A step-by-step social media marketing strategy to promote your business

Note: Below is a detailed guide to help your company perform better on Facebook. Socialmedia.biz can help you with creating or optimizing your business's Facebook presence.

Guest post by Tim Soulo
SEOmoz

Here's a step-by-step social media marketing strategy for promoting your business on Facebook. I've gathered all the best practices and tips that I have used myself, together with some tactics that I haven't tried but am confident will work well.

First steps: Designate a brand ambassador

First of all, don't use your personal account to promote your business, unless you want your customers to see your childhood pictures and lulz from the recent party. You can create another purely business-oriented instance of yourself or hire someone to become your brand ambassador. This will be the person who represents your business on the Web and handles all online communications, so the info on the profile should be brief and clear and all the pictures neat and professional. Remember that users will associate your business with this person.

Power tip: Create a separate email account in Gmail and import all the e-mail addresses of your clients there. Now when you use this account to create a new Facebook profile, the system will automatically find all of your clients in your address book and suggest to add them as your friends on Facebook. What a great start!

Create your Facebook Page

Promotion on Facebook is all about having a Page for your business. To create one, go to http://www.facebook.com/Pages/ and click the "+ Create Page" button.

Power tip: "Page name" is one of the the strongest ranking factors in a Facebook search. Don't miss the opportunity to add some keywords you want to rank for as you can't change the name of your Page later.

Configure your Facebook Page

Step 1. Profile picture & avatar

The profile picture is one of the few things in the design of your Page that you can actually customize, so be sure to make the most of it. Here are two great articles that will help you:

• 5 Creative Ways to Hack Your Profile Photo
• Making the Most of Your Facebook Profile Picture

Step 2. Page info

The next important thing to do is fill your Facebook Page with information about your business. Most of it is stored under the "Info" tab, which you cannot remove or hide. Lots of people visit it, so work hard to make your info as brief and engaging as you can. "Think SEO" and use your keywords, as each of the tabs is indexable by Google and the other search engines.

Power tip: if you type a URL starting with http:// in the info box under your profile picture, Facebook will turn it into a clickable link. So you can easily refer your visitors to your website, blog or Twitter account.

Step 3. Applications

Here are some applications to consider:

• Static FBML (Facebook Markup Language) - allows you to create 10 additional tabs, which can contain HTML/CSS, Flash, FBML, iframes and FBJS;
• NetworkedBlogs - allows you to post your RSS and Atom feeds directly to your wall;
• Twitter Tab - posts your Twitter updates to a separate tab;
• Extended Info - adds an additional box that supports html/fbml, images, video and music to the left sidebar of your Page;
• Fan Appz & Promotions - these two apps help you handle all kinds of contests, sweepstakes & giveaways.

Power tip: You'll probably end up with lots of tabs by adding various applications. However, you can easily drag them around to prioritize them.

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Viral product design is far more effective for product adoption than email marketing or banner ads

Here's some of my coverage from the ICIS Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. I was covering the event for Dice and Dice News.

Can firms engineer products so they’re more likely to go viral, so there’s contagion and dispersion? This was the question Sinal Aral and Dylan Walker of the NYU Stern School of Business asked and answered in their research paper Creating Social Contagion Through Viral Product Design: A Randomized Trial of Peer Influence in Networks.”

What the two discovered is that firms can increase adoption of a product 400 to 500 percent by adding simple design elements to make it go viral. The two elements they tested were active personalized invites (e.g., “Hey Dave it’s Steve, check out this cool app”) and passive broadcast notifications (e.g., “Your friend Steve is using this new app”).

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A screenshot from Watchitoo, an inventive and powerful new addition to the Web conferencing field.

Here are our top choices for live streaming tools, webinars & employee collaboration online

Target audience: Businesses, brands, educators, nonprofits, community organizations, Web publishers, individuals. Updated Feb. 18, 2011.

The following guide, originally created by TechSoup Global, has been significantly updated and expanded by J.D. Lasica and Kim Bale.

More and more businesses and entrepreneurs are turning to Web conferencing services to communicate with fellow staff members, customers, supporters and prospects.

A Web conference is a virtual meeting you conduct online, allowing you to share documents and applications from your computer with people in far-flung locations and to communicate with them via video, text or voice chat. Through Web conferencing, you can bring together employees to collaborate on a project, present webinars about your latest product or services, or train advocates or support staff.

