Simply put, the event draws in some of the most forward-thinking professionals and academics in communications for several days of presentations, discussions and social events.

It’s sort of like my annual social media pilgrimage to the Valley and I always come away feeling refreshed and full of ideas on how we should implement social media into our program.

This year, they are throwing out a few special offers that I wanted to share and for $395, people can visit for just one of the days to see experts and practitioners from leading companies speak in a variety of topics.  Here is a sampling of sessions that will take place at the event:

• Social CRM
• Markets are Conversations: From Theory to Practice
• Understanding the New Media Landscape
• NewComm Essentials

Keynoters include:

• Jackie Huba, online marketing expert and author
• Dave Carroll, singer/songwriter, “United Breaks Guitars”
• Scott Monty, Ford
• Jack Holt, US Dept. of Defense
• Tim Westergren, Pandora
• Neville Hobson, WeissComm

For more details, visit http://www.newcommforum.com/Social-Media-Workshops.

If you use discount code NCFW100 you can save $100 on a pre-conference workshop or you can receive a 1/2-day session for $195.

Or, if you want to register for the full conference at www.newcommforum.com you can use discount code NCF500 to save $500 off the full conference fee.

Turns out that Daniel has a much grander vision for the space than simply housing the PointAbout group.  The goal is to create an “entrepreneur-friendly technology innovation hotspot, where we invite tech entrepreneurs to work, luminaries to speak, and offer tech education sessions.”

I love it.  A lot of people will compare it to the Affinity Lab but there are two major differences: First, Affinity hosts a broader array of verticals (non-profit, tech, design) while 1040Q is going to focus more on the tech/start-up community.  Second, the space itself is much larger and more sleek.

There are some pictures of the space at the 1410Q Web site and a registration form to be kept in the loop on upcoming events.

I started out the presentation by asking the audience to define ‘social media’ in 30 words or less. One audience member offered a very eloquent (and accurate) response that spoke to the community-oriented aspects of social media.

Her response was flushed out by other audience ideas about the collaborative nature of social media and its integration of various forms of media. I added my own two cents, suggesting that increased domestication of production-oriented technologies was also a major driver of this movement.

In all, I felt it was a tremendous conference and really applaud the Tech Council for their efforts in pulling this together.

Read coverage of the event in TechBisNow.

Earlier in the year I made a few predictions for how I felt the so-called world of ‘social media’ was going to unfold through ’08. Regarding Second Life I wrote,

Although there is a decent chance that Second Life will simply die and go away, I am going to defy popular logic and say that it will actually crawl out of the trough of disillusionment as the technology gets better, integration with the regular Web increases, and a more realist perspective on its potential facilitates more niche, targeted applications.

I feel that Cisco’s virtual press conference was a great application of Second Life for the following reasons:

1. Second Life is inline with Cisco’s Core Strategic Vision

Cisco’s mantra, “The Human Network,” basically expresses the underlying strategic vision for Cisco moving forward. During the press conference Chambers was pretty explicit in expressing Cisco’s vision that the next stage in information-communications technologies would be network-focused and the next stage in the social applications of the Internet would be focused on collaboration – ergo, the Human Network.

At any rate, for Cisco to walk the walk as far as their core strategic vision is concerned they really need to be in exploratory spaces like Second Life that are pushing the envelop on network-based collaboration and sociability.

2. It is Good PR

I know all the naysayers claim that the reach in Second Life is not worthwhile from a cost-benefit but if you segment by vertical I think it makes more sense for high-tech groups like Cisco to engage in the space. As Eric Krangel from Sillicon Alley Insider explains, “for a company like Cisco, Second Life’s tech-loving users are a rich pool of potential developers and wannabe Cisco certified engineers.”

Not only did they hit a good targeted audience via Second Life but they also got some decent media pick-up in the trades (Computerworld, PC World, Sillicon Alley Insider, etc.).

3. It makes sense from a brand perspective

This is probably a little redundant with the first point I made (or maybe a subsidiary point to the first point I made) but if Cisco is going to be a leader in the networking technology industry and beyond, they really need to take chances like this even when there is no guaranteed ROI – and with an annual revenue of over $35 billion they can afford it.

4. Social media is a good fit for their evolving business focus

The Linksys purchase was a milestone in their gradual shift to focus on the end consumer (a point Chambers made in his Q&A). Although the Second Life tactic in this case was far more targeted on a niche audience, their general engagement in social media is a good fit for the direct-to-consumer focus that is surely beginning to unfold in their overall marketing strategy.

