IZEAFest 2009
What can I say about IZEAFest? If I had to sum it up in 140 characters or less, it would be something like this:
I was lucky enough to be invited for my second year to the event, along with a handful of MindCometeers. Since the last event, we've launched our executive blogs, and most of our authors were in attendance and all ears.
There's a ton to learn at IZEAFest about blogging, personal branding, monetization and social media as a whole. Many renowned social media thought leaders were in attendance, including Brian Clark, Aaron Brazell, Sarah Evans, Chris Heuer, and even Chris Brogan, as well as a number of other top minds. Check them all out on the official IZEAFest site.
If you've never been to an IZEAFest, then it's hard to comprehend all of the data that is coming at you as an attendee. Outside of all of the great insights given on the keynotes, panels and educational sessions, the conference is truly powered by social media. A live Twitter stream is broadcast next to the stage that can also be followed on your laptop. People give opinions, criticism or just random thoughts. It really adds an extra layer to the event.
For the second year straight, #IZEAFest became a trending topic on Twitter. That is not a small feat, with the millions upon millions of conversations going on at any one time. If you'd like to see my thoughts and mini-recap, feel free to check out my #IZEAFest tweets, or find all of the #IZEAFest tweets in their entirety via Twitter Search.
It's a HUGE body of tweets, but if you have time, I'd recommend checking it out. You'll surely find tons of recaps and summaries at the end with key points, but I'll do my best to share a few as well. And while we're recapping the event, I might as well mention all of the drama. If you dig deep enough, you're sure to come across it, but grab the popcorn and maybe some caffeine, it'll take a while. AdRants does a good job of summing up all of the craziness in their article "IZEAfest Delivers Drama, Scares, Learning, Ice, Pizza" if you want to save some time.
But back to the serious side. Convention News Television covered the event and included an interview with Chris Brogan, which will give a small taste of what you may have missed.
Even if you were in attendance, with all of the ADD-feeding media, it is probably a good idea to review some of the sessions that were most relevant to you. If you weren't there, then hey, you can watch the videos below and relish in the hundreds of dollars in travel and lodging that you saved, but know that you still missed out on quite a lot. They say you meet the nicest people in a Honda (one of my favorite old ad slogans), but the same goes for IZEAFest. My biggest regret is not planning ahead to be able to partake in the complimentary Howl-O-Scream and SeaWorld events on the days prior and following the main event. Once the event is announced next year, my planning will commence. I don't want to miss a minute, and be sure that I'll be well-rested and sharp to absorb all of the knowledge floating around.
A big thanks to Trevor and Andrew for doing such a great job with the media of the event. Months of planning really paid off. It had a great look and really went off without a hitch. Plus, Trevor is a heck of a singer and really brought down the house the first evening singing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey. Trevor, I'm your biggest fan!
And while I'm at it, a super-huge thank you to Ted Murphy for having me, Ashley for painstakingly arranging the event, the SeaWorld team for providing a really wonderful venue and fantastic extra activities and the rest of the IZEA team for all of the hard work that they put into making the event such a resounding success!
Below you will videos of some of the sessions that I found most beneficial, and in some cases, entertaining. You can find even more on the IZEAFest USTREAM channel, where it was streamed live for those who couldn't make the trip.
I think everyone would agree that Chris Brogan gets a 10 for his session (or should I say performance) at IZEAFest. Not only was he hugely insightful, but hilarious. It's no wonder why over 100,000 people listen to what he has to say on Twitter every day.
And then there was this little guy who made a big splash: Tommy Fishback. After his presentation, they were calling him the next Ted Murphy. This brilliant kid just blew us away, and I can't wait to see what awesome things he accomplishes in the next few years.
There were a ton of other great sessions, including Personal Branding with Ted Murphy, where he unleashed his own new branding, and Marks of an Influencer with Aaron Brazell. I'm going to let you dig through USTREAM to find them, but it'll be worth your while.
If it's not obvious by now, I had a great time, and I can't wait to do it all over again next year! I'll leave you with a few random pics from the event. You can see many, many more on Flickr from all of the attendees. See you in 2010!
But wait... I almost forgot the finale! Ted finished off the event with a full-body-triple-cake-plow! It was nothing short of amazing.
