2006 Seattle Conference

For some easy Friday afternoon light reading (and listening), I’ve got another jewel from what I’ve decided to dub “The BBS Vault,” mostly because I like poking fun at Disney and their apparent inability to release more than two DVDs at a time.

What you’re looking at below is Scoble talking about videoblogging, and why he likes video as a medium on the net. Pirillo posted recently about not abandoning older formats (specifically mp3s), and I wholeheartedly agree with him - we’re talking about three different consumption methods when we mention text, audio, and video.

Regardless, there are distinct advantages to spicing it up with video. Hit play after the jump to see Robert explain in video:
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As we continue to filter though “The BBS Vault,” bringing old classics to DVD at extra-high prices, we’ve been uncovering more snippets of really useful stuff to throw up for you.

If you like what you’re seeing, be sure to sign up for our Chicago conference.

This particular clip is of John Furrier, the Founder of PodTech, as he explains how the iTunes podcast directory ranks its listings, and gives a few suggestions on how to make sure your podcast doesn’t get pushed into obscurity. Have a gander:

As I understand it, John is telling us that the iTunes listings are based largely on consistency, the same way that Google tends to rank blogs. Post more often, podcast more often, and rise in the ranks.

We’ve been picking through the videos of our last conference and pulling out some interesting tidbits to share online. We’re trying to give people a sense of the conference and what to expect at the next one this coming September.

Jason Calacanis gave a memorable keynote back at our last conference in October of 2006, leaving behind him a slough of announcements, nicknames, and of course, some amazing bits of wisdom.

Here it is, folks, how to become an A-list blogger in 30 days, presented in 30 seconds by Jason Calacanis:

Look interesting? Register now for Chicago.

Not to sound like a hanger-on or a fangirl, but I really like the Scobles. They always seem to be laughing about something and having a general good time. That’s why I like watching their video podcast. When you’re reading a blog, it doesn’t really matter whether you like the blogger or not. But on a video segment, personality matters so much more.

Two of my favorite recent ScobleShow segments are Maryam’s interview with BBS speaker Liz Lawley and Robert getting a demo of enterprise social software Blogtronix from CEO Vasil Mladjov.

Technorati Tags: Liz Lawley, Maryam Scoble, Robert Scoble, Vasil Mladjov, Blogtronix, Social software, BBS06

Here’s another constructively critical post from one of our attendees, Terrell Meek.

Terrell raises a point that I’ve heard quite a few times already: our speakers were so clued in to the blogosphere that they didn’t really connect very well with our less bloggy attendees. I think that’s something we’re going to need to pay closer attention to next year.

Please keep that feedback rolling in, we really appreciate it. And if you attended, you got an e-mail from Kim Larsen with a link to the attendee survey. Please remember to fill it out.

And now for a bit of lighthearted silliness and jocularity…

During our “Grapes on a Plane” event last week, we made a post-conference foray to Hedges Family Estate in Richland, WA on a couple of private jets courtesy of Greenpoint Technologies. Just about everyone had a few glasses of wine. This made us all rather silly.

The next thing you know, Robert Scoble is performing “The Butter Knife Scratch,” a new and innovative musical sound that can only be produced by scratching melted vinyl records with a butter knife.

I’m proud to say that I’m a part of the “Butter Knife Scratch.” That mellifluous female voice at the end of the recording belongs to me!
I am also the proud owner of the piece of melted vinyl upon which Robert played his opus for the assembled throng. It is pictured at left encasing a bottle of Hedges Family Estate Red Mountain fortified port.

Christophe Hedges, if you want it back, you’re gonna have to come and get it!

We now return to our regularly scheduled seriousness…

I hope I’ve done at least a halfway comprehensive job of finding posts about the Blog Business Summit. In case I missed anything, here’s the Google Blog Search. As always, feel free to bring posts to my attention if they’re not on the list:

• Silver Sponsor Jim Turner of One By One Media says that the money he spent as a sponsor of the BBS was “one of the best business decisions I’ve made this year.”
• Des Walsh was pleased with my analysis of our constructive criticism.
• Tris Hussey posted about how cool it was to share the stage with John Battelle and Dave Taylor.
• Drew Meyers shared his main takeaway points and wrote that you should be at BBS if you have any interest in business blogging, you should have been at BBS. Incidentally, that particular post got TailRanked, which is mega-cool!
• Elizabeth Grigg had several great posts about some of the sessions she attended.
• Our speaker Ponzi Inharasophang says that the conference made her wonder whether she should blog more about the business side of her life.
• Richard Nacht of Real Blogging wrote that more real estate folks should come next year. I couldn’t agree more!
• Rommel of Zaadz thought the conference had two basic themes (1) the evolution of all the technological stuff and (2) how the world adapts to them. I have to admit that I’m not entirely sure what he’s getting at, but he has a great collection of session logs as well.
• Zoe Goldring from JobSyntax has a very thoughtful post about the highs and lows of the Blog Business Summit. I’ve cross-posted it to my constructive criticism post.
• Diane Ensey speaks of her conference fatigue and links to some other great rundowns.
• PharmFin has a post about how he learned about RSS feeds during Day 1
• And finally…Tris Hussey’s wrap up includes some great ideas for BBS07.

Whew! Did I miss anything?

Our post-BBS speaker, conference chair and affiliate trip to Richland wine country was loads of fun. At least, it was apart from Maryam and Robert getting stuck at the pass with my boss Steve and his wife Vicky. Maryam had to pee in the middle of the traffic jam, and she wound up quite literally “freezing her ass off.”

I know for sure that Robert had a lot of fun. Maybe too much, as he was hung over for the trip back. There is also a mysterious recording of him scratching a melted vinyl LP with a butter knife floating around out there. And that’s to say nothing of the bread fight he started…

Tim Stay of Know More Media was impressed with the jets which were provided by conference/event sponsor Greenpoint Technologies. He posted the results of his interview with Greenpoint maven Christine Hadley.

