Chicks Who Click #cwc09

Chicks Who Click, a social media conference hosted in Boulder, CO, was masterminded by the brillant and delightful events coordinator, Denise Smith (@deetells), and the equally amazing social media maven, Gwen Bell (@gwenbell).

Hats off to you, ladies! The weekend was packed with fun community-based learning, interactive panel discussions, relevant tech-women focused presentations and networking activities that nailed the A+ formula for a social media conference. The energy and enthusiasm that continues to be heard in the echo chamber from the attendees demonstrates the creative power of community you have sparked.

As I gathered my thoughts to write this post, I googled #cwc09 for reference and really the best narrative of the event to absorb is just watching it unfold on Twitter's search. The story begins with this @gwenbell tweet:

and continues to read as little vignettes of inspired information and sharing throughout the course of the weekend, with afterthoughts continuing. The entire Chicks Who Click weekend of events (and the network that has developed because of it) is another great example of the big share that occurs with community sourcing.

I have so many favorite moments from Chicks Who Click, it's hard to narrow down the highlights, but here's a few that stand out:
1) Getting to meet IRL and really connect with all the smart, fun and online saavy people I began following on Twitter because of the hashtag #cwc09.


2) The shock and awe feeling that enveloped the entire room when Carole Billingham,the Wisdom Coach speaker, asked us to turn off our phones and close our laptops for the next hour, yep...an entire hour!

We actually got through the session without issue and the "listen to your inner self" exercise re-charged us for the rest of the day as we hacked away on our keyboards :).

3) Meeting crafty, intelligent and fun-loving Jen Grant. Then watching her work her magic behind the camera and how she dove into learning livecasting tips on the fly with the vlogging master, Wayne Sutton . This is just one example of the "we're all connected, let's raise each other up" vibe that radiated through the entire event. (Hey Jen, it took all weekend but now I think "C" for craft vs "K" for Kraft when someone says "craft." Yep, you've converted me :).)
4) Being part of Barbara Jones' interactive session where we put our social media prowlness into action and to the test. These women know their social media strategies and tactics! There were some amazing ideas pressented! And to top it off, Barbara handed out the most creative "kick ass" medals I've ever seen for all participants, including judges (thank you, B!) and karate high kick trophies for the winners.



5) Being on the afternoon panel with two of the brightest women in social media - Barbara Jones (@barbarajones) and Kit Seeborg (@zsazsa) was such an honor for me. As we were discussing the pros and cons of listening to the long tail conversation, our wise moderator Doyle Albee (@doylealbee) piped in, "Realize that a blog with a readership of only 1: that 1 is Google" which very clearly and succinctly brought the importance of socmed conversation home.

I'll close this post out with a big heart-felt thank you to social media expert and dear friend, Lucretia Pruitt, (@geekmommy)!!! If it weren't for your nudge, hon, I wouldn't have been part of this geeky girl fest.

Photos courtesy Emily Lewin and Kit Seeborg.