Posted on 08.31.11

Lessons Learned from Social Dev Camp

by Bill Dagiantis

"You can be the lead dog and get the gorgeous arctic view......or you can see the other's ass”* and five other lessons I learned at Social Dev Camp.

I spent this past (and gorgeous) weekend indoors at DePaul University attending Social Dev Camp in order to learn more about the social web. The event offered two tracks and below you will find the nuggets I pulled together from four of the “Business” track’s presentations. 

Session: Fail: Turning Mistakes into Successes

“Make a difference in people’s lives.” - Joshua Karp

Joshua reminded us that we should always ask ourselves, “How’s what I’m doing going to make a difference in someone’s life?” There’s a lot that needs to get done when building a product or service, but answering that question is the most important task when defining your concept. The ability to make a difference in someone’s life is the reason ideas take off, capture attention and go viral, become a part of what people want to use, and it’s the reason why investors call.

Session: Visibility is Power

“Try and get some people angry about the things you do.” - Julien Smith

Julien said that, “You can’t create zealots unless you have the opposite of that.” If you’re just pleasing zealots your like a preacher simply broadcasting a message. You need to build a conversation that’s interesting to your group. They become your tribe and will continue to support you as long as you create content that’s meaningful and interesting to them (and usually only them). 

Session: Build Big Little Communities

“Your biggest enemy is the back button.” - Alexis Ohanian

Alexis talked about how spending enough money on marketing and advertising can build a market large enough for some products (like the overwhelming number of toothpaste options) but you can’t spend enough on marketing or advertising to keep people on your site. One way to keep people on your site is having a great user experience. Alexis said the user experience becomes great (and free) marketing. How do you build a great user experience? Obviously you need the technical chops, but in the early stages make sure you know that “only your mom wants to use your website.” Think about that and create something that wows everyone else. 

Session: Visibility is Power

“Your network is what you’re left with when you’re bankrupt.” - Julien Smith

Julien pointed out that hype is temporary and people have very sophisticated bullshit sensors. Fads come and go and only the channel is forever. He says that, “unless you build a channel when you don’t need it, you won’t have the following you want once you do need it.” He spoke about the power of the Internet for your personal brand and how you can take attention/social capital and use it elsewhere (like reaching out to the network you’ve built once you finally launch that company you’ve been passionately talking about). 

Session: Thick Versus Thin Value

“It’s not about altruism, it’s about the market realities and what’s coming.” - Emile Cambry

Emile is the first economist / M.B.A. I’ve heard say, “the only way we’re going to bounce back from these hard times is for businesses to fundamentally rethink their purpose. We need to take businesses (capitalism) and integrate them back into society.” He shared a few examples of companies that are becoming better global citizens and improving their finances and reputations at the same time. He’s one person that’s speaking about these things and pointing out that being socially and fiscally responsible are not mutually exclusive. 

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed the event and will immediately use what I learned. For example, one of our clients is a small start up and we’re working to help them define the business. I will mention the highlights from Emile’s presentation while we’re reviewing and suggesting changes to the business purpose and I will channel Joshua and Alexis when helping to further define the site’s concept and functionality. Julien’s thoughts and information will become invaluable as I continue to work on defining my personal brand and helping my peers do the same. 

**The opening quote is from Julien Smith’s keynote presentation, ‘Visibility is Power.’ His presentation alone was worth the price of admission (not worth missing the great outdoors on a sunny Saturday in Chicago, but sometimes you have to sacrifice).