Presenting to the Presenter

Oh we have fun...on every trip it is always fun to get in front of business owners, do a presentation and have fun doing it. Sometimes (not always!) the sessions end in applause - there's no better feeling.

So... This week I went to Search Engine Strategies in NYC. How FUN! What was most interesting was watching other industry types presenting their material. I have to say, since I have been doing so many seminars to thousands of people, I had a perspective that many in attendance probably do not share.

I went into each session thinking, "What can I learn from this guy" and "What presentation techniques can I learn." I learned a lot with this in mind...

First and foremost, it occurred to me what value really means. There were a few presentations that were the very definition of VALUE. For example, Benu Aggarwal, founder and president of Milestone Internet Marketing gave a fantastic 15 minute presentation on local search. She was part of a three person panel. While the others were good, they were theoretical in large part, while Benu went into specifics of what to do to optimize for local - I wished she'd had more time!

I suppose since we all have a different frame of reference, things that seem unimportant to me may be very important to others, but if I hear "content is king" one more time!! Okay, I am guilty of saying it too, but still - these rules don't apply to me.

I went into the "How to Optimize for Social Media" session and I only lasted about 10 minutes. The place was PACKED. I tried to get this on film, but I don't think the photos do it justice. There was not even "lean against the wall" space! Check out the view down the back wall...

And the front view - notice the people sitting on the floor in the aisle! Can anyone say, "fire code violation?!"

One thing was clear - Web 2.0, social networking, whatever you want to call it, was definitely the hot topic. My guess is that this is because video and rich media have really made their way into the mainstream of Web sites and the best mediums to publicize these forms of data is through social networks. But hey, what do I know... All I do know is that people were devouring the info presented.

Great show - see you next week from sunny Miami, Florida!