As noted on it’s website, “UnSummit 2008 is an technology+marketing conference created to serve those unable to get tickets to the the MIMA Summit on Oct. 1, 2008.” Though maybe not the intent of organizer Don Ball, it was also for those who didn’t want to pop for the rather spendy registration fee for said MIMA Summit, simply didn’t want to go, or were drawn to a more intimate setting. Whatever the motivation, the daylong event held at the Local Pub in Minneapolis was quite the success.
The day was set in the increasingly popular “unconference” format where the agenda naturally evolves around a given topic or question. Some fifty interactive and social media enthusiasts spent the day addressing a wide range of topics. Three separate “spaces” played host to discussion and presentations on How Traditional Agencies Can Move to Digital, Social Media Reality Check, New Possibilities in Video, Marketing Heresies, Community Management 101,The Future of PR, and a session addressing the lofty goal of Measuring ROI of Social Media…nope, we didn’t quite figure that one out. Dang!
In addition to the sessions, good food, and the ability to enjoy a Guinness before 11:00am, an ongoing project session to provide the Local and it’s sister Irish pubs with a social media strategy was undertaken. With so many creative professionals working on it, any business would have to consider this one heck of a bargain. Though time constraints prevented the finished plan from being presented, organizer Mykl Roventine intends to compile the pieces of the strategy and present it to the Local within the next few days.
Like many conferences these days there was no shortage of Twitter activity, and for a brief time, there was a bit of competition for “hash tag” (#unsummit08) dominance Twitter Search with the MIMA Summit being held down the street. That’s where the competition ended as many of the UnSummit faithful were very interested in the information coming from MIMA. I’m sure their participants were equally interested in what was happening at UnSummit. One of the pleasant surprises of the afternoon was an unexpected “phone-in” round of drinks and appetizers compliments of MIMA President, Matt Wilson. With plans for many of the UnSummit attendees to attend the happy hour with the MIMA Summit attendees you could almost feel a group hug coming on.
Don Ball, Mykl Roventine, Meg Canada and a host of other volunteers supplied the many social media outlets with a stream of information, session summaries, and photos. All readily available with visit to the blog, a search on Flickr for the tag unsummit08, and of course a Twitter Search for #unsummit08.
In his closing remarks organizer Ball noted that the next UnSummit will take place on a date that does not coincide with another event. Whether that is the case or not, there appears to be plenty of brain power and interest to go around in the Twin Cities.