So why was it worth it? Did I learn anything? Will I go again?

I think the major value was the networking. I literally have a pile of 60 – 70 business cards from attendees across all different industries. I met some really great people who are all in it for the same reasons. Everyone is there to learn and to explore leveraging new technology to increase social awareness. It’s really quite exciting, new, fun, and when you leverage these sites successfully for yourself or clients…it’s an incredible rush.

For decades huge media companies have owned the dissemination of information. Corporations like FOX, NYT, NBC, CBS, Viacom, etc. I would have to say that the influence of a Digg power account is comparable if not more effective than traditional media. When in history has so much power been given to masses? Exciting stuff to be a part of.

People Who Made An Impression

Marty Weintraub – aimClear, Search Marketing Firm
Marty convinced me that attending SMX would be a good idea and he was right. Thank you.

Brian Wallace – Nowsourcing, Search Marketing, IT, CMS, System Architecture,etc
I met Brian at the very end of the SMX conference. While the Wikipedia clinic was running we were in the back cheering-on his Digg submission, hoping for it to go popular…and it did!

Kimberly Krause Berg – Cre8pc, Website Usability Services
Kim was really cool. I met her first at the pre-party and then talked with her more throughout the event. On Tuesday night during the after-conference networking at Elmo, she invited me out to dinner with about 8 other folks. It was a great time. Thank you Kim!

Eric Lander – Search Engine Journal, Blogger
I met Eric during dinner on Tuesday night. Eric’s a good dude and a good writer. I’m sure I’ll be seeing him around the hood.

Matt McGee – Marchex, SEO Manager
I met Matt at dinner as well. Guy’s got a great sense of humor and really knows his answering services. I still reference Matt’s blog post about ‘How to Optimize A Site in 60 Minutes’

Eric Enge – Stone Temple Consulting, President
I sat across from Eric during dinner. A good dude that loves the Red Sox. I couldn’t believe how much SEO related writing he’s been contracted to do. The man is an SEO original gangsta.

Tamar Weinberg – Blogger
I met Tamar late in the second day. She had some advice for me on one of my live blogging posts. Thank you! Tamar is extremely passionate about what she does and an undoubted power user.

Or Darom –  888.com, Marketing
I met Or during the pre-party. She and her husband had flown all the way from Israel just to attend SMX. Like me, she had never been to a conference before and was excited to network and learn.

Liana Evans – KeyRelevance, Director of Internet Marketing
I met Li during dinner. I never knew someone could love Twitter so much. Li was taking pictures throughout the event and leading some interesting/hillarious dinner conversation. It was a pleasure to meet you Li!

Chris Winfield – 10e20, President
I talked with Chris briefly at the pre-party. He made an excellent suggestion to change my Sphinn username from my company name Squareoak to my actual name BrendanPicha. A good call. Good presentation btw Chris. Loved the linkbait ideas.

Jason Falls – Doe Anderson, Account Manager
Jason is more on the marketing side of things and was attending, like most, to learn more about social media. Jason flew up from Kentucky. I think you should definitely post that article idea you were talking about.

Rob Key – Converseon, CEO
I didn’t actually talk with or get to meet Rob but I thought his presentation was the most captivating. He compared marketers to anthropologists and how we’ll enter these online worlds without a clue about how they operate. He used an analogy about a television show where these two British guys try to get themselves adopted by a remote tribe. What they must do is:

Make friends with community elders
Understand and respect community mores
Lead with altruism and come bearing gifts
Discover what a community needs
Learn the linguistics
Value and cultivate the relationships
Leverage the opportunities

He then applied this to online communities. Applying these same techniques in order to leverage a marketing campaign within Second Life. The campaign turned out to be really successful. I really love when people mesh disciplines, theories, or industries and come to a conclusive understanding or solution. Very interesting stuff. Thanks Rob.

So will I be attending conferences in the future? Well if they’re anything like SMX you bet. I had a great time, met some fantastic people, and learned quite a bit.

It was nice to meet everyone and hopefully we’ll cross paths again soon!

I just returned from the Internet Marketers of New York and Best of Web SMX pre-party for Leukemia & Lymphoma. I’m happy to say that it turned out to be a great event. Everyone I met was extremely nice, outgoing, and very excited to be amongst others with similar interests.

If figured it would be a nice gesture to link back to the folks I met.

Alison Rogers
DG Neary Realty Ltd.

Chris Elwell
Third Door Media

Chris Winfield
10e20

Danny Sullivan
Search Engine Land

Drew Hayslip
Text Link Ads

Jason Falls
Doe Anderson

Jim Bedell

Joe Lanzillo
Obliq Sound

Jonathan Dingman
Text Link Ads

Liana Evans
KeyRelevance

Michael Demby
AC Lion

Neil Patel
Advantage Consulting Services

Or Darom
888.com

Rand Fishkin
SEOmoz

Shawn Pearson
EBSCO

Stephanie Weingart
City Loyalty Card

Vanessa Fox
Zillow

There were many others too but since I didn’t get their cards I can’t recall their info. The pre-party was fun and I’m anxious to see what the actual conference will be like.