Just kidding. Seriously though, it’s so odd reading through the comments and seeing MY name. I mean…YOUR name.

Great to meet you man. What’s our ETA on getting theotherdj.com up and running?

DJ Waldow
Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory
@djwaldow

Thanks again for coming — and it was *such* a pleasure to meet you. I hope to see you again soon. (And actually speak for longer than a few minutes!)

First, YES – thanks to the MPs planners! Ann, Beth, Jay, and the many folks who put in long hours – believe me, it didn’t go unnoticed. It’s events like this (and people like you) that makes MPs unique in this industry.

Teresa is correct – it’s going to take a long time to digest all of this. But, like I said, the resources are there. The only other thing we need is gumption and, if the #mpdm is any indication, there’s no shortage of that. Thank goodness.

It was great to finally meeting you after what seems to be a year or more of knowing you via Twitter. Thanks for such a nice write-up on the Digital Mixer.

This was my third MarketingProfs event (first one as an employee) and I can tell you that you have defintely pointed out the “MarketingProfs Difference” as Jay refers to it. Everytime I left an MP event it took me days to recover (in a good way!). I sorted through notes, made sure I connected with folks again, etc. Seriously, I felt like I was on a marketing high from being with like-minded people for two-days.

My favorite part of the conferences have always been the keynotes. Inevitably, they are these people I have never heard of but are extremely smart. My favorite was Barry Schwartz (author of The Paradox of Choice). He was at our lunch table and I said “So, what do you do?” He said “I’m a psychologist.” I said “What’s a psychologist doing at a marketing conference?” He said “I’m the keynote.” For me it’s about the unexpected and learning something I didn’t know… For me, that’s where MarketingProfs always hits it out of the park. He was a great keynote! BJ Fogg was another excellent keynote.

Having been involved with the event this time around, I can assure you and reaffirm what Jay said…it isn’t by accident. The MarketingProfs’ events team works very, very hard to provide great speakers, case studies, connections, environment, etc. [They deserve a pat on the back because they would never do it themselves. ] As well, they tap into attendees & potential attendees to get votes on session topics, which is really important in today’s conference environment.

Thanks again DJ and I hope to see you soon!

Beth Harte
Community Manager, MarketingProfs
@bethharte

I think this is a fantastic post, and a nice change from usual post-event wrap-ups — indicative of the conference, I think.

Seeing as this was my first professional conference, I might be in for a let-down if I go to any future events not hosted by MarketingProfs. Like you, I’m impressed with how long the affects of MPDM are stretching out. I only wrote my recap post yesterday because I took in so much information that is directly applicable to the work that marketers are doing these days, I had to digest it all.

I agree with Jay, too, that this sort of conference is made just as much by its attendees as by its planning committee. In today’s business climate marketers are looking for real actionable items to take away from their conferences, and I think attendees want to make the most of the investment they made in the event, too.

I’m incredibly happy to see #MPDM is still alive and kicking and that real changes are happening because of the Mixer. Great post!

Thanks so much for the kind words about MPDM. You’ve nicely encapsulated what I describe as the “MarketingProfs Difference.” Events that are intentionally intimate, with universally solid content, that create connections – not just learning.

As someone that works closely with the MP team on events, I can tell you that it’s no accident. But, none of it works without amazing attendees willing to go far beyond the typical conference experience, and keep the fire burning days, weeks, months into the future.

The biggest takeway for me is what you said about conference attendee expectations:

“Your attendees expect it. What they’re buying isn’t just a ticket or a rubber chicken lunch – what they’re buying is access and an experience that continues long after the conference ends.”

Spot on dude.

theotherdj.com

DJ Waldow
Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory
@djwaldow