@tedmurphy Cakeplow #izeafest on 12seconds.tv
I was lucky enough to be invited for my second year to the event, along with a handful of MindCometeers. Since the last event, we've launched our executive blogs, and most of our authors were in attendance and all ears.
There's a ton to learn at IZEAFest about blogging, personal branding, monetization and social media as a whole. Many renowned social media thought leaders were in attendance, including Brian Clark, Aaron Brazell, Sarah Evans, Chris Heuer, and even Chris Brogan, as well as a number of other top minds. Check them all out on the official IZEAFest site.
If you've never been to an IZEAFest, then it's hard to comprehend all of the data that is coming at you as an attendee. Outside of all of the great insights given on the keynotes, panels and educational sessions, the conference is truly powered by social media. A live Twitter stream is broadcast next to the stage that can also be followed on your laptop. People give opinions, criticism or just random thoughts. It really adds an extra layer to the event.
For the second year straight, #IZEAFest became a trending topic on Twitter. That is not a small feat, with the millions upon millions of conversations going on at any one time. If you'd like to see my thoughts and mini-recap, feel free to check out my #IZEAFest tweets, or find all of the #IZEAFest tweets in their entirety via Twitter Search.
It's a HUGE body of tweets, but if you have time, I'd recommend checking it out. You'll surely find tons of recaps and summaries at the end with key points, but I'll do my best to share a few as well. And while we're recapping the event, I might as well mention all of the drama. If you dig deep enough, you're sure to come across it, but grab the popcorn and maybe some caffeine, it'll take a while. AdRants does a good job of summing up all of the craziness in their article "IZEAfest Delivers Drama, Scares, Learning, Ice, Pizza" if you want to save some time.
But back to the serious side. Convention News Television covered the event and included an interview with Chris Brogan, which will give a small taste of what you may have missed.
Even if you were in attendance, with all of the ADD-feeding media, it is probably a good idea to review some of the sessions that were most relevant to you. If you weren't there, then hey, you can watch the videos below and relish in the hundreds of dollars in travel and lodging that you saved, but know that you still missed out on quite a lot. They say you meet the nicest people in a Honda (one of my favorite old ad slogans), but the same goes for IZEAFest. My biggest regret is not planning ahead to be able to partake in the complimentary Howl-O-Scream and SeaWorld events on the days prior and following the main event. Once the event is announced next year, my planning will commence. I don't want to miss a minute, and be sure that I'll be well-rested and sharp to absorb all of the knowledge floating around.
A big thanks to Trevor and Andrew for doing such a great job with the media of the event. Months of planning really paid off. It had a great look and really went off without a hitch. Plus, Trevor is a heck of a singer and really brought down the house the first evening singing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey. Trevor, I'm your biggest fan!
And while I'm at it, a super-huge thank you to Ted Murphy for having me, Ashley for painstakingly arranging the event, the SeaWorld team for providing a really wonderful venue and fantastic extra activities and the rest of the IZEA team for all of the hard work that they put into making the event such a resounding success!
Below you will videos of some of the sessions that I found most beneficial, and in some cases, entertaining. You can find even more on the IZEAFest USTREAM channel, where it was streamed live for those who couldn't make the trip.
I think everyone would agree that Chris Brogan gets a 10 for his session (or should I say performance) at IZEAFest. Not only was he hugely insightful, but hilarious. It's no wonder why over 100,000 people listen to what he has to say on Twitter every day.
And then there was this little guy who made a big splash: Tommy Fishback. After his presentation, they were calling him the next Ted Murphy. This brilliant kid just blew us away, and I can't wait to see what awesome things he accomplishes in the next few years.
There were a ton of other great sessions, including Personal Branding with Ted Murphy, where he unleashed his own new branding, and Marks of an Influencer with Aaron Brazell. I'm going to let you dig through USTREAM to find them, but it'll be worth your while.
If it's not obvious by now, I had a great time, and I can't wait to do it all over again next year! I'll leave you with a few random pics from the event. You can see many, many more on Flickr from all of the attendees. See you in 2010!
But wait... I almost forgot the finale! Ted finished off the event with a full-body-triple-cake-plow! It was nothing short of amazing.
@tedmurphy Cakeplow #izeafest on 12seconds.tv
