My Day at the UGCX Conference

(I'm writing this in between sessions and along the way, so that is why the timeframe is kind of weird)

I'm here in San Jose, waiting for my turn to speak at the first annual UGCX Conference. I'm not up til 2pm or so, but I got here early to check out some of the other panels, which I rarely do. I just watched Bruce Livingstone (CEO) and Kelly Thompson (COO) from iStockphoto give the opening keynote. I like the dual / tagteam keynote. They announced that iStockAudio launches on Wednesday. Good quote too: "Be prepared for feedback and be prepared to change course."

Next I'm attending the panel titled, "Can Money be Made in UGC Rich Media in a Recession," mainly because Tim Kring (hard to see, but he's the guy in the photo just to the left of the moderator), the guy who created Heroes is on the panel. Also on the panel is Craig Sherman, CEO of Gaia Online and Jim Greer, CEO of Kongregate. I figured this would all be about Heroes, but I was wrong. The panel really stuck to the monetization of the UGC world. Jim explained that most of their money is made by advertising and Craig said his is mostly people spending money within his "world." Tim's model was a traditional television media model, but with tons of extensions (aka Transmedia) with monetized websites, products for sale, etc. Interesting panel but unfortunately I didn't get to ask my question which is how they do it with Heroes - How do they run all of those extensions; who pays for them (NBC or the show production); how many staff members to they have dedicated to those extensions? All of which will go unanswered unless I get a moment with Tim and I don't think that will happen.

My thought so far is that this is a good conference, I just wish the panels were at least 15 minutes longer so more questions could get answered. Or at least mine!

Went to the Marketing 2.0 panel after that. Good stuff. Everyone speaking to the transparency of digital communication, which I enjoy. Standout speaker in this one is Brian Solis. He's a leader in this space and boy is he an eloquent speaker. He said this memorable quote, "There is no viral marketing, just good people and good conversations. Respect the people and they will respect you."

Now sitting in the panel ready room blogging and catching up on emails. Also glancing up and evesdropping on a conversation with Craig Newmark (The Craig in Craigslist) as he prepares for his keynote.

My panel is soon. Nerves starting to kick in. Yes, I still get nervous when I speak.