Why I think #likeminds 2010 truly delivered

February 27, 2010 · View Comments

Last year I attended the inaugural Likeminds conference. I was hugely impressed with much of what I saw. There were some great speakers, great discussions and great content on show.

This year the Likeminds 2010 conference had all of the above. What took it that step further though was the people-to-people experience that guests (not customers) were part of.

Debate is bound to follow about the quality of the presentations and discussions. There will be different views on the value of what was on show and the messages that were being pushed. Saying that, the audience were invited to offer their opinions during panel discussions and not all panel members agreed with each other anyway. Like any conference, it is up to the individual to absorb everything and then make their own mind up. What Likeminds 2010 did was provide world class thought-leaders and practitioners (Chris Brogan, Olivier Blanchard, John Bell, Jonathan Akwue and Joanne Jacobs) that will hopefully inspire many others to take part in healthy, social media/online communications debates.

What I believe can’t really be debated is whether or not Likeminds 2010 delivered on what I believed to be the underlying theme of the whole experience: connecting people. They delivered big time. I don’t think I have ever attended a conference or event where talking to people has been made so easy. It might sound silly to say but it is true.

There were two stand out factors that made it easy for me to connect. Firstly, the name badges with the Twitter avatars on allowed me to spot people I have spoken to online but have never met in person. Secondly, booking lunches with speakers/panellists/guests who shared similar interests allowed me to speak to others with whom I knew I shared common ground. Along with the great hashtag feed and the willingness of most guests to mingle, an environment was created for people to connect to other people.

As Scott has said on many occasions, being part of a community is not enough. Good connections need to be made so that actions can actually follow.

I made many new connections at Likeminds 2010 and I am positive these will lead to many actions. Sure, I will enjoy debating the details of the event with many others over the coming weeks (putting on the ‘social media geek hat’ can be quite fun), but the overwhelming emotion I have right now is that Likeminds connected me to many great people and many positive outcomes are on the cards.

For this I would like to thank everyone who took part.

Do you agree? Did you find it easy to connect?

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@chrisbrogan and @robertpickstone

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Tagged as: conferences, connections, events, exeter, likeminds, people, relationships, social media

  • Agreed entirely Robert. And I think there was a little more too - it wasn't just easy to connect; there was a generosity in everyone there that made connections not just easy, but pleasant. It may sound a bit naff, but that warmth and openness is crucial to fire that interest in continuing a connection. I met some extraordinary talents at Like Minds - both on and off stage - and I look forward to some great discussion and business arising from the event.

    So glad you enjoyed it too!
  • I agree with you too, Joanne. Pleasant is just the right word. Whether it was in the queue to get in, over lunch or afterwards with the drinks - there were lots of pleasant conversations taking place and very little awkwardness between strangers.

    Please keep us updated on Twitter with any actions and outcomes that take place due to Likeminds. I am sure Scott, Drew and other Likeminds would love to here. I am working on a couple of things that have only taken place due to conversations and connections from last week. It is a very good feeling.

    Also, loved your speech. Plenty of food for thought and your passion really came through!

    Hopefully speak soon.
  • annholman
    Great post Rob. In fact, a few of us had a huge conversation about how Likeminds made it so easy for people to connect, discuss and share those ideas we all have about this groundswell of not just technological but cultural change.

    I certainly felt part of a community and the participants were at the heart of it too. My thoughts on Likeminds are in the link below:

    http://annholman.co.uk/marketing/likeminds-raise-the-game-again/
  • So good to see you Friday.

    You're so right: LikeMinds facilitated connections between people. Exactly because of LikeMinds, I know of two specific projects that are moving forward as a collaboration between the US and UK that simply would not have happened without LikeMinds. Period. In other words, LikeMinds brought people together who used the opportunity for mutual discovery and then acted upon their discoveries.

    Conventions and conferences are hardly about the content: they're about the connections and conversations around content AND the personal initiative to do the mutual discovery to make something happen AFTER the event.

    Events can be the fuel. People still have to take the initiative to sit down in the car, turn the key, and press the accelerator. Sounds like that's precisely what you did—filled up on the fuel of LikeMinds and chose to make the connections to get something done.

    Cheers.
  • Thank you, Trey.

    It was great chatting to you last week.

    You are right - the real action take place around the content by the connections that are made and the drive to act upon a desire. I am going to start working on a small project next week and there is plenty of opportunity for other Likeminds to get involved. It will benefit them, it will benefit the community and hopefully it will benefit the use of social media by local companies.

    This will probably be explained in my next blog post!

    Again, thank you Trey and hopefully speak very soon.

    Rob
  • jonathanalder
    Hi Robert

    Good post - and it's very true; the avatar badge certainly made it easy for me to recognise you face to face, after meeting you online! And there were lots of good examples of how to engage with people, which is really valuable for me when we're talking to our clients about how they use social media.
  • Hi Jonathan,

    Thanks very much! You spotting my avatar was a perfect example of how Scott's people-to-people touch actually worked - I am also chuffed you read my blog! Again, thank you.

    Rob
  • Hi Robert.

    Yes, the real people connections was what did it for me as well, and I have spent today following up on those contacts, and writing a blog post about my own experiences at http://www.superliving.co.uk/blog/2010/02/28/like-minds-conference-2010/
  • Hi Colin,

    Glad you also made some real connections and I hope the results of them are fruitful for all.

    I loved your blog post. Agree with so much of it.

    Rob
  • Hey Rob

    You're right here - the idea is for us to connect. Community just isn't enough. A community will read your blog, but connections will work with you on projects.

    S
  • Spot on.

    I am going to start working on a mini-project soon and will get in touch with you about it. We sort of touched upon it in Starbucks last Wednesday evening. There will be a chance for lots of people to get involved and benefit.

    Speak soon.
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