Moderation
May 14, 2009
Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to have been chosen to moderate a panel discussion put on Technology First in Dayton, Ohio. The event was entitled “My Web 2.0 Story,” and featured a diverse and talented panel made up of the following professionals:
- Alan See – Berry Network
- Doug Ross – Western Southern
- Tony Blankemeyer – PicsMatch
- Joshua Smith – NCR
- Neil Arthur – Dayton Business Journal
The panel was great – Alan is a Marketer, Doug is an IT Guru, Tony a young entrepreneur, Joshua is an HR professional, and Neil a newspaper publisher. They provided an excellent mix of viewpoints, backgrounds, and skills. Each panel member contributed unique ideas to the conversation, and they worked surprisingly well with one another to articulate their views. I dropped in my two cents from time to time as well.
Common themes included transparency, service, and innovation. There was considerable discussion around the idea of using web 2.0 as a business tool for listening – both internally to the needs of employees and externally to customers, competitors, and influencers. Finally, just about everyone recommended that the best way to understand web 2.0 was, as Alan See put it “to get in the water and swim.”
Interestingly there was considerable discussion around the measurement of social media. I am fascinated by this concept, and view this as an emerging area of opportunity in the technology space. The ability to measure not just activity on the social web, but to then link it to internal metrics and measures is fascinating. I am currently exploring this space as part of my job here at LUCRUM, so it was good to hear so many questions about it. (I will be discussing this more in upcoming posts, but suffice it to say I am excited about it.)
Andy Hickey, with the Technology First, had the great idea of having the tables construct questions during the lunch portion of the meeting at the begining. I then called on the tables throughout the meeting to ask questions – sort of analog web 2.0 style. We bounced back and forth between my questions and those of the crowd – all of which were exceptional.
I made a number of new connections at the meeting and picked up some great ideas as well. My thanks to Andy, Ann, the panel, the crowd, and everyone who made the event so much fun.
If you were there, I would love to hear your thoughts on the event. What did you like? What didn’t you like? What was the best question / answer you heard? Who was your favorite panelist? Chicken or beef? Please share your comments…
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Moderation | TheFutureValueofBusiness.com http://bit.ly/MGKTa
Moderation | TheFutureValueofBusiness.com: A review of the Technology First My Web 2.0 Event.
TheFutureValueof.. http://bit.ly/New7W
I attended and thought it was a great event. I can’t wait to see a similar event in Cincinnati, as I think it will be a sell-out! Could not have asked for a better panel – they were all excellent speakers, and each had slightly different perspectives and approaches – so many lessons learned. The moderator did his usual outstanding job. Liked Alan’s advice about “swimming” – but would add – never swim alone, or have a life jacket is also a good advice – (ie – have a plan, be prepared) – because once you start having conversations – you have to keep listening!
And chicken, definitely the chicken.