Where can you get Lance Armstrong, Seth Godin, Flight of the Conchords and the J-aime-e’s? Ronnie Guidry

The Omniture Summit this year was fantastic. I had the good fortune to meet some very interesting people, like this guy:

He was a little intoxicated but assured me that he’d beat someone up if they tried to hurt me.

Though the conference lasted only 3 days, those 3 days were very eventful, with some great breakout sessions and some awesome keynote speakers. Some breakouts I attended were “Using Analytics to Win Big in Today’s Economy”, “A/B and Multivariate Testing” to name a few. The second day brought a number more and I feel much more empowered to provide a stronger service to our clients in the realm of analytics and testing. I heard a little about the conference last year and from what I saw this year, it was a vast improvement. At least for me, all the breakout sessions were incredibly relevant. It was also amazing to rub elbows with folks from EA (shout out to Rommy), Microsoft and Forrester Research to name a few.

One of the highlights of the conference was also getting to know some of my clients better, too (Aimee Braybrook and Jaime MacArthur of the Avis/Budget Group). We had some bonding time but right from the start, I knew we’d get along. Below is a picture of the J-aime-e’s (combination of Jaime/Aimee) and I rockin’ out at the Flight of the Conchords performance (Left to right: Ronnie, Jaime and Aimee):

Also on my mingle-list was Debbie Kern of HEALTHeCareers. We had quite a bit in common and we enjoyed nerding it up with DotNetNuke. Sadly, I don’t have a picture of us. I have a feeling that some people are reading this just to find out about Flight of the Conchords, so I’ll have to indulge you folks with a picture of them as well. Yes, they performed “Business Time” and also a song that I thought was hilarious, “Hip-hop-a-potamus.” Clearly, I may have misspelled that.

If you’re unhappy with my variety, what more do you want? They sat on stools. And didn’t move. Except to play the guitars. The lights changed, and you may note that subtle difference but honestly there’s not much else I can provide you folks in the FotC demographic reading this blog entry.

On to the next group of folks: I had the good fortune to listen to Lance Armstrong and I can say he’s one of the most inspirational speakers I’ve ever come across. Hearing his story, knowing his struggle and the obligation he’s embraced to let people know about that struggle and how this disease impacted his life is just profound. Actually, all the attendees were given LIVESTRONG bracelets, and I’m wearing mine today. I don’t have a picture of Lance Armstrong for those of you that may be reading to see him, but I can say that I feel his message in my heart. If you ever see me in person, I will do my best to convey some of his thoughts, beliefs and positive attitude. If you’d like a picture of the bracelet, I can take a picture of my wrist.

Seth Godin was fantastic. His presentation style is very energetic, his message is powerful and he kept everyone interested and entertained. He referenced Purple Cow and Meatball Sundae quite a bit. Ultimately his message boiled down into 4 points:

1. Be remarkable
2. Tell a story to your sneezers
3. Sneezers spread the word
4. Get permission - it cuts through the clutter

I’d bet 20 bucks you can find more information on these points in Small is the new Big. Great book.

The last day of the conference was murder. The J-aime-e’s and I pulled an all-nighter and managed to attend 3 after parties (correct me if I’m wrong J-aime-e’s). This is where we met our intoxicated friend shown above and a drink Jaime made for me (shown below, though we also called it a Vomniture - cross between vomit and Omniture. It was pretty terrible):

Recipe:

10 parts dark rum
1 splash pineapple
1 drip grenadine

When the night was over, we headed back to the room, but not before making sure that when we crossed the street, we practiced good safety. This is a shout-out to our moms. You taught us well. (Thanks Aimee for taking this picture, sorry you weren’t in it. )

We packed up, one at a time and moved from room to room to ensure that we wouldn’t crash if left unattended. I can’t speak for the J-aime-e’s but I personally (as the driver) did a great job of staying awake. I slept the entire time in the airport and on the flight back home, but not before Aimee snapped this shot in Jaime’s room at 5:30 AM while she was packing:

For those members of my management, you’re more than welcome to see the notes I took at the conference if the pictures above do a poor job of showing that Summit ‘08 was extremely informative, educational and strongly worthwhile for me to attend.

• Posted In Client Services