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Social Media Camp Victoria 2011: A Review
(June 6, 2011)
For those of you who didn’t go to this year’s Social Media Camp (SMCV11) – and maybe even for those that did – I’ve decided to write a brief review of my experience. Hopefully you find it helpful.
First off, as someone familiar with social media and a regular (if casual) user of several of the more mainstream tools (Facebook, Twitter most often), I was looking for insights and advanced techniques, best practices and case studies from the speakers who, I assumed, were far better versed than I. In this respect, I was sorely disappointed.
I didn’t attend every session, but based my selections on the descriptions found on the SMCV11 website. These descriptions were usually quite vague, and even missing altogether – leaving me to select largely by title. A note to the organizers: detailed session descriptions allow attendees to make educated selections they are more likely to get value from.
The ‘Build the Ultimate Facebook Business Page in 60 Minutes’ workshop, wasn’t a workshop, and was only a regurgitation of the basic procedure for configuring a FB page – nothing covered was anything you couldn’t get from Facebook or a quick Google search. The presenter, a local social media consultant, didn’t give any insights as to best practices, or share helpful anecdotes or research from his experience working with clients. The second half of the presentation was given by a representative from Telus who basically just tooted his company’s horn about a successful campaign run last year that had a Facebook component to it (but was also driven by multi-channel marketing). He tried to make out that Telus is responsible for ‘changing the world’ and ‘saving lives’ because the initiative raised $2.5 million for mammography screening. He failed to disclose how much money Telus spent promoting it (I would suggest it cost at least 3x that amount – which would have been far better used as a direct donation). A great example of how not to do corporate responsibility – and had nothing to do with the session I signed up for.
Other presentations were frustratingly similar: very elementary info or thinly veiled sales pitches for products (ConstantContact, I’m talking about you) or books the speakers had written. Another presentation consisted of a presenter showing a series of YouTube videos and hardly saying a word. I think I’d be far less upset if the conference were free, but paying for presentations usually delivered for free definitely rankles.
Overall, despite the titles of many of the presentations, the info was decidedly elementary. The two keynote presentations were pretty good, but I actually left almost every presentation early because I just wasn’t learning anything. If you’re unfamiliar with social media, then the conference would probably be decent value – but for anyone already active in the space, I just didn’t see any value beyond the connections you might make with other attendees.
I was also surprised at how little social media was actually integrated into the conference; I was expecting a Twitter feed of questions for presenters/panelists up on a screen or other examples of ‘walking the talk’.
I’d like to end with a final note for the organizers: for panel discussions, it would be helpful if the moderator didn’t rely solely on the audience for questions, but had a stack of prepared, meaty questions to fill audience gaps. It would also be greatly appreciated if they would repeat each question for the whole audience before the panel answers; anyone sitting behind the person asking the question had to try and figure out the question from the answers provided. The frustration caused by this sums up my experience at SMCV11 quite well.
Needless to say, I won’t be attending next year.
Nicely put. We attended some of the same sessions and I completely agree with your assessment. I was very frustrated myself.
Thanks – nice not to be the lone dissenter.
I agree about the sales pitches and the moderators. Very good thoughts and observations.
Thank you, Brad. Hopefully the organizers treat it as constructive criticism and make changes next year…
I completely agree. It was suggested after last year’s event that the conference needed to be divided into streams based on level of knowledge. It’s unfortunate that this wasn’t done as I think it would have helped.
I wanted to go but couldn’t swing it this year. Conferences should always have tracks so you can identify the introductory sessions… and sales pitches.
There’s definitely a lot of room for improvement. They would probably benefit from bringing in some more seasoned conference organizers…
Couldn’t agree more… Although it should be noted that many people in attendance were newbies who did probably learn a lot from this level of information. They need to do a better job of organizing sessions for beginners versus experienced users. The Constant Contact pitch, “Young and Free” Credit Union pitch and “Tourism and Social Media” AKA check out my tattoos, what cheese I like and how I get drunk on wine presentation was utterly painful. Considering the price of this event went up about 400% from last year, the quality of speakers was somewhat shocking.
I see a definite need for either tracks/streams or just a simple Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced rating system so attendees can choose appropriately. Also, sales pitches are fine if held separately in breakout sessions for those who are interested, but they have no place in the regular stream of sessions.
Thanks for this. It encapsulates my thoughts entirely about the conference this year.
One of the things I found particularly frustrating was that many speakers talked about the importance of metrics but wouldn’t give examples as to metrics that they used with their clients to measure social media successes; rather, they would state that “there are no set metrics for determining success”.
Matt, your review of SMCV11 is quite astute. I agree with many of the points and concerns you’ve raised. I feel that this year’s event, over that of the event in 2010, was not an improvement, but instead a step backwards in many profound ways.
Like you and others, I also felt that many of the presenters used their presentation time as a selfish marketing opportunity and didn’t provide much in the way of tangible information one could take back to work (or their personal SM interactions) on Monday. But for many of the sessions I attended, I was more concerned with the extreme level of mis-information being provided. For instance, the self-proclaimed advanced Twitter presentation was cringe-worthy. Hearing a supposedly well-respected member of the Social Media community in Victoria tell presentation attendees not to use the #yyj hashtag unless they have something worthy of that hashtag to say, ’cause it is cluttering up that stream for those of “them” whom that hashtag is meant for, was utterly shocking! I suspect that those presenters do not play well with others. As well, the good tweets vs bad tweets examples given during that presentation were quite alarming. I left that session hoping that anyone new to Twitter (especially anyone representing a business) would not take those tips and the advice given there as the gospel on Twitter or Social Media. At best, those presenters came across as arrogant and self-serving. Shame on them.
