This week I had the good fortune of attending the first Twitter conference in Los Angeles, aka, the 140tc. (You can find a stream of the conference’s live tweets by searching #140tc on Twitter.com). As a big fan of social media, but not quite a tech nerd, I was very curious to see what a two-day musing on Twitter would look like, so I happily drove up to the Skirball Cultural Center to see what all the fuss was about.
It was an interesting group of people with interesting ideas. Some of which are already old news, others that will probably die on the vine, and a few sustainable ones (ideas, not people). I was glad to see big brands like Whole Foods (@wholefoods) Starbucks (@starbucks) and Tyson Foods (@tysonPMG) embracing social media and using it to genuinely connect with their consumers. And, forewarning that initial use should act as a test bed; corp’s need to have patience when finding their SM footing. What works for Company X cannot/should not necessarily be duplicated by Company Y.
I was less thrilled to see a panel of (semi- famous) comedians discuss how they use Twitter to meet women, and suggest to other writers that they not tweet out their best material so as not to have it stolen by the greedy masses. Really? That’s a panel? That seems more like a conversation between two guys sharing a beer.
Day 2 was more interesting, kicked off by a nearly two hour keynote from Tony Robbins; the crowd loved it and gave him a standing ovation. The rest of the afternoon featured discussions about effective Twitter applications, the future of social media and various best practices (i.e. how to not piss off your followers with annoying, self-serving or spammy messages). There were some tried and true fundamentals in there, but I can’t help but feel like those could be discussed in an hour and half and then expanded upon in focused breakout sessions.
Bottom line: was it worth the $500 ticket price?
Most of the information was solid and many of the speakers are rock stars in the game; effectively using Twitter to grow businesses and brands. But I think each attendee must judge what their needs are, what their goals are, and if they have a vested interest in growing their reach and influence in that community. If you are an entrepreneur on a budget, or a start-up with limited access to funds, this might not be the best use of your money. Take a little extra time and you can find most of this info on the web for free. However, if you’re managing social media on behalf of a company/brand, you probably would find this conference (and others like it) worthwhile.
Just a note to the Parnassus Group who otherwise hosted a lovely event: if you’re trying to grow a brand - and attendee loyalty (I see a lot of other, competing twitter conferences on the horizon) - I would suggest a branded takeaway. I mean, a mug or a t-shirt, guys? Use the opportunity, you’ve got a room full of wireless geeks just dying to be your ambassadors.
*the opinions expressed here are solely those of a plain old social media enthusiast: a non-guru, self-proclaimed girly girl, who likes things all things snappy, entertaining and pretty, and does not have patience for boring, stuffy or hack. Tweet tweet.
