The best of Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco

Posted by Jaan on April 15th, 2009 | Add your comment

It’s a nice tradition I have, to write my W2E wrap-ups several weeks after everyone else has had their say and moved on :) Still, here are four of my favorites from this year’s Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco.

All of them relevant in their own right, as a group they showcase the broad scope of the event. The session may also come in handy when convincing clients of “the right thing to do”, aka. third party pitch fuel.

Sparking a Crush: Attracting and Retaining New Users
Alexa Andrzejewski/Adaptive Path
“For ‘people-powered’ services, attracting and retaining a critical mass of active participants is essential. To create a new user experience that leaves users itching to go further, you must understand and appeal to people’s motivations.”

Why social media marketing fails
Charlene Li/Altimeter Group, Peter Kim/Dachis Corporation, Jeremiah Owyang/Forrester
“One of the biggest failures comes from people thinking of social media as ‘campaigns’ [...].”

“S” word – Why Sales Shouldn’t Be a Dirty Word in Web 2.0
Alastair Mitchell/Huddle
“So what have we learnt from 18 months of ‘properly’ selling Huddle? I’ve tried to summarize some of the hardest (and therefore most valuable) lessons [...].”

Social Media Buyer’s Guide (Slides)
William Gaultier/e-Storm International, Chris Heuer/Social Media Club and AdHocnium, Michael Walsh/Social Media Club, Isabelle Christensen/REC Solar, and Jeanette Gibson/Cisco
“What are the questions that need to be asked? What are the services you should avoid and the ones you should embrace? How much should it cost? How do you avoid the biggest mistakes? What ROI can be expected (brand, awareness, increase positive WOM, decrease negative WOM)? How can agencies/consultants help you sell social media internally?”

Quotes from Jennifer Leggio/ZDNet, Web 2.0 Expo, and the presenters.