Life

Here’s a summary of posts about [re]think Hawaii.

• Observed at [re]think Hawaii Part 2
• Talking Sponsored Conversations at [re]think Hawaii
• Confused at [re]think Hawaii
• Observed at [re]think Hawaii
• Learned at [re]think Hawaii
• Looking Like a Dufus with Jill Buck
• Thinking Through [re]think Hawaii
• Ready to (Re)Think Hawaii?

Here are other posts about [re]think Hawaii as I come across them on the web.

• My Re-Think Highlights from amauiblog’s posterous
• Re[Think] Hawaii & TEDx Honolulu from A Nerd’s Eye View
• Time to [re]think…in Hawaii! from skimble blog
• Why Rethink? from Shanzhai Lu
• [re]Think: Hawaii and TEDxHonolulu from L.P. “Neenz” Faleafine
• Headed to [Re]Think Hawaii Conference, Nov 1-5th from Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang

Actually, I forgot some observations in my first post Observed at [re]think Hawaii, so here’s a follow on post.

Safari Top Sites

I talked about the Apple love at [re]think Hawaii, but what I also noticed from over-the-shoulder observations is Safari’s Top Sites as a user’s home page. Instead of having a singular traditional home page, Safari can display a wall of your top sites as your home. Those in the crowd and even presenters would display Top Sites when opening a new Safari window.

I just changed my Safari preferences to show Top Sites for new windows and tabs, and yes, I like it. I get an immediate display of sites I frequent, making it very easy to jump to one.

Extreme Multitaskers

Another over-the-shoulder observation I saw was the multitasking abilities of the crowd. Many at [re]think Hawaii were armed with laptops and while presentations were occurring, attendees were listening in, asking questions, checking email (lots of Gmail users), posting Facebook updates, tweeting, uploading pictures to Flickr, and so much more. Talk about extreme multitasking!

I sat there, listened, and jotted notes in my analog notebook. Okay, okay, I used my iPhone to multitask at times too. 🙂

Social Media Means Be Social

One last point about social media that is in the obvious-but-not-so-obvious category. With all the digital interactions we have using social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook, a goal of social media is to be social in real life. All these tools help expose you to a wider audience and start conversations, but that’s where they end. To really cement partnerships and friendships, you need to take the online social activity into the real world. The [re]thinkers in attendance understood this and really took advantage of what Hawaii has to offer with group excursions to Waikiki, our beaches, and other various sights. It’s these real life social  interactions that made [re]think Hawaii unforgettable.

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One of the interesting sessions I attended at [re]think Hawaii was Coach Deb’s Twitter as a Power PR Tool. While she went through her agenda about using Twitter to generate leads and make connections, an active discussion arose around sponsored conversations (ie getting paid by advertisers to blog or tweet). This conversation carried on through lunch with Rick Calvert (@blogworld), Coach Deb (@coachdeb), Kris Krug (@kk), and Ben Metcalfe (@dotben) all weighing in.

What was the final conclusion about sponsored conversations? Everyone was right! Each had his own philosophy and belief, and everyone respected each other’s opinions. In my own words, Coach Deb was an advocate for sponsored conversations since she’s looking at ways of monetizing her online ventures. @dotben believed that once you accepted money from advertisers, your integrity was compromised and objectivity couldn’t be possible. Kris understood the role of sponsored conversations but wished it were more subtle. Following my own thoughts, I would have to side with Rick’s pragmatic approach to sponsored conversations. He knew sponsored conversations were a reality so why deny them.

Again, everyone had valid points about their views, and you couldn’t discount anyone. I thought this discussion was timely as I’m venturing into advertised tweets using ad.ly and SponsoredTweets. From these services, I received offers to promote a New York election, a Twilight contest with Volvo, and a cheese puff snack. Do these promotions reflect me? Maybe, maybe not, and is my reputation worth the price of sponsorship? That’s the question I’m wrestling with.

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So I learned and observed a few things at [re]think Hawaii, but now it’s time for some uncomfortable questions about the conference that left me confused.

