A select few of my tweets from last week, which served as additional notes for NewCommForum 2010 and will probably inform at least a dozen posts in the next couple of months:

1. Another choked-up speaker at #ncf10. Why? Because this is about people, not tech. No one cries over systems.
2. Before we had #socialmedia, we had golf courses. No salesperson walks up and asks flat-out “You gonna buy somethin?” #ncf10 @shelisrael
3. #Socialmedia dept? SM champions have a different culture…and it should remain different. Should not be gatekeeper… #ncf10 @shelisrael
4. Where does #socialmedia live? Everyone who disdained it now wants to own it without understanding it. #ncf10 @shelisrael [not unlike websites in general…]
5. #socialmedia flexpoint: Disruption <– 2010 –> Normality. #ncf10
6. DoD’s doing #socialmedia right. What’s everyone else’s excuse? #ncf10
7. “No democracy can survive w/o a free press. We need them. We may just not need the NYT.” Amen. #ncf10 @jack_holt [the DoD guy]
8. What makes people engage? R-E-S-P-E-C-T. @allyis, this preso needs a soundtrack! 😉 #ncf10
9. Does everyone know Burt? Do they want to? How effective is Meet Burt at hierarchical companies? #ncf10
10. Want to retain institutional knowledge? Communicate on platforms (social tech), not though channels (email). #ncf10
11. People don’t get their work done w/in org chart/vertical silos–60% of work time is spent “being social”…to get work done. #ncf10
12. Baby boomer gen–power=how much knowledge you hold on to. Millennials–power=how much you share. #ncf10 
13. “Research without insight is just trivia.” Ask: So what? @kdpaine #NCF10 #jhudi
14. SM governance: Collaborate with other depts–mktg, legal–in advance, and EMPATHIZE with them. #ncf10
15. Value/Impact of social media policies: Mitigation–>Information–>Differentiation #ncf10
16. YOU are also the media: Currency of influence is expertise–if you’ve got it, share it. @pgillin #ncf10
17. “Understand cost of perfection vs. good enough.” Are you even part of the convo? @kdpaine #NCF10
18. “Should you blog or tweet? Don’t ask me, ask your customers.” @kdpaine #NCF10
19. Brand “you” vs. brand you represent–coming to a crossroad. #ncf10
20. Become an information curator–you are what you contribute. #ncf10 / @briansolis [see also: #12]
21. Personal/Professional: Are you you, or are you the brand? At which point do you start to risk your social graph? #ncf10 / @briansolis
22. Internet = shared connections, not destination silos. #ncf10
23. Social media — sociology, not technology. #ncf10
24. #ncf10 social media /= HAVING social media “stuff.” Participation =5th mktg P.
25. “Tap into what THEY love, not what’s in it for you.” Yes. This. #ncf10

It took a couple of years, but I’ve finally found a conference and a professional society that reflects (without a significant amount of bending and squinting in the mirror) my values and career path. I’ve been trying for a long time to convince folks that (a) the internet is for communicating, (b) people communicate, not tools or systems, and (c) social media is growing exponentially because of conversations, not sales conversions.

Social is people. (I know. So is soylent green. That’s so not my field, though.)

Last week, there was no convincing to do. I was surrounded by people who do what I do, who’ve developed the best practices I’ve based my career on, and who continue to document how and why people connect online and how those connections affect — even direct — our behavior. They’re doing it, they’re measuring it, and they’re sharing what they’ve learned in the field.

I met fantastic people, got inspired, and asked a bunch of questions…and (re-)realized that I’ve absolutely made the right career choice.

I can’t wait for next year.

The conference: NewComm Forum

The organization: NewComm Collaborative

The research society, on which I rely heavily: Society for New Communications Research (SNCR)