I'm headed to the 2010 140conf in Boston today. It's the first conference of this size I'll be going to, which has been a conscious decision.
For years, I've avoided these types of conferences because the curriculum has been very elementary in my opinion. By no means am I a Ninja of social media, but I do my way around the dojo.
The reason why I am going to this particular one is because of the people. If you look at the speaking line-up it reads like the all-star ballot for the NBA. You have your speakers that get thousands of dollars to speak as well as the ones that are part of the cool kid group but don't come with a heavy speakers fee.
Here's what I expect out of my experience today:
1. Prove to people that I exist. I'm the Kaiser Sose of social media. I'm there, but never there if you know what I mean. I need to get out and meet people, expand my hand-shook network if you follow me.
2. Trends. I expect to hear a ton of info on what we should expect in the space in 2011 and how it'll impact consumers and brands across multiple business, media, non-profit and education sectors.
3. Same ole same ole. I will bet money that 60% of what I'll hear will be rehash of blog posts and media reports. I'll get ton of stats thrown at means well.
4. Power. Everywhere I will look there will be power brokers in the room. It'll be interesting to see where I stack up against 'em.
5. People. Holy people I want to meet batman. I won't have enough time to meet all of them so I will have to be ninja-like in terms of my hand-shake decisions.
What are you expecting at the 140conf today?