Aside from Team Detroit winning the Chevy SXSW road trip challenge, our interactive community has struggled to find ways to make a splash outside of the state about the great things going on here. We all can name several reasons why Michigan deserves more credit, but getting those with no ties to Michigan to believe that is the tough part.
But, something awesome happened last week. That something awesome is Jeff Pulver’s 140 Character Conference, which will be held for the first time in Detroit on October 20 (location TBD).
Don’t let the 140 characters reference fool you – 140conf is NOT a Twitter or social media conference. You will not learn about social media tools or social media best practices. The 140conf is all about providing insights and stories about the effects the real time Web has on society, businesses and us as human beings. This is a fast-paced conference that I imagine will leave our heads spinning…in a good way. Most presentations are 10 minutes, with “featured talks” and panel sessions at 15 or 20 minutes. Other cities that have hosted 140 conferences include New York City, Los Angeles, London and Tel Aviv. Washington D.C. plays host to the event this Thursday.
I had the pleasure of joining Jeff Pulver and a small group at dinner last week to learn more about the 140conf and to talk about how we can make people from all across the country want to attend the Detroit event. I wish everyone had the opportunity to hear Jeff talk about how he built this conference from the ground up. His passion for organizing these events is infectious. Jeff is giving people a stage all across the world to share their stories about how the online world affects the real world. I am seriously pumped to add some of our local stories to the mixing pot.
The 140conf hasn’t been around for too long, so having Detroit join the list of host cities this early in the game is quite an accomplishment. So you know what that means? We need statewide collaboration to blow 140conf Detroit out of the water. I’m looking at you Social Media Club Ann Arbor, Lansing Breakfast Club, Grand Rapids Social Marketing, Network Traverse City and all the other various organizations across the state. This is not a Detroit conference. This is a Michigan conference. We need to find speakers who can attest to how the real time Web has impacted their business, their lives, their industry or their society. We need to dig up those untold stories that are just dying to find a willing ear to listen.
Jeff told us about speakers who delivered such amazing stories about how the social Web boosts social change that he was moved to tears. I imagine this was one of them. Here’s a video of Mark Horvath (who was once homeless) delivering a presentation about using Twitter to, in his words, scream loudly about poverty. Mark has a great quote – “The magic of social media is when it comes off the virtual world into the real world.” This is a tearjerker.
We have roughly four months to pull 140conf Detroit together. We’re fresh off the heels of FutureMidwest, and this is a great opportunity to boost that momentum.
Want to get involved with 140conf Detroit? Blog, tweet and share details about the conference like mad to your various networks across the country (heck, even across the world!). The hashtag is #140conf Detroit. If you or someone you know would like to speak, you can submit a speaker proposal through July 9. If you want to share a speaker suggestion, feel free to ping me. Here’s a big way you can participate – register to attend. The early bird price is $100 now through September 10.
I have a really great feeling about this event. Let’s work together to make the inaugural Detroit event leave a positive impression on all those who are carefully watching us.