Online Community Unconference East

A couple of us attended Forum One Communications’ Online Community Unconference East today. When Bill Johnston, the organizer of the unconference, sent me an email to invite us to participate, I have to admit my initial response was, “unconference what?” Having just spent the day at the unconference, all I have to say is, “Unconference is AWESOME!”

For those unacquainted with the unconference (= me 12 hours ago) check out the Wikipedia description here. The 2 second is, everyone gets together, stands up to introduce yourself, an agenda is created on the spot by participants, participants volunteer to facilitate discussions, you choose sessions you want to attend, you contribute, learn and participate. What better way to spend the day talking about online communities with community leaders and managers.

I was able to sit in on two sessions. The first was, “Building Communities: What are the considerations?” This is a topic we’re very passionate about at KickApps. If you haven’t read our white paper on this yet, check it out here. The second was, “Leveraging Facebook and others.” Another topic we’re seeing a lot of momentum around from our clients, check out what VIBE did with MySpace here.

This was probably the first time I’ve been at an event where everyone who attended was so passionate about online communities. People were genuinely interested in learning from and sharing what they’ve learned with others. Even more amazing is the pace in which people are pushing the envelope with social media everyday. I see it everyday with our clients and saw in everywhere I looked today.

As I was leaving I had a brief chat with David of TV Guide Online. We talked about how notable it is that we’re starting to see titles like ‘Community Manager’ and that the unconference was a rare opportunity for community managers to gather as a group. I hope that this is just the beginning.

If you ever get the chance to participate in one of Forum One’s and Bill’s unconferences, DO IT!