Community at Convergence 2010

I was really fortunate to get to go to Convergence this year. The team heard from a lot of people who are considering whether to invest in social software/media. The big question this Convergence was, “What is the cost of not investing?” My favorite piece of advice that I must have given out so many times is, “Do you have someone already participating in social media that you can empower to own this for the company?”

But in all three of the sessions I participated in, it was clear that most companies are either full embracing or start to adopt participation in the various Internet communities. There was story after story of successful interactions with partners, customers, and the community. For example, the Charlotte Bobcats (NBA) uses their community outreach programs to provide discounted or free tickets on slow game nights. And they do this to great success. The also empower some of the staunchest fans to become moderators on the Bobcat Community site.

It was standing room only for most of our sessions. The one at the end of the last day had the least people at twenty with many of the folks already heading out to catch their flights home. I did notice a lot more high powered cell phones being used during all sessions as people checked their email, twitter, and facebook accounts.

Shout outs to my co-presenters for the three sessions: MVP Julie Yack X 2, MVP Shan McArthur X2, MVP Leon Tribe, CRMUG director Mark Rhodes and Laura Robinson.

On the last day I got a chance to try to win this three wheel bike at the Cogep folk’s booth. All I had to do was guess the correct 6-digit number in one guess. No one was able to claim the bike by the end of the show.  ;O)