A Call for Speakers

We’re off to a blazing start! So far, we have:

  • no date
  • no city
  • no venue
  • no budget
  • no sponsors
  • no speakers

Minor technicalities!  But we can start working on the last, at least.

There are a few people out there who I know would commit themselves to leading some type of unconference session.  There are others who would love to do it, if the time and place worked into their schedule.

So, treat this as a wish list.  In the comments below, drop a few names of people who you think would be a great addition.  Give us some ideas.  If enough of you “nominate” the same people, we might just have the momentum to make it happen.

Or else, you get to hear me yammer the entire weekend.

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22 Responses to “A Call for Speakers”

  1. studionashvegas Says:

    dave delaney needs to speak on twitter. period.

    Oh, and I’ll do something on WordPress if you’re up for having me.

  2. dougal Says:

    Trying to think of a few people who are moderately local…

    I think Nick Bradbury (of FeedDemon fame) is in Nashville. Here in Atlanta, we’ve got Andy Edmonds, who does a lot of web usability testing stuff. My friend Glen Gordon (also in ATL) is a Developer Evangelist for Microsoft, so speaking at conferences is basically his day-job. My brother-in-law Robert Cain (BHM) could probably present something on either Microsoft .NET, SQL Server or ham radio stuff.

    Going outside the local area, there’s Alex King (my boss), Matt Mullenweg, Kelly Goto, Dean Edwards, John Resig, Shelley Powers, Molly Holzschlag…

    Obviously my slant is towards web design and development, but I’ve got a couple of friends in the PC Gaming industry (at Big Huge Games)…

  3. Connie Crosby Says:

    May I take part from Toronto? Um, what I mean is, I’m happy to help with an ooVoo http://www.oovoo.com demo if we can schedule a time that works.

    That being said, f you can get REM to participate, I’ll come down in person. ;-)

  4. Dana Franks Says:

    I would like to see at least one panel devoted to using new media platforms for traditional media orgs (TV, newspaper, print, PR, etc.) and the challenges therein (I could easily see this as two panels, and it could branch out to more.) I would like to be a part of this, along with Ike, Christian Grantham (blogger for Nashville is Talking, Rex Hammond of Hammonds Media in Nashville, and probably some folks from ATL (I know at least one guy who worked at WRAL.com with me and now is with CNN.com who would be incredible for this, if it’s in easy driving distance.)

    Gathering media bloggers, web producers and editors and all the folks involved in the content side of news or marketing have been sorely overlooked in a lot of techie conferences, and doing some stuff like this would probably attract a crowd.

  5. lalunablanca Says:

    I’d step-up to Solo or Panel on:
    - Facebook for business
    - LinkedIn for professionals
    - Ning communities
    - Social Media Breakfast in your city (panel only)
    - Web Development Shops convert your clients into Social Media adoptors.
    - Social Media Evangelism (panel only)

    I would love to hear presentations/discussions on:
    - Societal Impact of Social Networking
    - Getting the Digital Have-Nots onto the Social Networks
    - Social Networking as educational curricula

  6. Paul Chaney Says:

    I second the motion on Rex Hammock (not Hammonds…Hammock), Toby Bloomberg is a MUST for the marketing track as is Mack Collier. Toby hails from ATL and Mack from Huntsville.

    Also, if we happen to cover Web design or Web content management, our Senior VP of Production at Bizzuka, Shannon Lynd, is awesome. She’s worked in tech companies in the Bay area and NYC, but decided to come home to Lafayette, LA to raise her family. I call Shannon the “most competent person I’ve ever met.’

    Forgive me if it seems like I’m splitting hairs, but I’d really rather have speakers from the south as the 1st tier of applicants.

  7. Dana Franks Says:

    I apologize for the Hammock/Hammond mixup. :P Blame it on a headache and a late night. Hopefully if he reads this, Rex won’t hold it against me.

  8. Randy Steinman Says:

    Ike,

    Love the idea for this. Ever since RTNDA-not quietly went the way of the dinousar, my life has been quite dull. haha.

    When a venue/date is set in stone for SxDS, I’ll do everything I can to get there and contribute whatever I can.

    You know me well enough to know that Toronto is close to pretty much everywhere. Plus, it would be a good excuse to visit the folks. ;)

    RPS

  9. calevans Says:

    Hi!

    I’d love to have the opportunity speak. I could talk on one of the following topics:
    - Podcasting 101
    How to get started podcasting, what you need, what you do not need, tips, tricks and other fun stuff.
    - Top 10 WordPress Plugins
    (Following Mitch’s Wordpress talk, of course) An overview of the most used and most useful plugins available for this wonderful publishing platform.
    - Open Source projects for small businesses
    Wordpress is great but it’s not the only free project out there for small businesses to build on. This talk is a quick look at what is out there and the pros and cons of each project.
    - PHP Primer
    Programming with PHP for non-programmers. How to use it, what resources are available to you to get started and how to get help when you hit the wall.

