So I figured that I would go to the Search Engine Strategies and the most important thing that I would need to focus on would be the actual sessions that I was attending…I was wrong.
I found out the first night that I arrived at Hilton Hotel in New York that even more important than the actual conference was the networking. By networking I mean getting drunk with other people in the industry,telling them what you do and exchanging business cards. My “networking” began when my husband and I attended a charity event at a local tavern. Open bar for 3 hours, you can’t beat that. Needless to say we got a little tipsy but that’s when the real fun starts.
Since I am very new to blogging and making money on the web I really don’t know who the superstars of the game are. I had a couple of people introduce themselves and it quickly became clear that they were trying to elude to the fact that they are pretty important people. I even had one little man ask me what I did, I told him and he kind of chuckled at me. When I asked him if he was laughing at me he said yes, yes he was. Imagine, someone having the nerve to laugh at E Diddy.
On the other hand I also met some really cool people who were very down to earth which ended up to be some pretty influential people on the web. You could almost say best of the web (did you see what I did there?). I also met a really excellent woman named Liana Evans of Commerce360. She actually put together a lunch for the woman in the industry to attend. Unfortunately I had to leave before it took place so I couldn’t go but I thought that was a great idea. Thank you Liana for the invite. When I told these people what it is I have been doing with myself they thought it was great. I mean, you have to start somewhere don’t you?
I’m really new to the whole networking thing, I made that crystal clear when I didn’t bring my business cards with me to the party. I had a couple people laughing at me when they asked for my card and I told them they were back in my room, but I was laughing at myself about that one so it was ok.
My biggest problem was that when someone asked me what I do, I didn’t know what to say. I don’t consider myself a copywriter because I think you really need to be experienced at it and so far…I’m not that experienced. I would have to go into these long explanations, blah, blah, blah, and I would see people’s eyes start to glaze over. So what did I do? I just started saying I’m a copywriter. It was just easier for everyone that way.
One thing I did gain some experience in is seeing pretty quickly when someone is trying to make me think that they are somehow more important than they really are. If you feel the need to let me know how influential you are it tells me you aren’t too secure with what it is you do, you lack some confidence in yourself and constantly need to prove yourself to strangers…sucks to be you.
I know you’re asking yourself, “what did she learn from the actual conference?” I did learn a lot. I was on the beginner track which dealt with a lot of the basic stuff that I am working on becoming great at writing for search engines and link building basics. The presentations were great and even more importantly you didn’t have to take that many notes because all of the slides are available for download. Perfect!
My favorite session was spent listening to Jennifer Slegg and Jeremy Schoemaker talk about their business and their dealings with contextual ads. It was really interesting to hear their experiences and see that they began pretty much the same as anyone else. It was really encouraging.
All in all as a beginner I give SES New York my approval. I think if you can get the money together or better yet have someone else pay for it you should definitely attend. Make sure to bring your business cards! Oh yea and Ken sends a SHOUT OUT to Mr Drinkbait, Chris Hooley.
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April 16th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Please tell Erin that I don’t fully understand her patois, although her age-group readers may. And learn how to spell: allude, not elude
April 25th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
You know, sometimes one just slips by me. I have already learned how to spell Tom. Look I did it right there, and there. Wow, if only I could be this perfect with my spelling all the time. Maybe then I wouldn’t have my errors pointed out to me by someone who doesn’t fully understand my patois. Nice word by the way, it makes you seem really smart. Come on, you know that’s what you were going for. In all actuality it was a grammar error and not a spelling error.
I am curious as to what part of my jargon you don’t fully understand, could you explain yourself a little better? Maybe I could clear something up for you.