Social media is not just about participating in online conversations, but building closer relationships with the people in your network offline as well.
Robert Scoble is a great example of someone with a high profile blog who travels constantly and uses those trips to meet as many people as possible. In fact, he uses the social travel site Dopplr (as do I) to update people on his whereabouts.
So if you’re inclined to network with other bloggers in your niche, here’s a couple of upcoming opportunities in a variety of cities that might appeal to you. You’ll also learn a heck of a lot about social media in the process:
- PRSA T3 PR Conference (New York, September 11): I’ll be hosting a panel with Paull Young from Converseon and David Bradfield from Fleishman Hillard titled, “Tech PR & Social Media: New Skills & Opportunities for PR Pros.” In addition to our panel, there are some fantastic speakers lined up, like Paul Gillin and Brian Solis. Check this link for the registration and more details.
- Interop (New York, September 15-19): If you work in tech, this show is not to be missed. It’s a virtual who’s who of technology bloggers, evangelists and decision makers discussing the future of mobile, wireless and cloud computing at the enterprise level.
- Web 2.0 Expo (New York, September 16-19): Head to Interop and get two for the price of one. There’s a whole track dedicated to Web 2.0 at work.
- Blog World Expo (Las Vegas, September 20-21): This is one of those conferences that seems to get bigger each year. Topics range from Intro to New Media to Community Development and Business Blogging.
- Social Networking Conference (London, September 22-23): The organizers of this event are hosting similar conferences in other regions as well, but if you want to know more about the state of the social networking space in Europe, this might be a good place to start. The largest European gathering of social media folks takes place at Le Web in December, so keep an eye out for that as well.
- Blog Orlando (Orlando, September 25-27): This is a free “Unconference,” which means that anyone is welcome to lead a session on the topic of his/her choice. I’ve participated in a couple of these in New York and Boston. The content can be great depending on the presenter, but the topics here are pretty compelling .There are sessions scheduled on Blogging Relations, Crisis Communications and a few industry focused tracks as well (politics, travel/tourism). And the speaker lineup thus far is pretty damn strong.
- Social Media Forum (Hamburg, Germany, September 29): The site is in German, and although my surname would indicate some level of comprehension, I confess I used Babelfish to translate the site. What I like about this one is the number of case studies that will be presented. We often hear a lot of high level strategy at these events, but rarely hear real world examples from which we can learn.
- Aloha Social Media Summit (Boulder, Colorado, October 6-7): A bunch of social media rockstars, no PowerPoint and a cap of just 25 attendees? I’m intrigued.
- PopTech! (Camden, Maine, October 23-25): Think of it at the TED Conference for the East Coast. It takes place in upstate Maine. The trip might be tough but you’ll leave inspired by the speakers and tapped into a community at the bleeding edge of whatever comes after Web 2.0.
- Blogging Fundamentals (Boston, December 11): Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang will lead a one day workshop on corporate blogging. He’s among my favorite bloggers and a couple of hours with him are well worth the investment!
Leslie Poston has taken the time to capture an even bigger list over at Media Bullseye, which I recommend you check out as well. In addition to some of the conferences I outlined above, she included a host of free events as well.
Regardless of how you choose to participate, keep building your network!
Social Media