Thanks to Mark Ragan of Ragan Communications, shown here, for hosting a tremendous unconference for communicators in Chicago last week.
Free and open, both in terms of dialogue and registration fees, the unconference gathered all kinds of communicators to talk about social media.
Marketing and PR types took over a bright room with a strong wi-fi signal while the internal folks met downstairs in a room without windows and iffy wi-fi [maybe it was just me].
Starting out in Marketing and PR, I switched at the break to sit in on internal. Each room was talking about the other, which left me wondering: when will all sit in the same place together?
Being in a room with so many professional communicators who talked about their success and challenges was empowering, inspiring and motivating. Twice, I stood up to contribute my opinion: once to let people know about Social Media Club Chicago and again to say that I don’t think ROI should be a defining decision factor. People get so caught on attempting to precisely measure exact results that they lose sight of what really matters: getting closer to your community. Many people came up afterwards and requested the link to a post I mentioned called “Communing with Community or Talking Social Media Marketing?”
Thanks to Amber Naslund – who did a fine job of moderating the talk – we ended early or about 30 minutes after twitter went down. How fun that I got to see Amber two Fridays in a row! I made some new connections and tracked down someone I used to work with a few chapters back.
Although I posted some updates on twitter, I think you’ll find better coverage elsewhere, so here’s a round up. Know of additional resources not mentioned here or have a conference experience you’d like to share? The comment box is open and waiting for you.
Ragan Unconference Coverage
#raganunconf twitter coverage via @wiredprworks
Ragan Unconference Offers Advice for Digital Marketers via Airfoil Public Relations
Comet Branding TV Visits the Ragan Unconference by Al Krueger
The Ragan Social Media Unconference by Bizzy Women
At Unconference, Exchange of Ideas & Collegiality by Jessica Levco of Ragan.com
Chicago Ragan Conference on flickr by Amy Mengel
#raganunconf on flickr by Barbara Rozgonyi
Thanks to Mark for letting us take a picture with me and Beth Rosen on the right.
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