While your business likely uses email or conference calls for much of your long-distance communication, sometimes a full-blown virtual meeting is the only way to hammer out the details of an important initiative. Web conferencing lets anyone with an Internet connection and a Web browser meet and collaborate online in real time.

Some conferencing tools require participants to install a piece of software on their own computers before they can participate; other tools are entirely Web-based. All require an Internet connection. The tools differ in the features they provide for collaboration and communication. For instance, some let participants speak to one another through their computers' microphones while others let everyone interact via video. Still others have an option to join the audio part of the conference by a separate audio/telephone bridge.

To help you choose a service that suits your business, we've pointed out features commonly found in Web conferencing products and explained other considerations you should be aware of. Our list leaves out tools like Skype and Apple's iChat, which offer great video conferencing (video chat) and text chat for a limited number of people but don't offer full-on Web conferencing services that offer a wide range of collaboration capabilities.

When considering all of these great features, it's important to consider how these capabilities will affect your Local Area Network (LAN). For example, many of the products below include videoconferencing. One person using hosted videoconferencing at a location wouldn't add to much to local network issues. Multiple workers videoconferencing at the same time could slow the rest of your network traffic.

Whenever possible, try out the product before purchasing. Use the information below and on product websites to narrow your choices, then try the two or three products that best fit your needs.

Here is our comparison of 14 top Web conferencing services. If you have your own favorites, or have any updates or corrections, please share them in the comments!

Watchitoo: Multimedia collaboration

1We used Watchitoo during Personal Democracy Forum and the midterm elections and were impressed with its rich collaboration feature set. Watchitoo is a real-time collaboration platform where multimedia presentations meld with video conferencing to create a powerful stage for online communication. Its technology lets you easily host and participate in cutting-edge presentations that support multiple video feeds, screen sharing, white-boarding, API implementation, embedding capabilities and recording functionalities that enhance employee communication and collaboration.

Software required: Web-based, no download required.

Invitation tools: Multiple embed locations, internal email invitations.

Collaboration tools: Screen sharing, up to 25 presenters while simultaneously playing any form of rich media, text chat, questions, Twitter & Facebook posting, mobile access, videoconferencing, video editing, whiteboard.

Recording: Yes

Polling & survey: Coming in the next 75 days.

Post-meeting reports: Yes

Pricing: Free up to 5 people; up to 25 people for $39/month plan; up to 50 people for $49/month plan with a larger storage capacity.

Pay per use: Yes for live events

Trial: 30-day free trial

Bottom line: A cutting-edge service for collaborating around rich-media projects. Includes some capabilities not found elsewhere. One hiccup: a slight time lag in VoIP conversations.

Cisco WebEx Meeting: An industry stand-by

2The granddaddy of Web conferencing services, WebEx, was purchased by Cisco in 2007 for $3.2 billion. The WebEx suite offers a broad range of Web conferencing services, including a Meeting Center, Event Center, Training Center and Support Center. WebEx and Microsoft Office Live Meeting are considered the two heavyweights in the field.

Software required: No downloads for participants, will run on any Internet server or smartphone mobile device.

Invitation tools: Send meeting invitations and reminders using an automated phone call, text message, email from your local client or instant message.

Collaboration tools: Screen sharing via desktop and applications. Multiple presenters, annotating tools, text chat, teleconferencing, VoIP, mobile access for iPhone and Blackberry devices, videoconferencing.

Recording: Yes

Polling & survey: Yes

Post-meeting reports: Yes

Pricing: $49/month or $468/year per host. Additional options for the WebEx Training Center (up to 1,000 participants) and Event Center (up to 3,000).

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One of the more interesting e-marketing events on our 2011 calendar of conferences is Innovative e-Marketing, coming up March 2-3 in Barcelona, Spain. Socialmedia.biz is a media sponsor of the event, although it's not likely any of our team members will be able to attend.

The global business gathering, put on by Connecting Group, is targeting C-suite executives, general managers and heads of e-marketing, marketing & communications, advertising, online advertising, digital marketing and global communications.

