Priceless

1.25 tank of gas + 6 hours drive time + seeing 'friends' face-to-face for the first time or again = PRICELESS

Yesterday started at 3am with drive from Dallas to Austin. I am a morning person, but even this early drive was a bit much. Without a GPS (only female instinct) I arrived at the Dell HQ at 7am for SMC Austin seminar. A big Thank You to host, Dell!

With an energy drink I sat at the front of the room. I took prestigious notes with pen and paper and live blogged the day event. The first half of the seminar was a social media primer. A review for me, but much needed for those surrounding me.

Locked and loaded, the morning hot topic was Shel's research on education and social media-a topic near and dear to my brain.

Chris Heuer is a great speaker. The man does not miss a beat; he can type, navigate through sites and keep the conversation going! It's exciting to see others excited.

I met Geoff Livingston for the first time. As my Twitter feed indicates I was most excited about this introduction. I hope I did not blow it looking like a babbling idiot! This man has a dynamic personality and extremely down-to-earth. It was truly a pleasure. Eagerly anticipating his new book, Now Is Gone...

Yes, Connie Reece really does have hot pink streaks in her hair and looks fabulous! Connie and the Austin SMC team did a great job organizing the event and fighting for wifi access in our conference room.

It has been way too long since I last saw Kami Huyse in person. What a treat! (Kami, I forgot to give you your baby shower present again!) She showed me the latest pics of her two gorgeous children. Kami was truly luminary yesterday! Of course I asked her for her secret...I think it is her passion radiating. Kami presented metrics after lunch. Her presentation was marvelous and packed with resources.

Live bloggers (Kami, Geoff, Connie and me) captured the key moments via Twitter. I encourage you to go into the archives and fill up your knowledge tank.

The trip home seemed much faster than the trip to Austin. Perhaps it was because I was on an emotional high, too psyched about future posts (all recorded on mp3 player during drive) and talking to Kami on the phone.

Make it a point to meet followers/friends face-to-face.

Feedback: Austin SMC was my first live twittering experience. How did I do? Too much; too little; too vague?

Comments

[Kami Huyse]

It was fine. I went back to look at what you wrote. Some more details would have been nice, but I always want more.

[Chris Heuer]

So glad you were able to make the long drive! Thank you so much for twittering the event - I did much of the twittering for Graphing Social Patterns (day 2 anyway) http://twitter.com/graphingsocial/ and I know how tough it can be. Hopefully we will see you again sometime soon in Dallas or other points unknown...

[Connie Reece]

Lauren, it was so good to see you again, and I'm glad you enjoyed the conference in spite of that long, long drive!

[Geoff Livingston]

:) Thank you, Lauren. It was a pleasure meeting you.

[RichardatDELL]

Hi Lauren,

Not being a morning person myself, I hear yoou at that awfully early start.

Thanks for the feeds and chance to have you join us at Dell. Glad you came and found it useful