Where’s the Hawaii in [re]think Hawaii?

At the outset, I had the expectation that [re]think Hawaii would focus on Hawaii and look at how our islands can be re-thought with respect to startups/entrepeneurs, environmental sustainability, and social media. Of course, my immediate assumption was of major representation from Hawaii in these areas along with international experts lending their experienced views.

The attendee list showed significant Hawaii participation, but my surprise upon arriving at the conference? More not from Hawaii than from Hawaii. Yes, confusing. This was [re]think Hawaii, wasn’t it? I had to re-examine the intent of [re]think Hawaii, and the event is described accordingly:

At [Re]Think: Hawaii, a group of amazing people will be retreating from the day to day that conforms their thinking and venture outside of their digital ponds to meet offline in Hawaii.

There really is no inference that the event is targeted for Hawaii per se, just that it is held in Hawaii to connect:

entrepreneurs and investors during a series of panels, lunches, excursions, dinners, cocktails and aloha style exchange of ideas and relationship building in Hawaii.

So with regards to making connections and building relationships, [re]think Hawaii met its goal. However…

I would have appreciated more Hawaii representation, both as presenters and attendees. Where were Hawaii’s social media pioneers, @hawaii and @bytemarks? Wouldn’t you think @hawaii would be at [re]think Hawaii? There were a few conference go-ers from Bytemarks’ Top Social Media Geeks in Hawaii list, and Hawaii’s aloha ambassador, @alohabruce, was engendering the Hawaii way. But there should have been more. And this is where it gets messy. Why weren’t there more people from Hawaii? One main reason was the conference cost. Daily admission went for just under $300, the entire week for $1300. Luckily discounts were available and for disclosure purposes, my invitation to [re]think Hawaii from @NEENZ came with a $100 discount. I wouldn’t have gone without this discount, and even then I hesitated. It’s my simple belief that more didn’t attend purely because of the cost.

So what about [re]think presenters from Hawaii? Again, I only attended Day 3 Blogworld Social Media Business Summit, and for that day, there were three Hawaii panelists (Nathan Kam, Neenz Faleafine, and Jay Talwar) who participated in the Basics of Social Media and Participatory Marketing. That’s it.

The counter point is should and could there be more [re]think representation from Hawaii? Should, yes. Could, not yet. At this point, I doubt Hawaii could have presented a delegation to match the expertise and experience of the [re]think presenters and attendees. Don’t get me wrong. Hawaii has passionate people fighting for their causes, and I have no doubt their passion rivals that of Jill Buck, Amanda Rose, and others. But as far as launching successful national and global campaigns, Hawaii does not lead the way.

Was It Worth It?

As I mentioned above, I struggled with the cost of attending [re]think Hawaii. Even at the discounted rate of $200, that is costly for one day at a conference. What convinced me to attend was the caliber of people. Known names were attending and when else would these names be available in Hawaii? Maybe never again? And that’s why I went. The opportunity was too good to pass up even at the cost.

Would I have preferred a cheaper price? Sure, but we have to be realistic. There are costs involved with an event like this. There’s renting out the facilities and equipment, providing snacks and meals, paying fees for speaking engagements, and of course, the event hosts have to make a living too.

So in all, yes, I was satisfied with price of [re]think Hawaii. But I was vitalized with the combination of [re]think Hawaii and TEDxHonolulu! This yin and yang duo completed each other so well there’s no question about cost.

What About Next Year?

I really do hope that [re]think Hawaii becomes an annual event that further exposes Hawaii in new, innovative ways. While I believe outsiders need to comprise a big part of the [re]thinkers, I look forward to more Hawaii representation. Let’s showcase our own high tech, sustainable, and entreprenurial efforts! And a kamaaina discount wouldn’t hurt either. 😉

Finally, I have to say thanks to Christine Lu and NEENZ for organizing this wonderful week. Through my initial confusion, I learned and observed so much to make me rethink Hawaii.

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