Socialmedia.biz readers get a 10 percent price discount by using this promo code: EMK11/006. Register here (doc). This is an executive-level conference, and the pricing is steep: Delegate rate is €2695 ($3,600 US), VIP pass is €3695 ($4,930 US).

The goal of Innovative e-Marketing, says spokesman Meelis Paloson, is to help you "uncover the secrets to success from the most experienced e-marketers in the world and learn how to put ideas into practice in the form of social networking activities, brainstorming sessions, talking circles, keynote case studies and insightful presentations."

Here's the full program (PDF). Speakers include:

• Dirk Kolassa, head of emarketing, Alcatel-Lucent
• Anthony Vitalone, head of interactive marketing, Deutsche Bank
• Jens Monsees, consumer goods & healthcare, Google
• Eric Siebert, directof global digital marketing, Samsung
• Evandro Matteucci, vice president of marketing, Eastman Kodak
• Dr. Karen Eng, Global Internet Marketing, Texas Instruments
• Christoph Urban, director of marketing & content, MySpace
• Jose Martin of the Global Digital Commerce unit of Nike Inc.
• Ian Talmage, senior vice president of global marketing, Bayer Healthcare
• Leonard Starnes, head of global e-business, Bayer Healthcare

In addition to the two-day business event, you'll be able to dine and unwind in the heart of the historic city of Barcelona. Sounds like a worthy addition to the conference circuit.

Data galore: A screen grab from Radian6.

A rare comparison of the major monitoring & engagement
services: Radian6, Lithium, Attensity360 & 17 more

Target audience: Brands, corporations, mid-size to large businesses. See Socialbrite's series on social media monitoring:
• Guide to monitoring social media conversations
• 20 free, awesome social media monitoring tools
• 10 paid social media monitoring services for nonprofits

By J.D. Lasica and Kim Bale
Socialmedia.biz

The online landscape is saturated with more than 200 tools and platforms claiming to be able to help you track and assess mentions of your business or brand in social media channels. While there remains a lot of churn in the field, a number of listening platforms have evolved to help you go beyond basic monitoring into an integrated approach that helps inform multiple parts of your business: product development, customer support, public outreach, lead generation, market research and campaign measurement.

Born as a way to respond to crises and manage brand reputation, social media monitoring, or brand monitoring -- which ties into social media measurement and analysis -- is finally maturing into a business process that helps the bottom line.

A comparison of pricing, features & clients you rarely see on the open Web.Today we'll turn the tables on these companies and offer some business intelligence that you rarely see available on the open Web: a comparison of social media monitoring vendors, with descriptions of their strengths, clients and pricing. Many offer end-to-end solutions, providing not just tracking capabilities but a rich set of analytics and response tools to help you grow your business and engage with individuals who influence broad swaths of the market.

Social media monitoring vendors come in all shapes and flavors. Some cater to small business with modest budgets that want to handle monitoring analysis internally. Others service global corporations that want access to expert analysts as well as a robust suite of social tools that plug into business processes. So this roundup is admittedly mixing apples and oranges. (See our discussion of social CRM below.)

To draw some distinctions, we've broken this package into two groupings:

• 20+ social media monitoring & engagement vendors for business (below)
• 10 lower-priced monitoring services for nonprofits & organizations (on our sister site, Sociabrite.org)

Monitoring should plug into your business processes

Companies that will succeed in the 21st century will be social businesses, committed to forging deep and meaningful relationships with their customers. So use the new year as a fresh impetus to create a Social Media Plan (Socialmedia.biz can help with that), begin monitoring and consider evaluating an outside vendor by signing up for a free trial.

Keep in mind: Listening to conversations and gathering data is only one phase of a multi-step process that also involves engagement, metrics and acting on what you learn. As Jeff Nolan writes, "In its most pure form, social media monitoring is both listening and responding to social channels."

Here is our guide to the Top 20 Social Media Monitoring Vendors for Business. Have your own favorites? Please add them in the comments below! And if you have any corrections or updates to the information here, please share that as well.

