Welcome to the first part in our coverage of SMX Social Media. Serving as Search Engine Journal’s correspondent covering the SMX events here in New York, I will be posting recaps of the sessions as they happen here at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan.
My morning kicked off with a warm welcome from Claire Schoen of Third Door Media. Claire and I met on the way up to the conference hall and I immediately gained some appreciation for the people behind the scenes at these conferences.
Having attended SES events in the past, I have always been a fan of the work that Danny Sullivan and Chris Sherman have put together. My personal feeling is that the Search Engine Strategies conferences have gotten too large and too commercialized. SMX Social Media does not have this feel at all.
In speaking with Claire, it was clear that this conference is aimed at those who the ropes in and around the search industry. Immediately, I’ve seen regulars in the search blogosphere including Michal Gray of Graywolf’s SEO Blog.
We’re still getting in and settled here at the event, with the first session slated to begin at 9:00 AM ET. The 80 minute panel to kick things off is Social Media Marketing Essentials with Danny Sullivan moderating discussions led by Rand Fishkin and Neil Patel. This panel is aimed at providing an overview to social media sites as well as the functions and benefits they provide.
I’ll be back more later today as each of the panels winds down…