Kevin O’Keefe of LexBlog just wondered what he’d done to deserve the trip. And of course, I wouldn’t be nearly enough of a self-promoter if I didn’t link to my own coverage.

I’ll link to more stuff as I find it. I’m sure there are more posts out there…

As many of you know, our speakers and their spouses were treated to dinner, wine, and gin tasting courtesy of DiStefano, Plymouth Gin and Maggiano’s Little Italy. Jason Calacanis might not have liked it because it was a blogger junket, but I know I enjoyed it.

Here are some of the things our speakers had to say:

• Maryam Scoble found British gin expert Simon Ford very entertaining, although she’s not sure whether it was his fascinating talk about the history of gin or just his sexy british accent. Oh boy, watch out Robert!
• Chris Pirillo has kindly posted the recipes for the drinks that Simon concocted for us.
• BlogHer’s Elisa Camahort wrote about her experience of the dinner as a vegan who is allergic to alcohol. I’m glad that Maggiano’s was able to accommodate her dietary requirements, but I wish I’d known about her alcohol allergy in advance because I’m sure Plymouth’s master mixologist could have come up with some virgin and vegan concoctions for the occasion.

I’ll post more links to the dinner buzz as things get going.

Can be found on her blog. Mary gave a talk on live web search.

Here are the slides from Scott Niesen’s presentation on putting web feeds to work.

Here are the slides from John Battelle’s keynote presentation on blogs, search and media.

Here are the slides (PDF) from Elizabeth Lawley for the session on blogging tools and trends.

Here are the slides (PDF) from Ben Edwards’ keynote presentation.

Here are the slides from Robert and Maryam Scoble’s presentation about how to blog well. This was one of my favorite presentations of the conference.

Here are the slides from the presentation Steve and I did about the creation of a sponsored blog.

Here are Tara Hunt’s slides (PDF) from the Building Community Online session, which many have called the best session at the conference. More session wrap ups are forthcoming…

This year’s conference–my first with the BBS crew–was a whirlwind of bloggy goodness. I can’t believe it’s over. Of course, too much longer and I would have collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

I’m happy to say that about 95% of the feedback we got from our attendees was positive. I’ve had a couple people tell me it was the most valuable conference they’ve attended in years. That felt really good. I was also gratified to learn that one of our attendees decided to skip watching his beloved Cardinals win the World Series in order to attend.

I’ve already posted some of the constructive criticism we recieved. Here are a few more points that came up:

• Some of our speakers needed to focus more on giving basic information and less on the 30,000 foot view. Anecdotes are useful, but only when they illustrate a larger point.
• The best sessions were those that focused on heart and passion while delivering great content. The conference wasn’t as heart-based as some of the other gatherings in this space.
• We need to serve less food next year. There was some concern that we were being wasteful and not keeping an eye toward sustainability.

We always appreciate feedback like this, so please keep it coming. As long as it’s constructive and delivered within tolerable snarkiness parameters, we’ll take your thoughts into account for next year’s conference.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my teammates, Steve Broback, Kim Larsen, Eric Anderson and Jason Preston for a great conference. I feel like we’re all old war buddies now.

In the coming days, I’ll be posting presentations from speakers, bits of video and audio, and linking to more conference coverage. If you’re a speaker and you have your presentation handy, please e-mail it to me. My e-mail is teresa [at] blogbusinesssummit [dot] com. Otherwise, I will hound you until you send it in!

Also, if you think I’ve missed linking to your post, or anyone else’s post about the BBS, please leave a link in the comments or e-mail me. We want to be as comprehensive as possible.

Thanks again, everyone! And now on to Blog Business Summit 2007. Stay tuned for details!

The following are my notes from John Battelle’s keynote speech.

• The Internet economy is the third wave of tech and culture. 1970’s, the back office was being digitized. People used a command line interface to interact with the information. Then the front office was digitized in the 1980’s with the advent of the PC. Now the customers are digitized, and that’s Web 2.0.
• Command line is how we navigated the 1970’s. The Find command is how we navigated the 1980’s. Now search is the way that we navigate Web 2.0. The command line is natural language. “We are starting to use computers the way we talk to other people.”
• If search is an interface, then it’s our navigational device. It’s our steering wheel.
• Customers make the business better and build the business for them. “If you can figure out how to get your customers to help you build your business, you’re in.”
• Search is the driver of Web 2.0 businesses. It’s our cultures entire point of inquiry.
• Search has an average of $8.5 per customer acquisition. Audience declares intent, then content finds an audience. “Every business is a content creator now, if you’re not, you don’t exist.” Intent drives your content, what do your customers want? If you want to create content, you must understand the intent of the end user.
• Conversations are links. Link love drives search. The audience’s attention matters. You have to get into bed with the search engines.
• How can you employ your customers in the conversation around your products? How do you take advantage of those moments when your product is criticized. Invite users’ input. Your end user tells you what your brand is.
• Target your advertising to the readers of the sites you’re advertising on. Microsoft advertising on Glenn Fleishman’s blog about the WiFi features in Windows. Dice advertising on sites for IT professionals: “Does your Tech Job suck?”
• He’s excited about Vox from Six Apart because of its approach to integrating social networks, blogging and more. He’s also thinking there should be an application that allows developers to mashup RSS with structured search.
• What I see in great blogs is a great publications with a great audience and a passionate editor.

By the way, I’d like to thank John for putting our logo at the top of all his slides. That was very thoughtful of him :-).

I was running around doing logistical stuff during Robert and Maryam’s talk, but I loved what I did get to see.

ConversationRater has a great rundown of their 15 points for a killer blog.