With all due respect to how much work it is to stage an event such as this (don’t kid yourself, it is a heck of a lot of work!), anyone who is familiar with the local Victoria organizers will have already assessed that the SMCV11 experience was a direct reflection of how those individuals themselves approach Social Media and the level of expertise those individuals and local businesses have themselves. A quick assessment reveals that the organizers must not have a very good grasp on the depth and magnitude of Social Media and Social Media Marketing.
My experience to-date with the local Social Media community, is that many of the players with the actual SM expertise and a healthy understanding of how flexible one must be to engage in these new communication mediums, are flying under the radar for the most part. Many of them didn’t even attend the event.
I tip my hat to Dan Parks for his location based Social Media presentation. Dan knows his stuff and he has more than enough enthusiasm, energy and passion for these tools than all the camp presenters combined. Rob Heppell’s presentation was also commendable… Heppell knows his stuff. I would highly recommend that any business looking to get involved with Social Media and don’t know where to start, should give those guys a call before calling anyone else.
At least now we know who not to call from those who presented over the two days. Yes, I mean you too Dr. Pacheco-Vega. Is it good for business (or for your soul) to tell people that you oggle guys on the bus? (See the online Urban Dictionary definition of “oggle” to be completely shocked or titillated by what he was actually saying to us. And he often tweets about this under his avian alter ego, that he also told us was the username he talks to his students with… huh? Seriously? Students need mentors, not Perez Hilton’s brother from another mother!)
The biggest disappointments or “epic fails” for me for the entire camp were the keynote speakers and the sinking feeling that SMCV11 was potentially succeeding in reducing Social Media Marketing to a dog and pony show.
For anyone in business who attended SMCV11 and are wanting to utilize these incredibly persuasive and positive marketing tools (SMM), please don’t be discouraged. Please don’t feel as though this is an elusive carrot that only the Twitterati will ever understand and enjoy. Getting involved and having fun with Social Media for your business and/or personal communication use, is way easier than anyone at SMCV11 even dared to admit.
The keynote speakers were among the biggest offenders for me during the entire camp. Jay’s presentation was certainly more inspiring than Amber’s, but both of those keynote addresses felt like a throw-back or an hommage to marketing in the 80′s without getting too much into how Social Media can really work for your business. Yes, I am that old, and yes, I understand how Social Media works better than most teens and the Generation Z. They may have invented these tools and/or are a big part of making them fly, but everyone under the age of 20 are not ALL Social Media experts by default. As Rob Heppell said, the tools of delivery have changed, not the principles [of marketing].
Sure both Jay and Amber talked about engagement, but it is one of those buzz words that just makes anyone using it, sound like they know more than anyone else. For me it is like the use of the phrase or term “best practises” in the design and marketing community. Don’t say that to your clients! It is one of the most un-authentic things we can say. Tell it like it is… Social Media is ever changing and you have to stretch-out and be more flexible than ever… with your thoughts and ideas, than ever before!
Buckle-up and enjoy the ride! Social Media is exciting and we are so fortunate in this day and age to have these tools available to us!
PS: I won’t be going to SMCV12 either… fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Sorry to the organizers (and importantly to the hard working volunteers), but it is how I feel after attending SMCV two years in a row.
And hey, how come no one mentioned Mashable the entire two days? Maybe I missed it, but if you don’t know about them, check ‘em out!
As a professional, someone that deals with marketing questions on a daily basis, and as someone who would really like to have more information and confidence about where and how social media can fit into my marketing strategies – the conference was a bust.
All the comments above are very comforting as I was starting to think it was just me that was ‘not getting it’.
I agree with your analysis 100%. What’s particularly disappointing for me is that this the exact same feedback a number of us who attended last year’s inaugural conference provided to organizers after last year’s event. And this is the reason why a number of us (myself included) did not attend this year. Lack of changes + increased ticket price = little value or ROI, from my perspective.
They also need to change their practice of charging speakers the ticket price to speak at the conference! This will only perpetuate ‘elementary’ presentations and sales pitches. (note: I expect the keynote speakers are not charged but I know that everyone else is).
I was also highly disappointed by the awards component of the conference. I love the concept and agree wholeheartedly that we need to celebrate the success of social media from a West Coast perspective however it was not executed well at all. The online voting system was compromised (contained a common online voting wordpress glitch that did not allow everyone to vote) and the category information was incomplete in some instances. A good idea poorly executed degrades the value of the award and casts a negative shadow on the conference and conference organizers.
I truly hope they make significant adjustment next year because I would love to learn and grow with my peers, without having to pay the price to travel to Toronto or the USA to do so.
I found this really interesting as I attended last year and came away with the exact same feeling that you put into words so well and that was the exact feedback I gave the organizers, especially around session descriptions. After hearing your feedback and the other comments I am very glad I didn’t attend this year and I certainly wouldn’t attend in the future.
Thanks for the comments, everyone. Interestingly, I’ve been contacted by the organizers for a discussion regarding changes for next year. I’m not sure what, if anything, will come of it – but I appreciate that they are listening.
it is not uncommon for low budget conferences to charge speakers to attend or give them a reduced rate. However, given that there are really few costs other than meals, I would hope that sponsorship dollars would be sufficient to comp a speakers registration.
I would like to see the awards component rolled into a luncheon on day 2 and have the conference end mid afternoon. The ‘gala’ was lame for the price of the ticket.
Really enjoyed reading your article and will be viewing regularly.