learning fast

This past week I attending the web2.0Expo in San Francisco. As I am relatively new to the web & new media industries and economy, the conference was a bit like taking a sip of water out of a fire hydrant! I attended sessions on topics such as ad yield optimization, search engine optimization & marketing analysis, copy as content, viral loop strategy and user lifecycle metrics & analysis. Fascinating! For as much as has been learned in this industry, it's amazing to me that it is still so young!

While I was at the conference, I also had the chance to speak or correspond with several users participating in our recently launched private beta. The feedback is still limited but at the same time varied...I guess I should get used to being in the consumer application business! There are so many good ideas for product direction and user interface tweaks; some of which were instantly added to the service wireframes, while others require a little more analysis to determine how best to proceed.

It was really fun to have the feedback loop from beta users going on during my time at the conference as this provided a chance to pit some user feedback against recommendations being made by the experts giving the sessions. For those of you who were willing to provide feedback, you should know you were almost always validated by the experts' recommendations. I think this shows we got some great feedback, and I guess it also shows the value of experience in this business.

I look forward to going back to the conference next year to hone the lessons learned this year, and then going back the year after as an expert speaking on a panel or leading a session of my own!