearchCamp is a somewhat UnConference with sessions and speakers already scheduled and available for all to see. The corporate marketer cap loves this.

I will also be speaking at SearchCamp and the corporate marketer in me likes that I have time to gather my thoughts and put together my presentations. That said, I have some topics to throw down at PodCamp too and I am glad to have the option to do so [Note for PCP: You need to select the speaking option when registering and submit your topic(s)].

For now, I am walking the line between what’s new and what’s comfortable. Two great camps. One great location. Both caps are happy!

What do you think? As Social Media and Camps become more common and embraced, will corporate marketers throw off their caps and grab sleeping bags instead?

[Photo: iStock]