Radian6: A proven solution for big brands

1Canada-based Radian 6 works with brands to help them listen more intelligently to your consumers, competitors and influencers with the goal of growing your business via detailed, real-time insights. Beyond their monitoring dashboard, which tracks mentions on more than 100 million social media sites, they offer an engagement console that allows you to coordinate your internal responses to external activity by immediately updating your blog and Twitter and Facebook accounts all in one spot. Fully automated. Cost: The dashboard starts at $600/month, though registered nonprofits can apply for two free uses per year under the company's Giving Back program. They also offer free trials to students and educators for research and project purposes. Radian6 uses a monthly subscription based pricing model, with the monthly fee varying depending on the number of topics monitored each month. Clients: Red Cross, Adobe, AAA, Cirque du Soleil, H&R Block, March of Dimes, Microsoft, Pepsi, Southwest Airlines -- a wide range of clients. Owner: Independent. Also: See our interview with the CEO of Radian6.

Collective Intellect: Social media intelligence gathering

2Boulder, Colo.-based Collective Intellect, which started out by providing monitoring to financial firms, has evolved into a top-tier player in the marketplace of social media intelligence gathering. Using a combination of self-serve client dashboards and human analysis, Collective Intellect offers a robust monitoring and measurement tool suited to mid-size to large companies with its Social CRM Insights platform. It applies spam management techniques and text analysis to clean data sets, delivering customers rich intelligence.Cost: Pricing starts at $300/month and scales based on specific client needs, according to published reports. Clients: General Mills, NBC Universal, Pepsi, Walmart, Unilever, Advertising Age, CBS, Dole, MTV Networks, MillerCoors, Paramount, Verizon Wireless, Viacom, Hasbro, Siemens. Owner: Independent.

Lithium: Adjust your campaign on the fly

3Lithium monitors your search-specific mentions and sentiment in social media outlets and outputs them into easy-to-read graphs and numbers resembling the stock market. Lithium will aggregate information from a variety of platforms including blog posts and comments, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and many others, and it'll assess emotions surrounding your brand pre-, mid- and post campaign so you can adjust your strategies accordingly. We miss ScoutLabs, which is now part of Lithium. Cost: Base plan of $249/month for five users and five searches. Free 14-day trial. Clients: Best Buy, BT, Barnes & Noble, FICO, Disney Online, Stubhub, Motorola, Coca Cola, Focus Features, Netflix. Owner: Independent. Lithium bought ScoutLabs in May 2010.

Sysomos: Manage conversations in real time

4Sysomos's Heartbeat is a real-time monitoring and measurement tool that provides constantly updated snapshots of social media conversations delivered using a variety of user-friendly graphics. Heartbeat organizes conversations, manages workflow, facilitates collaboration and provides ways to engage with key influencers. For more, see ReadWrite review. Sysomos also offers a Media Analysis Platform. Cost: Entry-level price of $500/month. Clients: IBM, HSBC, Roche, Ketchum, Sony Ericsson, Philips, ConAgra, Edelman, Shell Oil, Nokia, Sapient, Citi, Interbrand. Owner: Marketwire.

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"Heavy Traffic" by Masakazu "Matto" Matsumoto on Flickr

Just how accurate are Alexa, Compete, Quantcast & the others?

This is part of our ongoing series on website optimization and traffic analysis.

Guest post by Sam Crocker
SEOmoz

Today we're going to examine a number of tools and resources for getting insights into competitors' traffic data. We'll assess their strengths and weaknesses as well as the validity and usefulness of the data provided.

We've had clients asking us for a better view of overall market size and what kind of traffic their competitors are getting, since it can be tricky to find meaningful predictive data even when you know who your competitors are or should be.

It is worth pointing out that a number of these services suggest they can provide better data if you claim the sites by entering your ownership credentials. I can't testify to the accuracy of this, and our analysis is based upon the free version of the tools as we did not have paid access to any of the tools.

We tested 25 sites for which we had reliable internal data, giving us insight into just how accurate these tools really are -- or aren't.

Alexa: Too often, dubious numbers

1Strengths: Alexa is good for comparing different sites traffic and for monitoring general traffic trends. It can be quite useful for comparing one site to a competitor site (up to five sites at a time). The index is massive and contains some data about all of the 25 sites we tested.

Weaknesses: Not so great for the smaller sites. As you can see below, you won't get any of the traffic charts for sites ranked outside of the top 100,000, which means if Alexa thinks you are getting fewer than 10,000 visits per month you're unlikely to glean any great information. Accuracy is a serious concern. This does call into question the usefulness of the tool in general. The numbers reported are not helpful for predicting traffic on their own.

