Web 2.0 Expo – 10 favorite presentations you want to share with your boss

I think those who were there would agree that the quality of Web 2.0 Expo presentations this year was exceptional. One problem we all had was choosing which one to go to. While I tried to cover it all I managed to miss quite a few. Bummer! But because of the generosity of speakers who posted the presentations afterwards I could compile this list of 10 presentations I want to share with my boss.  Those who attended please let me know what are your top 10 picks.

“Content First” by Kristina Halvorson

Great systemic approach to long-term content creation and management strategy. Kristina is a very engaging speaker. The slides do not reflect the full breath of her insights and sense of humor, but at least you’ll get the  gist. You should use this presentation to explain that since “content is king” you must approach content creation with at lease as much devotion as you would arguing about your website’s color scheme.  Kristina is on Twitter at @halvorson and blogs at Brain Traffic blog

I also published my notes from her presentation.

“The Whuffie Factor: the 5 Keys for Maxing Social Capital & Winning with Online Communities” by Tara Hunt

I did not get to see Tara Hunt speak. Honestly, not sure how I missed her since I really love following her on Twitter (Tara is @missrogue). What I like best is her “no excuse” attitude towards companies that jump on the bandwagon of social media only to say, “Facebook fan page? yes, we’ve go that…” Tara also blogs at Horse Pig Cow

Let’s Get Engaged! The New Customer Relationship Landscape by Lane Becker

This is one of these presentations you want to whip out every time somebody complains about your company’s  cost of customer service.  Use it to help explain the shift happening in how we  approach customer service in the new customer-centric organization . I also published my notes from Lane’s preso for your reading pleasure (scross down to mid-post). Lane Twitter handle is @monstro

“The Serendipity Engine” by Chris Brogan

Serendipity and twitter search -that’s  what excites Chris the most about Twitter. Use this presentation to help your boss understand that spreading his wings in social spaces such as Twitter and linkedIn will result in opportunities he/she would otherwise be totally oblivious to. Nice one Chris. BTW, I just finished Chris’s book (co-written with Julien Smith) titled “Trust Agents.”

“Social Media Protocols: What You Need to Know BEFORE Your Team Starts Posting, Tweeting & Commenting”  by Veronica Fielding

Missed seeing this one in person as well 😦 The slides however offer a great Social Media primer with  easy to understand train metaphor and actionable first steps. I think this presentation can be useful when talking to folk who need to start at the very beginning, but are focused on processes & policies  (aka your upper management 🙂

Social Media Protocols Presentation Slides (PDF)

“Preparing for a New Kind of Customer Relationship – Business & Community in the Facebook Era” by Clara Shih

Clara goes over the four pillars of the Social Web for Business incl. Facebook Apps, pages, and ads and Twitter. This presentation will help you convince your boss that investing in Facebook presence development IS good for business. Clara’s twitter handle is @clarashih

“Aligning Social Media with Business Strategy” by Debra Louison Lavoy

Great emphasis on addressing business goals as the starting point on your Social Media journey.   You might want to review the presentation and come to your boss’s office ready to discuss your company’s business goals behind future Social Media initiatives .  Debra’s Twitter handle is @dlavoy

“Social Media: Secret Weapon for SEO” by Michael Reynolds

This is one of these presentation I should have gone to, but I opted for a much more advanced SEO session that proved to be too technical for me. This presentation is great  for explaining keywords (incl. long tail keywords & Google’s keyword tool), HURLs (human readable URLs 🙂 and individual Social Media channel optimization incl. Facebook, social video, blogs, etc.  Make sure you address all of these issues on your social spaces first and then visit your boss’s office to brag 🙂

“Innovative Analytic: Quantifying the Business Value of Relationships on the Social Web” by Sanjay Dholakia

Lots of cool Social Media stats and ROI examples from private online communities. Tailored to large companies rather than small start-ups though. Sanjay’s company Lithium has been Pitney Bowes partner in creating our Online User Community.

Quantifying the Business Value of Relationships on the Social Web (PDF, 4MB)

“Marketing via Fan Boys/Fan Girls: Your Customers As Your Brand Evangelists” by Lisa Conquergood

Lisa works at Picnik (online image editor tied to flickr.com) and her presentation’s  emphasis is on B2C (hoped for some more B2B examples). What I liked in her presentation was the honesty that getting your customers to become your fans is often a lot of hard work, but the payoff is worth it!

Marketing via Fan Boys/Fan Girls -Your Customers As Your Brand Evangelists (PDF)

The Hidden Costs of Social Sites by Ron Surfield

Show this presentation to your boss if he things that User Generated Content will be the best money-saving, content-creating & his bonus-generating move your website has ever made. Maintaining a website with sizable User Generated Content components is hard work!

The Hidden Costs of Social Sites Presentation (PDF w/ notes)