Hey, remember SMX Advanced in Seattle? Think back to a couple weeks ago. Danny Sullivan threw a conference in the Emerald City, some SEOs attended, it was a huge success...any of this ringing a bell to you? Well, if two certain slacker SEOs didn't have 8,000 simultaneous tasks to work on and actually published this article right after the conference ended, you'd be more excited about reading it. Oh well...
Anyway, if you're into those "I Love the 80s" shows on VH1 and love to wax nostalgic on all sorts of tidbity information, then please, please check out our long and comprehensive recap of SMX Advanced. It's also listed in the Articles section of our site. Peruse through the article, pick out one obscure sentence, and then drop a comment below saying "Oh, I love how you mentioned such and such! What valuable information!" so Jane and I feel like you guys got some actual value out of this. Thanks.
By: Rebecca Kelley
The SMX Advanced Recap is Chock Full of Nostalgia
Events
The author's views are entirely his or her own (excluding the unlikely event of hypnosis) and may not always reflect the views of Moz.
Wow, I didn't think anyone would be getting their write-up posted later than my neolithic Web 1.0 ass did.
(Of course, I skipped more sessions than you guys, and didn't really provide any useful SEO inforrmation in my write-up. However, if you ever need to know how to get with the Seattle underworld ...)
Anyway, with that link out of the way - I was stuck in the way far back during the "Give It Up" section - somebody please name some names already, you secret gossiping weirdos.
Was it Greg Boser rolling his eyes at the Markov chains stuff? I heard him comment on it but didn't see eyerolling, etc ... although I wouldn't be surprised.
Hell, I'd forgive it, too. Dann'y's scripted striptease wasn't a substitute for truly casual, unstuffy interactions ... sometimes a little honest unprofessionalism is a breath of fresh air (opines the guy who spent more time in Seattle networking with jellyfish and homeless drug kids than with other SEOs, so take with salt).
Although - even though the Markov chains stuff was useless info for most of us, as least it wasn't as utterly, boringly banal as what some of the other speakers "gave up." Was it just that they didn't want to give away anything good - or that they had nothing good to give?
I agree Max, the Markov chain stuff wasn't particularly "appropriate" for my clients but it was fascinating on an intellectual/theoretical level. Some of the presentations DEFINITELY seemed quite banal...maybe we'll see what some of the other bloggers thought about them in another week or so when the one-month moratorium is officially lifted?...
We won't get into a "was it...? Okay, then was it...?" deal here, but it wasn't Greg and it didn't have anything to do with the Markov chains.
Oh, I love how you mentioned "Matt's response neither confirmed nor denied very much"! What valuable information!
Ahem, but seriously - this looks sh*t hot, I'll give it a good read later. Well done!
Rebecca - good write up. I missed the eye-rolling incident - tell me who it was!!! (A Facebook message should do the trick)
And why only a picture of Rand's magical dancing when you could have allowed people to enjoy the real thing through the magic of video.
Writing Facebook message now...
Thanks guys - my gossip meter is now reading full!
"Danny complained about how Google's text-only cache has no cached link, and that it was broken a few months ago but still hasn't been fixed."
Fixed. I tried three sites that I knew had this issue before, and it's gone for all three.
Yes, I am just now finishing your SMX recap. :)
Don't worry--did you see how long it took for us to publish the damn thing?!
Oh no. You're actually reading it?!
Hi Jane! Welcome to SEOmoz!
;)
Oh, I love how you mentioned such and such! What valuable information!
Sorry, couldn't resist - was that obscure enough?
That's a great, thorough recap though, thanks!
If Rand is referring to what I saw at "this incident," then it's interesting that the same SEO practitioner was slammed - at just about the same time - on an email list for exhibiting the same dissing behavior toward list members' questions. Having a different opinion is one thing, but repeatedly showing disrespect for others' opinions is quite another.
On the subject of coverage, I am awestruck at how Rebecca and Jane were able to live-blog the sessions with such accuracy. I've referred to your postings several times since the event, to refresh my own memory. Thank you for your diligence!
I also got a close-up look at Jane's live-blog technique, sitting next to her at one of the PPC sessions. She had several windows open and was live-blogging while also IMing with cronies - fingers just flying over the keyboard. Watching her multitask was more interesting than the speakers, I must confess.
Christ! I have to be careful who's watching me!
And I was IMing Rebecca :)
Whilst I wasn't sat next to her, I spent some time at one of the less interesting sessions checking up on Facebook - and guess who else was on there too, whilst still managing to live-blog?
Truly a wonder of the modern world!
Great wrap-up Rebecca and Jane! I'm hitting "print" now to give to my employer for a summary (Yes I'm the lazy kind of SEO). ;)
That's so very true. I have several big conferences roll through my town each year and it is always a tough decision of whether to stay out and party with friends and peers or head home while I'm still sober.
"I got a text message from Lisa Ditlefsen while I was eating, and it said something to the effect of “Ramble ramble ramble, I'm so hungover, ramble ramble, meet downtown later?” "
lol I sound like a rambling alcoholic! Honestly it was Ciaran, Rob and Eckys fault for insisting the only way to get over the jet lag was stay awake to at least midnight and drink like it was no tomorrow...err I might have dreamt the last bit. But hey if you ended up at "Rock bottom" bar you would have seen no way out than to get drunk too =) Seriously that place is literally rock bottom...should come with a warning =)
Rebecca, I am so in awe of your "summation endings" to the interviews...
"Ok... well... I guess that's it".
(We kid 'coz we love :P)
On a different note, I think there is a sentence missing under the "Penalty Box" summary where you state:
"The point was that although it was a ridiculous and amusing situation, technically" ... and then a new paragraph begins. But I'm pretty sure it was something inconsequential, like "... technically, it was spam".
Thanks for the catch!
Nice job ladies. You seemed to leave no stone unturned.
Now get to work on the comics and SES Toronto coverage for next month! J/K you know we love your content no matter how far past the event it is!
Rebecca + Jane:
Great job, as usual with the comprehensiveness of this post. I'm p*ssed you guys beat me by a couple of hours in getting your article online -- I now think I am the last one to publish my recap! :)
Link to it, David, so we can all see it :)
Sorry, I didn't know if that would be seen as a shameless plug or a legitimate link! At any rate, since you asked so nicely, here's my SMX recap. :)
Aw, beaten to it! But it's not as if we didn't give you enough time to beat us :)
Very nice work Jane & Rebecca. Although this coverage wasn't timely, it's certainly the best in terms of compilation and readability that I've seen.
One note - Rebecca - I was surprised to see that you pulled the name on this incident. Although I was at the back of the room at the time, I certainly heard quite a bit of discussion about those actions after the conference. Hard to know if it was a serious breach of professional conduct or if search folks simply love the drama, but either way, I hope it's something that doesn't happen again.
I wondered if the lack of like love for some of the panel was an unconscious hint as to who the culprits were, Then I thought surly not!
It seemed very unprofessoinal to me, but i think we're also not the type to shy away from drama. That session was definitely one of the most interesting, if not for the content but for the secrecy and the aftermath!
With the community here, I imagine SEOmoz could invite users to 'give it up' and potentially bring out a few decent tips (without the secrecy and with a little less drama).
But where's the fun in that?! :P
Thanks Rebecca and Jane. I often have mixed opinions of conference coverage since sometimes it just feels like all we get is incomplete notes, but you both covered the key points well where you can really understand what happened without having to wade through a lot of useless clutter.
Plus you both keep things entertaining as usual. Thanks again.