Chambers Speaking in Second Life

Now I think there were some clear areas of opportunity in the execution of their strategy. For one, the press conference could have been a bit more dynamic. In general it was just John Chambers standing on a podium. There were times when the visual image might as well have been static.

One of the advantages to the Second Life medium is the potential for visual expression. As Chambers talked about his vision, it would have been great to see a holographic Star-Wars type presentation compliment the things he was saying.

Second, the archived video of the event is offered via an embedded Quicktime player with no interactive functionality. I would have loved to use a widget to embed the video in this blog posting but no such luck. I ran a query to try to find the event on YouTube but again, no such luck. They could have used a few more

Third, I went into Second Life and had some problems activating and viewing the videos (albeit I don’t have a great deal of experience with video in Second Life so unfortunately I don’t have any recommendations here for what they could have done better – it may just be a current limitation with the Second Life platform.

Having issues with video in Second Life

Finally, they should have clearly used PRWeb to publicize their press conference – both before and after the event. Our blog reach is second-to-none in the industry and they could have embedded a video of Chambers speaking in their post-conference announcement.

Overall however these are all nit-picky tactical issues. For all the reasons I mentioned before, I love the fact that Cisco is experimenting in the space and they are showing themselves to be a thought-pioneer in social media by continuing to take chances.

In the midst of all the companies selling SEO and affiliate marketing services, I think the ‘PR’ in ‘PRWeb’ attracted many of attendees who had never heard of PRWeb. Those unfamiliar with the service almost immediately saw the benefit in using PRWeb to publicize their business, and I suppose that is one of the nice things about presenting PRWeb at an event where a majority of the attendees already have a firm grasp of newer information/communication technologies. Two guys who stopped by the booth actually darted back to their hotel room immediately after talking with Joe because they had a press release and wanted to send it out through PRWeb ASAP.

Of course, a majority of visitors to the booth were either current customers who were interested in what was coming down the pipeline, or people who had heard about us through word-of-mouth and wanted to learn more about our service. I could hear many of those who walked by turn and say to their companions, “Oh, that’s PRWeb. We already use them.”

As for the demographic of customers and prospects stopping by the booth, there were certainly a fair share of PR people but the majority were small business owners or marketing professionals.

Walking around the conference it seemed there were increasing numbers of services that attempted to connect customers with social media. Of these a few that stood out to me included:

1. BuzzLogic - The holistic platform focused on influencer relations had a really cool new feature, ‘influencer advertising,’ that provided customers with a method for targeting ads in social media hot spots. Radian6 seems to be an emerging player in this area although right now they seem to lean a bit more heavily to the monitoring/analysis side than the outreach side. At the same time, they have one of the coolest platforms I’ve seen in a while, as well as a refreshing and hip brand aesthetic.
2. Creativeweblogging - A global network of bloggers that offers a variety of advertising options to customers. I noticed a couple of blogger networks as a matter of fact and feel like we may see more to come in the next couple of years.
3. Blogsvertise / PayPerPost – I couldn’t really note any discernible difference between PayPerPost and Blogsvertise. In fact I think their logos even use the same font.

All in all, it was a great opportunity to meet and connect with customers and prospects and re-acclimate myself with the cutting-edge of the industry.

Note: Lee Odden’s blog provides a great multimedia experience of ad:tech in case you want to learn more.

 All I can say is that we have set up on the third floor and I’m pretty excited for my first PRWeb event.  This is a great opportunity to network and learn more about the space we are in. 

So far, the highlight of the conference has been the fake protest staged by LookSmart, outside the Hilton Hotel.  A group of thick black-rimmed glass wearing LookSmart employees were chanting and waving boards that read “Affordable PPC,” and the like. 

 Very entertaining stuff.

 Hopefully I’ll have more to report later on… 

We started out by reviewing some of the social media highlights from the past month, which I’ve encapsulated in a previous blog posting.  Specifically, here are some of the key points that were made in reference to social media developments for March 2007:

Continued development in Second Life:

1. SL helps provide an enhanced ‘Web 3.0′ communications experience.
2. There are continuing technological infrastructure issues with SL: frame rendering, freezing, etc., which represent a substantial obstacle to continued diffusion of SL.
3. SL might benefit from the introduction of some form of console or controller beyond the keyboard.
4. SL’s primary benefit is community-oriented.
5. As for measurement, there is code that will track when other SL users visit your territory and interact with objects you have created.