Accuracy: We want to keep this all anonymous but let's just say one site that we know gets 10-20,000 visits per month had an Alexa rank that was more than five times better than a site that we know gets 75,000+ visitors per month. And this was not just a one-off event. So I have to seriously question the reliability of this tool. It didn't seem to be too bad at predicting the trends for a single site but the charts are extremely difficult to make any real use of. Interestingly it seems to be skewed in favor of sites within the search marketing space. Sites in the search marketing space that we looked at regularly outranked sites receiving more than 10 times as much traffic on a monthly basis.

How to best use Alexa: The tool is interesting for comparing similar sites or sites within an industry, but be very cautious about using this to make any meaningful suggestions or estimates on traffic data. The most accurate data seemed to be the data from the visitors by country -- the percentages we looked at were not too far off.

Cost: Free. Options for site audits for $199.

 

Compete: Good UI, questionable data

2Strengths: Compete has a useful interface, speaks the right language (unique visitors, visits, etc.), offers the ability to compare multiple sites, and its data is easy to understand and well presented.

Weaknesses: Accuracy, somewhat limited number of sites - many sites that it classifies as "low sample sites," and the cost of the Pro option.

Accuracy: Again, accuracy is a serious concern here. The data was off in some cases by as much as 2,000% for monthly visits. The accuracy seemed to be a bit better for the peaks in traffic and some of the general trends we looked at but was certainly not reliable enough for us to suggest reporting competitor traffic based upon this information.

How to best use Compete: It should come as no surprise that Compete is best used for comparing competitors. The scale of the data is way off but some of the trends seemed to be fairly reliable. I wouldn't advise reporting any numbers from this data as they do not seem close/reliable at all - often off by a factor of 200% or more -- however the trends are reliable. The information could be meaningfully used to look into seasonal trends between competitors.

Cost: Free. The Pro membership is $499 per month.

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Photo from Leo LaPorte's Flickr stream

If you've spent any time in the tech world, then you surely have run across Leo Laporte, who runs a podcasting empire from his home base in Petaluma, Calif.

I've bumped into Leo at a dozen tech events over the past few years, from the Portable Media Expo (photo, now BlogWorld, in 2005 to South by Southwest and BlogWorld Expo in 2009 to appearing on his TechTV show, then in Toronto, in 2005 and speaking with him on a panel at the Producers Guild. Leo's a friend.

These days, I watch his TWiT netcast on my Roku device and subscribe to his podcasts and listen to them at the gym. (I also was a recent guest on Denise Howell's This Week in Law program, part of the TWiT network.) And this week Leo and crew are netcasting live from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

So it was eye-opening to read the recent New York Times profile of Leo, which offered some stats about his podcasting efforts, since I've been chronicling the grassroots media movement since my 2005 book Darknet (podcasting was born in 2004).

At the 2009 BlogWorld Expo, Leo famously declared during his keynote, "Podcasting is dead." What he really meant, I think, is that podcasting is still too difficult to pull off for amateur media makers, and that only a handful of people will be able to make a living by podcasting.

Leo's the exception. For 30 hours each week, he and the other hosts on his network talk about technology for shows that he distributes online for free. Some figures from the Times article:

• “This Week in Tech” is downloaded by about 250,000 people each week.

• He produces 22 other tech podcasts that are downloaded 5 million times a month.

• His weekend radio show on computers, “The Tech Guy,” reaches 500,000 more people through 140 stations.

• TWIT’s advertising revenue doubled in each of the last two years and is expected to total $4 million to $5 million for 2010, according to Podtrac.

• In addition, $20,000 a month in voluntary contributions comes in from the TWIT website.

• The iTunes store from Apple, where about 75 percent of the audience for podcasts looks for fresh material, contains about 150,000 regular shows.

• Only one out of four American adults has ever listened to a podcast.

This multifaceted approach, friends, is how media making will increasingly look in the 21st century.

Recapping some big social marketing trends, fun moments & more

Here they are, my favorite articles, videos, and other random stuff that I produced in 2010.

Also, a huge thanks to all my readers, especially the ones who have engaged with me. This past year was very successful for me and I really do appreciate your support. Thanks again.

