The New Media Diva

Note: It’s late. I’m tired. This post is of the babbling sort.

I attended Going Solo, a one-day conference for freelance internet professionals held this weekend in Lausanne, Switzerland. Suw Charman-Anderson, Laura Fitton, Martin Roell, Dennis Howlett and Stowe Boyd spoke at the event.

I’m not going to go into what each and every speaker discussed. Quite a few people have posted play-by-plays, doing a better job that I could have ever imagined doing, so I won’t repeat the rundowns.

What I will do is focus on the vibe, for lack of a better word, that I felt at the event.

I signed up for Going Solo for two reasons: I have a strong interest in social media and tools, and what they can do to change society and help folks get their message across; and I’m absolutely starving for folks to discuss social media - not just the apps, but the culture that goes with it. Not tooooo many folks in my sphere know what Twitter, Mashable, FriendFeed or any items as such are. When I mention them to my friends, they humor me (and I love them for it).

It’s very, very rare that I get to have a back-and-forth conversation with one person face-to-face, much less a room full of people, about the spirit and power of social tools¹.

I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I signed up for GS: I’d been to other conferences, one in particular that I’m thinking about, where it was extremely hard for a shy newcomer or a non-A-lister to become part of the conference community.

Maybe it was the small size or the selection of speakers, I don’t know. But, in the seven years I’ve been here in Europe, I’ve never encountered a more welcoming, passionate group of professionals than I found at GS.

For example, each time a speaker discussed a software or web service that I had never heard of and whispered to myself “What’s that?” the absolutely stunning Eddie Correia would whisper back an explanation for me. Laura Fitton unleashed her passion for social media tools and what they can do during her talk (even discussing how these helped her as a mother of two young children in a new city where she didn’t know a soul).

Dennis Howlett and Stowe Boyd…well…what can I say about these two? They were nice enough to drop science² on and off the stage (okay, there wasn’t a stage but you get the drift).

I’ve been around way too many folks who believe knowledge sharing only means regurgitating what they’ve read or what they see as safe to share without losing business. I can spot them a mile away. The folks I met at GS didn’t have that vibe (or maybe I’m losing my BS detector and they fooled me). They shared, a lot.

Out of all of these folks, I give the most credit to Stephanie Booth. I believe an event takes on the personality of the organizer. The success of GS, which Steph basically put together on her own, is a testament not only to her passion for social tools, but also to her quest to provide a platform for people to learn.

Photos can be found here.

Alright. Off to bed.

1. Stowe Boyd-coined term.:-)
2. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drop+science