Viacom vs. YouTube

1. As with SL, there are continued technological issues associated with the viewing experience of YouTube, most notably the low resolution of the video.
2. Copyright continues to be one of the most prominent issues facing development of YouTube and other video sharing sites.
3. Google could benefit from further outreach to the television and video content providers.
4. Viacom’s move is in large part strategic posturing in preparation for the launch of their own video sharing site.
5. YouTube could benefit from looking at a pay-per-view model.

Before we knew it, we were at the half-way point of the discussion and had not yet even gotten to the meat of the conversation: social media measurement, although we had broached the topic in reference to some of the past month’s social media highlights. 

The core of the social media measurement conversation revolved around the fundamental questions of ‘why,’ ‘what’ and ‘how.’  Here are some highlights from the conversation:

Why measure social media?

I began this part of the discussion by throwing up some stats from the 2nd European Survey of PR Professionals that assert:

1. 89% of PR professionals surveyed think that blogs and social software will be widespread and integrated into communications as websites are today.
2. 69% say they do not have the skilled personnel to handle them and 42% are unable to demonstrate the ROI of blogging.

We then began to discuss reasons why we should measure Social Media.  We came up with the following:

1. To provide accountability to the work we are doing.
2. Quantitative information brings form and meaning to abstract concepts, to those unfamiliar with the terrain.
3. To make determinations about when to and especially when not to participate in social media.
4. To improve the quality of your interactions within social media.

What to measure in social media?

The discussion of what to measure in social media encapsulated a wide range of topics, particularly on the relative value of the page view as a metric.  There seemed to be a general consensus that although the page view was declining in importance, it was still one of the key metrics in assessing social media.  In addition, many of the participants agreed that one of the key indicators in social media is the quality of relationship created through a social media interaction.

For the final section of the discussion, I threw up a quote from a paper drafted by the Independent Sector and the Urban Institute entitled “Outcome Measurement in Nonprofit Organizations (PDF).” The quotes reads: “Outcome measurement involves the identification of outcomes; development of appropriate outcome indicators and data collection procedures; data analysis to better understand organization achievements; and user-friendly, regular reporting of the findings.”

Unfortunately, we had run out of time and didn’t get a chance to delve into this part of the discussion.

Until next time…

 Other blogs about this event:

1. The Webpreneur
2. Oatmeal Stout

Talk Radio News threw one hell of a party and I really have to give it up to them.  It was the highlight of the post-dinner events, although I didn’t get a chance to see the CNN party that was being held at the Russia House. 

For me, the highlights were seeing some of my old friends and colleagues at Talk Radio News and v-Fluence, and bumping into a number of other friends I’ve met through various DC social circles.  These events are always a great way to get a sense for the real flavor of the nation’s capitol, plus it is nice to see everyone dressed to the nines in DC. 

This is my first trip to Vegas, and hear are a few of my initial reactions:

1. Vegas is ridiculously expensive – I’ve been to Monaco and been charged 22 euros for a Heineken at the ultra-hip Jimmy’z. I’m fine with that. What I’m not fine with is paying $18 for a turkey melt, a soda, and a bottle of water at the deli inside of the smoke-filled Luxor casino.
2. I wish the hotel swimming pool wasn’t blaring Britney Spears outside of my window – There is nothing like trying to do work in your hotel room and being forced to listen to top-40 hits from five years ago.
3. Vegas is cheesy - I am staying in a hotel that is intended to mirror a large pyramid. Next to me, is the Excalibur. As their tag-line reads, “Looking for a Las Vegas hotel that’s fun, not fancy? Then you belong in a Castle – Excalibur, where you rule.” Need I say more?
4. Okay, we get it, you don’t want us to know what time it is so we gamble for longer – I haven’t seen the sun all day. I’m not even 100% sure how I get out of the hotel. Every time I try, I feel like Link in the Lost Woods after ending up at the same Carrot Top advertisement for the fifth time. Speaking of Carrot Top…
5. Vegas is not really that cool - Granted, I don’t gamble, am apathatic to live shows, and generally dislike strip clubs, so to begin with, Vegas is probably not the place for me. That being said, I’ve seen Carrot Top on about ten different advertisements around the Luxor. Automatically, that precludes not only the hotel, but the city, from being very cool. I also have the constant and uneasy feeling that I am walking around in a cheap movie set and at some point I’m going to lean my hand on the wall and the entire structure is going to fall over.

Okay, I’ve got it off my chest. Now time to head off to the New Communications Forum advisory board meetings…more updates to come later.