OK, here they are, my favorites:

Stories

HOW TO: Cultivate your brand's super users - Five great stories of how brands have done an excellent job cultivating their brand's super users.

Here's what's wrong with social media: Sharing without consumption - This story came as a result of people sharing this video (see "How do you get everyone to watch your video") at a higher rate than actually viewing it.

The very last episode of Cranky Geeks! - Overwhelming response to the last episode of John Dvorak's show. Was a lot of fun. I was on the very first and very last episodes.

Successful techniques for building your industry voice with social media - This is a slidecast presentation of my keynote at the PINC Show in San Francisco. All are stories of how people have successfully built their industry voice.

What you can and can't do (but soon will do) with augmented reality - This is just a great top-down analysis (not my own, I regurgitated) of the state of augmented reality.

How NOT to invite a journalist to a VIP event - Another amazing story of how not to approach a journalist. This was really inappropriate.

It took only four years for Viacom to retract their copyright claim to my YouTube video - The conclusion of a passive four-year struggle to get a video I produced about "The Daily Show" put back on YouTube.

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The Green Hornet Girls at Comic-Con 2010.

Our Ultimate Guide to 2011 Conferences & Events

Note: This post covers 2011 conferences. Please see the new 2012 guide to social media, tech & marketing conferences.

For the past four years we've assembled a calendar of the best social media, technology, media and marketing conferences for the upcoming year. Here's our roundup of 2011 conferences and events.

Two great conferences are biting the dust this year: Gov 2.0 Expo and Gnomedex. A few others are still up in the air. This is not intended to be an all-encompassing list, and to keep things from spiraling out of control we've also left out some of the worthy but fast-changing BarCamps, PodCamps, MobileCamps and Social Media Club gatherings around the country.

Also please check out our Calendar of 2011 nonprofit and social change conferences on our sister site, Socialbrite.

