Comet Branding visits the Ragan Unconference
Last week I rolled down to Chicago from Milwaukee on the Amtrak Hiawatha to attend the Ragan Communications Unconference (#raganunconf). I have attended unconferences in the past and I was very interested to see how they were hosted in Chicago. In all, it was a great experience and while there Comet Branding TV interviewed Ragan CEO, Mark Ragan, and Amber Naslund from Radian 6.
This unconference event was a bit different than others that I have attended. For one thing it was focused on using social media in communications/public relations and for another, it was about five to 10 times larger than any unconference I have ever experienced. This in itself presented some challenges.
The session I participated in focused on external communications in the main ballroom at The Drake hotel. There were nearly 400 people in the room and only two moderators with one microphone each. So, it was a bit hard for good ongoing conversation and dialog. But, many great points were made and many interesting discussions took place.
I also learned that if you want to stand out at a corporate/agency communications/PR event – dress like a social media type or wear a unique hat. I think Amber and I were two of very few people who were wearing jeans and there were no other hats insight. It was great fun though.
I was very happy that I ended up attending the event because I was able to meet some great people for the first time, meet some people in person who I know through Twitter and I had the chance to share some ideas/thoughts/experiences that I have. It was pretty rad. Well worth the train ride.
A couple issues that interested many people are the legal implications of using social media in business and developing social media guidelines for organizations.
At our agency, we also host the Comet Branding Radio show and the topic we are covering on our May 20th show centers on these very same legal implications and processes for the corporate- and agency-side communicators. We will have two great lawyers on the show to field questions and discuss the topic.
After the unconference portion of the event, I met up with Amber (@ambercadabra), who has been on the Comet Branding Radio show and it was great fun meeting her in person. During the interview we discussed Amber’s vision for the future of social media, three things business can do today in social media and what she has coming up next. You can see her interview here:
Comet Branding interviews Amber Naslund at the Ragan Unconference (May 8, 2009) from Comet Branding on Vimeo.
Similar to most communications professionals I am certainly aware of Ragan.com and some of their events and it was rad to meet and interview Mark Ragan himself. In this interview we discussed how he became involved in his father’s business and the experience of transitioning a traditional media publication into a new media one as it is today. You can see his interview here.
Comet Branding interviews Mark Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communications at the Ragan Unconference (May 8, 2009) from Comet Branding on Vimeo.
What are you thoughts or what was your experience at the Ragan Unconference last week? Share them in the comments. I’d love to hear them.
Upcoming Comet Branding Radio Shows (Weds @ 11am CDT):
May 13th — In-bound Marketing with Hubspot.com’s Brian Halligan, CEO and Mike Volpe, VP of Marketing
May 20th — Legal issues in Social Media for Communicators with Christopher Cain, Foley & Lardner and Chris Moander, Dahlberg Przybyla Law
May 27th — Discussing the new book “Putting the public back in public relations” with Brian Solis.
May 12, 2009 at 4:21 pm #
Hi Al! Great to meet you in person after hearing your radio show. You shared some excellent insights – and yes, your hat did stand out.
Good tip for being memorable and easy to find at a conference.
When I arrived, I wondered how in the world a group that large could converse for a few hours, but it worked. I think we all learned from each other and as a group we covered the biggest social media questions from a communicator’s perspective.
Hope you’ll take the train back to Chicago for our Social Media Club events.
Thanks for this post as well as the interviews.
@wiredprworks
May 12, 2009 at 4:28 pm #
One word, re- the un-conference: underwhelming.
May 12, 2009 at 7:07 pm #
Hey Al:
I liked your comments here. It also gives me perspective on how you can turn a blog post into something much more interesting by using video and putting the Ragan interview on. I watched while you conducted the interview and had a feeling that I was going to see the interview soon. It was great meeting you, and perhaps I can have you guest on my radio show to talk about social media. ( I know, that’s so old school)
Marty
May 12, 2009 at 7:22 pm #
Wow. These are some good comments. Who else attended and what did you think? Did anything rad happen to you while you were there?
Does anyone have recommendations on other cool events that are coming up that we should hit up?
Tell us!!!
May 13, 2009 at 9:00 am #
Hey Al,
Was so much fun to finally meet you in person! Thanks for giving me a little bit of time to play in your sandbox. Really enjoy what you’re doing, and looking forward to chatting it up lots more in the near future.
Cheers!
Amber
May 13, 2009 at 9:04 am #
Hey Amber! Thanks for the comment on the post. It was great meeting you as well – especially considering the conversations that we have had. You are a blast and I too look forward to more chats in the future.