What events will you attend in 2008?
I think we all have the challenge of identifying and justifying event attendance in our marketing roles. I have informally asked from time to time where people are heading, but results have been hit and miss. Why do I ask? Simple, the most valuable conferences that I've attended have brought me face-to-face with fantastic people. Those relationships lead to great opportunities and incredible brainstorming.
Personally, last year's MarketingProfs B2B Forum was a great conference. I was able to meet awesome people and make some lasting connections. Among those I was able to meet for the first time were Ann Handley of MarketingProfs and Todd Andrlik and I was able to re-connect with David Armano and CB Whittemore.
The most comprehensive marketing event list that I've seen was generated by Chris Brogan and you can see it here. These are only suggestions though. What matters most is the people who are attending. To help everybody out I've created a short (2 question) survey to ask where you are going and why. My thinking it that the more people at an event, the more value you receive.
If you have a minute and want to help crowdsource event attendance, click on the link below. Any other events you think of that are not on the list can be emailed to me or suggested through the form. I'll share the results with everybody in a week or so.
Technorati Tags:
event, marketing, Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer
Dang, that Matt Dickman a tall feller. Either that or Armano is a bit of a munchkin. I'll see you in NYC at BS08.
Posted by: Doug Meacham | Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 11:04 PM
Gotta make it to the Affiliate Summit Matt. Many people think it's just for affiliate people, but I have to tell you, affiliate people know the entire world of online marketing, nuts to bolts.
www.affiliatesummit.com. Bloggers get press passes pretty easy. Must event. I'm the emcee in Feb, come say hi!
Posted by: Jim Kukral | Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 11:05 PM
That was a fun event in Chicago, Matt, wasn't it? Thanks for all your efforts blogging, videoing, and otherwise digitally capturing the spirit of that time.
MarketingProfs has three events this year -- a virtual event on March 5 (free!) and live events in June (in Boston) and October. Hope to see you (or your readers) at one of them.
Posted by: Ann Handley | Monday, January 14, 2008 at 08:42 PM
You must be a mind-reader, Matt - I was about to do a post asking people about marketing events that they thought were most valuable, but you're several steps ahead. I look forward to seeing the results!
Posted by: Steve Woodruff | Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 08:25 PM
Matt, you are always full of interesting approaches to life! Thanks for being such a source of inspiration and see you soon at Blogger Social! Happy 2008.
Posted by: C.B. Whittemore | Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 09:38 PM
Doug -- I am on the tall side, David's no munchkin though. Can't wait for the social!
Jim -- I'll consider your recommendation for the Affiliate Summit. You and I need to meet up sometime soon.
Ann -- Thanks for adding more info. Chicago was extremely valuable for me.
Steve -- It's very hard to make decisions on events. They all sound so good. Hopefully this helps out.
C.B. -- Thanks for that compliment, it means a lot coming from you! See you in NYC.
Posted by: Matt Dickman | Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 02:45 PM
After looking into several, it looks like we're going to attend the New Communicators Forum - thanks for your help.
Posted by: michelle v | Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 02:55 PM
Michelle -- That's excellent. Be sure to check back to see what people vote as the next best options.
Posted by: Matt Dickman | Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 02:58 PM