Highlights of NewComm Forum 2009

NewComm Forum is the annual conference hosted by the Society for New Communications Research. It brings together thought leaders in the new media & communications space. Here’s why you should put it on your calendar for next year if you’re looking for one of the best events to attend.

It was an opportunity to connect in person with so many people! Most of my work is virtual so the face to face time is irreplaceable. Before the conference, some commented that conferences are expensive, but I’m not sure that people realize the value of attending an event with under 200 people. It’s an intimate size and the best of the best are very accessible to talk with at the conference as well as at the social events. You can browse the presentations here.

And here are some photos from the conference & tweet-up:

Shel Israel, author of Naked Conversations, is frequently quoted as saying, “We are building global neighborhoods”. And I had finally had the opportunity to meet my friend Gaurav Mishra from Mumbai, India. Our paths crossed a couple of years ago & they keep intersecting. At the time he was working in marketing at the largest car company in India. But I recognized his aspirations & it’s been enjoyable watching him achieve them. He just finished a Yahoo fellowship in DC. And he was excited to share that he’s resigned from his traditional job & heading into the entrepreneurial world. He is joining a start up! I expect to continue to hear great things from his side of the world & maybe some day I’ll get over there!

There was a tweetup before the conferences (yes, there were 3 conferences happening! I only attended two in 3 days).

I finally met Beth Kanter in person! We are mutual proponents. She’s the Queen of the non profit social media world. She’s moving to San Francisco due to her work & is writing a book. If Beth’s blog is an indicator then her book will be a valued resource for all of us.

Another big surprise was when Thomas Knoll handed me his business card. He generally looks like he’s up to something.. but I was surprised to see that he’s the Community Manager at UserVoice now! (He had been at Seismic for a year). Congrats Thomas & have fun on your new adventure!

Adam Helweh, @SecretSushi is on the right. Thomas said I had been quiet recently (I used to ping him with tech questions)… We had a good laugh because I admitted that Adam took them over in December when he helped me figure out podcasting on a PC. He’s a Mac person so I give him total credit for his patience! Adam does social media marketing & web design in the Bay area. He’s also my conscience on Twitter.

And it was also a pleasure to finally meet Katie Paine, the Queen of Measurement & Adrian Chan who is known for social interaction design. Much of NewComm Forum was focused on measurement & I’ll be working with Katie & Adrian on projects this year as a fellow Fellow. (If you’re interested in becoming a SNCR Fellow I’d highly recommend applying in December! It’s an opportunity to meet & work with some amazing people!!).

At the tweetup I also met Amber Naslund, Director of Community for Radian6. She recently had a very informative post on her role. Her blog is an excellent source for marketing ideas.

I’m looking forward to being back in San Francisco next week for Community 2.0!