    As for recomendations, I’d love to hear Steve Eley from http://escappod.org talk about what it takes to build a podcast empire.

    =C=

  10. Mack Collier Says:

    I definitely want to speak/panelize, and I think we can convince Toby to as well. It might involve some of us sporting pink boas, but I’m ok with that.

    And don’t forget that while it’s technically not in the ‘deep’ South, there are a TON of amazing bloggers/marketers/podcasters/smart people from Texas that would be great here. Connie Reece, John Moore, Cam Beck, Paul McEnany. Surely I am forgetting someone…

  11. Dred Porter Says:

    I’d like to participate in the discussion, whether it be as a panelist, speaker, or good ole participant.
    Traditional Media Monitoring,
    Traditional Media Measurement,
    Social Media Monitoring,
    Social Media Measurement,
    2.0 Press Release,
    2.0 Press Release Tracking,

  12. briancarter Says:

    Hey Ike, I’d love to share at SxDS at a speaker or panel member. I’m Director of Search Marketing at interactive marketing agency Fuel Interactive- we’re partnered with traditional marketing agency Brandon Advertising. We’re in Myrtle Beach, SC

    My topics/background:
    - SEO since 2004, Made $20k two months in a row at one point via AdSense
    - PPC management since 2005, AdWords Qualified
    - Former eCommerce Department Manager
    - Social media, PR as part of SEO
    - ROI focus and KPI’s
    - Web 2.0 in an agency setting (or SEO, or PPC)
    - 8 years of speaking and teaching experience, including conference presentation
    - Wide range of usage of/participation in web technologies including blogging, ebay, social media like twitter, stumble, social bookmarks, etc.

    619-249-4016 cell
    843-839-1456 x243 work

    We also have some

    Thanks!
    Brian

  13. DazzlinDonna Says:

    I could also speak or panel on just about anything related to blogging, WordPress, SEO, Internet Marketing, Social Media, etc.

  14. jweiss Says:

    If you need someone in the areas of Drupal (or opensource CMS’s in general), Wordpress, SEO, or PHP/MySQL just drop me a line.

    -jeremy

  15. KrisTK Says:

    Check out the line-up from the recent PRSA conference in Little Rock — nxtpr.org. I attended and can provide feedback on the sessions, speakers, etc. There are also several pros on the Gulf Coast who would be good to hear from.

  16. Jonathan Says:

    (ATL): I see there’s been some calls for sponsored driven content, which is ok, but I’d request that they’re labeled or understood. Just want to know if it’s going to be a pitch, conversation, etc.

    Content strategies and leveraging the tools that are available would be good fun, maybe even how to help people measure those, so that it’s conversant with… hmmm… more traditional decision makers.

  17. Brent Says:

    No sponsored driven content… I think you may be getting it mixed up with just the call-outs for actual sponsors… I’ve got a few big ones that I’m waiting to hear back from (but who were interested)… it will help ensure a fun schwag bag but it would not affect any speaker/topic choices.
    -Brent

  18. Leigh Says:

    Interaction designers have valuable skills that are really needed for next-generation marketing. I’d like to speak about how these individuals will be critical to marketing in teh future and how the principles of interaction design should apply to cross-channel customer experience mapping. It’s sort of Marketing 2.0 (but I hate the word marketing… so don’t use that!). I’d present this in a tool-agnostic, benefit driven manner and compliment this with a nice case study…

  19. Jessica Austin Says:

    Would like to have Josh Mayo as a speaker at this event. http://www.joshmayo.com

    Topic: What the Next Generation of Avatars Really are Made of.

    Jist; A look inside the heart of the youth and young adult culture. Issues to hide behind…what are they, why we all have ‘em, how to relate to ‘em.

    Contact me at jessicanaustin@hotmail.com
    Jessica Austin
    Public Relations

  20. mitch canter | studionashvegas Says:

    I’ll be there. I’ll also be speaking (aside from my talk at WordCamp on Wordpress) on how design and content MUST both be top notch in order to successfully be a contender in today’s tech world.

  21. Nicholas Young Says:

    I’d love to speak on the importance of social networking in the media arena, if there’s an open slot.

  22. Carolyn Bahm Says:

    Hey, I didn’t see a general email to write to y’all, so I’m sorry for posting an off-topic query here. But I wondered if you’ve settled on a venue and a price for attending. Thanks — Carolyn Bahm, Collierville, TN

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