The Web Summit took place this week in Dublin and saw some 10,000 speakers, attendees and exhibitors arriving into our fair city. These were the big highlights and learnings for us so we hope it can bring something to your business too.
Paddy Cosgrave on the Main Stage at Dublin Web Summit
The Atmosphere & Pace Of The Web SUmmit
The pace of the conference was fast and the atmosphere electric. I have never been to an event where it seemed so perfectly acceptable, and perhaps even encouraged, to be using your smartphone and tablet almost the entire time. Devices were so prevalent but it was apparent that the laptop is not dying out in favour of the tablet just yet, with many attendees sitting taking notes on laptops – even walking and using a laptop at the same time, throughout the conference. It was wonderful to see everyone participating not just by listening, but taking notes, capturing videos and tweeting out information and statistics to those not at the conference. And it didn’t result in people not talking face to face – I actually met and chatted with more people as a result of twitter interactions than i possibly would have otherwise.
The Importance of Great Content
There were a number of ‘content producers’ and journalists in attendance, not just to cover the Web Summit, but also as speakers. One great forum was held on the future of content online with guests speaking on the topic including Guardian Journalist, James Ball and the CEO of the Huffington Post. Through their discussion, it became clear that the internet doesn’t mean ‘real journalism’ has died, but we are seeing a need for a diverse range of styles of writing online. Two of the forums speakers noted the need for ‘background pieces’ on news stories that some people will know very little about, and can use as a starting point for further research, along with in depth, detailed ‘as it happens’ coverage for those following particular stories and events.
Using Social Media for Business
I had the great joy of listening to speakers from Twitter and Facebook among other social media experts. What came across from almost everyone speaking on this topic, was that the best way to use it as a business is to put a lot of thought and effort into it and to really consider the person reading it. Cindy Gallop described social media as the ways we search for “little pellets of love” – checking our pages for a like or an interaction that will uplift us. Humour is important as is honesty and transparency, it encourages trusting relationships between your customer and your business. It’s also important to do your research and predict what may do well. If there is a football match on, there will be a winner and there will be a loser. Have a tweet or post prepared in advance that’s clever and can capitalise on the energy of the result. You can’t just wait and hope for inspiration to hit you like a bolt of lightning.
If you didn’t get the opportunity to attend the event, you can still get in on the action with the videos of speakers now online here.
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