SOBCon: The lessons

Hugs Like many of the other attendees and speakers, I feel a certain compunction to capture the essence of SOBCon before it fades.  So, in a nutshell, here’s  what I learned or had confirmed:

  • You can’t fake who you are when you put yourself out there, online, every day.  There was not one person I met who surprised me.  You were all exactly as I expected.
  • Bloggers are huggers.  Even business bloggers.
  • No matter how great the speakers are — people are hungry to learn from and interact with each other.
  • We truly are living in, as CK calls it, the share economy.  The generosity was boundless.
  • There’s no substitute for sharing a laugh with friends in person.

Nothing profound or new.  However, that makes it none the less valuable.

The flickr photo is courtesy of Phil Gerbyshak and shows that lucky devil Phil getting a hug from Ann Michael.

To continue the theme of giving…here’s a little link love to you all.

SOBcon2007 Chicago Attendees: Sandra Renshaw Brad Shorr Timothy Johnson Tammy Lenski Muhammad Saleem Lorelle VanFossen David Dalka – Mobile Search Marketing Todd And John Yedinak Joe Hauckes Tim Draayer Jeremy Geelan Carolyn Manning Sheila Scarborough Steve Farber Dawud Miracle Doug Mitchell Jeff O’Hara Dave Schoof Jamy Shiels Adam Steen Hannah Steen Chris Thilk Barry Zweibel Eric Bingen Ellen Moore Cord Silverstein Jean-Patrick Smith James Walton Sharan Tash Vernon Lun Tony Lee Scott Desgrosseilliers Mark Murrell Kammie Kobyleski Easton Ellsworth Mark Goodyear Ann Michael Kent Blumberg Ashley Cecil Robert Hruzek Sabu N G Lisa Gates Franke James Chris Brown Troy Worman Karen Putz Jesse Petersen Terry Mapes Andy Brudtkuhl Lucia Mancuso Peter Flaschner Derrick Sorles Mike Rohde Thomas Clifford Rajesh Srivastava Claire Celsi Jason Alba Cristiana Passinato Sean R. Alex Shalman Cristiana Passinato Brad Spirrison Ari Garber Dr. Rob Wolcott Cheryll Cruz Sharon Scherer Jonathan Phillips Jason Wade Jill Pullen Doug Bulleit Wendy Kinney Chelsea Vincent Ayush Agarwal Paul Mangalik Premchand Kallan Xochi Kaplan Michael Snell Ella Wilson

SOBcon2007 Chicago Speakers: Andy Sernovitz Phil Gerbyshak Liz Strauss David Armano Mike Sansone Drew McLellan Mike Wagner Terry Starbucker Rodney Rumford Ben Yoskovitz Chris Cree Robyn Tippins Diego Orjuela Vernon Lun Wendy Piersall

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15 comments on “SOBCon: The lessons

  1. ann michael says:

    Thanks Drew, but I think I was the lucky devil!!!!

    Ann

  2. Wow! What a great pix of Phil and Ann!

    Thanks for the reminders, Drew.

    Funny…film crews are big huggers, too!

    All that “blog hugging” made me feel right at home. As a matter of fact, I’m thinking of next year’s sobcon already!

    🙂

  3. Bob Glaza says:

    “You can’t fake who you are when you put yourself out there, online, every day.”

    …or even every couple of days :)…for real!

  4. Drew, I had the same experience as you as far as bloggers being the way you expected. The one blogger that did surprise me somewhat was Lorelle VanFossen – I didn’t realize she would be so outgoing – but after meeting her in person it all made sense.

    Bloggers are talkers, too. What a bunch of motormouths we are! 🙂

  5. Hey Drew, you nailed it. Thank you so much for your support and help as we wended our way to this event. It exceeded my expectations in so many ways. See you in Des Moines in November! All the best.

  6. Great memories Drew. I definitely am a lucky dude. Ann’s a great hugger 🙂

  7. Ann — that Phil can serve up a hug, can’t he?

    Tom — maybe it is creative people who aren’t worried about personal space, therefore are big proponents of the hug?

    Bob — I think one of the elements of blogging that I enjoy the most, over straight journalistic reporting, is that each person infuses a bit of themselves into their posts. I like getting to know everyone that way. Meeting in person was just a really nice extension of that process.

    Drew

  8. Easton — indeed we are. That is the one thing that will make SOBCon even better — building in more time for people just to share and chat. I missed being able to spend more time with the likes of you and others.

    Terry — I was happy to help. You guys rocked this one. I can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

    Phil — You give as good as you get. Which is why we all love you!

    Drew

  9. David Armano says:

    Drew, I can’t remember… did we hug?

  10. I find it incredible that bloggers tend to be so giving. I don’t know of many other areas of life where people help each other so freely. I’m still blown away…

  11. CK says:

    It’s all about share, baby. And for co’s? It’s altogether possible and profitable, too. I was there with you guys in spirit…and miss that I wasn’t there to hug you guys.

  12. David,

    I’m not sure but I do know for a fact that we hummed a little “kumbaya” and we have some nice harmony!

    Drew

  13. Dawud,

    I can remember my first couple months as a blogger and I was astonished at how open and willing to share everyone was. I have always lived in the agency world, where paranoia and secrecy reign supreme. So at first I was a little suspicious of it.

    But I quickly recognized that it was genuine…and have lapped it up ever since. It feels so much better to give then to hoard.

    As you well know…considering it is your natural way of being.

    Drew

  14. CK,

    For the most part, wherever marketing bloggers gather…you are there in spirit, if not in the flesh! Heck, you introduced many of us, one way or another. As you say — it’s about sharing and connecting.

    Thanks for always leading the charge on both fronts.

    Drew

  15. CK,

    For the most part, wherever marketing bloggers gather…you are there in spirit, if not in the flesh! Heck, you introduced many of us, one way or another. As you say — it’s about sharing and connecting.

    Thanks for always leading the charge on both fronts.

    Drew

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