Conference	Date	Place
January
Consumer Electronics Show	Jan. 6-9	Las Vegas, Nev.
CES brings together tens of thousands of attendees with hundreds of companies involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of consumer electronics products. It's a madhouse, but quite a rush! Tech Policy Summit is returning to CES this year.
D@CES	Jan. 7	Las Vegas, Nev.
D@CES will feature D creators and executive producers Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher bringing you conversations with the most influential figures in media and technology. This session will focus on the consumer electronics arena, and the big trends impacting it.
Affiliate Summit West	Jan. 9-11	Las Vegas, Nev.
This three-day conference includes an exhibit hall with affiliate merchants, vendors and networks, as well as multiple tracks of educational sessions covering the latest trends and information from affiliate marketing experts.
Agency of the Year	Jan. 11	New York
OMMA's Agency of the Year Awards celebrate the agencies that were able to rise above the rest over the past year, the shops that represented the best of class in the online advertising community.
Virtual Edge Summit	Jan. 12-13	La Vegas, Nev.
In two days at Virtual Edge Summit, 70+ experts will share their secrets to success for adding virtual elements to events, meetings, learning and community initiatives.
Content Marketing Retreat	Jan. 13-14	Langley, Wash.
25 miles north of Seattle, this retreat features speakers from the Content Marketing Institute, Fusionspark Media, Tippingpoint Labs and many more.
10 Years of Wikipedia	Jan. 15	Global
A series of events to mark the democratic online encyclopedia's 10th birthday. See the wiki for a location near you.
State of the Net	Jan. 18	Washington, DC
This gathering provides opportunities to network and engage on key policy issues. This is the only tech policy conference routinely recognized for its balanced blend of academics, consumer groups, industry and government.
Leadership for Social Change	Jan. 19-21	New York
This executive education program will help you learn how to open new markets using responsible programs, how to build relationships through public/private partnerships to achieve impact and value and how to meet the challenges of implementing social-benefit programs.
Social Media Conference	Jan. 19-21	Miami
Social Media Conference 2011 Miami is expected to be the largest convention attended by executives from the enterprise online community and strategic communications industries. Topics covered include global business strategies for enterprise social media, strategic communications strategy with new media, mobile, revenue models, social media marketing, venture capital, new technologies, partnerships, legal issues and payments.
Digital Privacy Forum	Jan. 20	New York
Mediabistro, Social Times and AllFacebook present a one-day event about the importance of managing information, user expectations and potential government interaction in the hotly debated field of online privacy.
Emerging Media	Jan. 24-27	San Francisco
This conference is an opportunity to view and experience the latest in technology advances and upcoming product rollouts. Whether you're immersed in the world of emerging media or just have a casual interest in keeping up with the latest trends and innovations, this conference allows you to preview the future of the tech world. Also look for a Social Media Bootcamp on Jan. 24.
Macworld Expo	Jan. 26-29	San Francisco
Macworld Expo is your once-a-year opportunity to see and buy all of the newest, coolest stuff - hardware, software and accessories - for your Apple products. Don't miss the workshops! (I'm a Macworld Expo Faculty alumnus.)
She's Geeky Bay Area 4	Jan. 28-30	Mountain View, Calif.
This event is for women from a diverse array of technological fields and those doing technology within non-technical fields.
AlwaysOn: OnMedia	Jan 31-Feb 2	New York
This two-and-a-half-day executive event features high-level debates on how the Internet is disrupting the world of marketing, branding, advertising, and public relations. OnMedia also showcases the top entrepreneurial CEOs who are revolutionizing the way media is being created, distributed, consumed and analyzed.
February
Strata	Feb. 1-3	Santa Clara, Calif.
From startups to the Fortune 500, smart companies are betting on data-driven insight. Get control of the new data opportunity at the inaugural Strata conference. Immerse yourself in three days of hands-on training, information-rich sessions and a sponsor pavilion filled with the key players and products.
Blogging Success Summit	Feb. 1-22	online
Blogging Success Summit is thhe Web's Largest Online Business Blogging Conference. This is a live online conference designed to help you master blogging for business, empowering you to quickly attract and connect with customers and prospects.
BlogWell	Feb. 2	Austin, Texas
Learn how big brands use social media, and hear eight case studies on the social media programs in place at corporations such as Dell, REI, Coldwell Banker, Texas Instruments, et al.
MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Forum	Feb. 2-4	Austin, Texas
Digital Marketing Forum Austin 2011 will feature keynote sessions from provocative thinkers, case studies from leading brand-side marketers, actionable advice and how-to's, daylong re-conference workshops, networking opportunities and more.
Lift11	Feb. 2-4	Geneva, Switzerland
Lift11 is a three-day conference about current and emerging usage of digital technologies such as online communities, social media and casual games. Participants come to better understand the challenges and opportunities presented by digital technologies, and meet the people who drive these innovations.
Vator Splash	Feb. 3	San Francisco
Vator Splash is a celebration of entrepreneurship. The evening gathering brings together high-profile, successful tech entrepreneurs sharing their lessons and advice alongside promising startups showcasing their innovative ideas.
Social Media Week	Feb. 7-11	Various
Social Media Week is a series of global events that connects people, content and conversation around emerging trends in social and mobile media. The goal of the series is to help people, brands, companies, not-for-profits and governments around the world establish deeper and more valuable relationships through open collaboration and social communication.
Online Marketing Summit	Feb. 7-11	San Diego
Join more than 1,000 of your marketing peers as they share ideas, hear from expert practitioners and learn best practices in the areas of Social Media, Demand Generation, Search, Email, Analytics, Mobile, Integrated Marketing and more.
Signal LA: The Content Marketing Conversation	Feb. 8	Los Angeles
Born from FM's annual Conversational Marketing Summit, the Signal conference series will focus on one topic in one city at a time. It launches in LA. Signal is produced for senior decision makers in the media and marketing business. Also look for Signal Southwest: Leveraging the Local Conversation on March 10
edSocial Media Bootcamp	Feb. 8	San Francisco
This full-day workshop provides an in-depth, hands-on introduction to social media technology. Learn how social media can help you strengthen relationships with the constituents that matter most- your students, parents, faculty and alumni.
Social Media Strategies Summit	Feb. 8-10	San Francisco
The summit will give you a chance to learn from leading minds in social media marketing such as representatives of Dunkin Donuts, Zappos, General Motors, Discovery Channel, PayPal and the NCAA. You'll also receive practical tools to build and grow your social media strategies and network with speakers and other business execs using social media.
Online Community Unconference East	Feb. 9	New York
This gathering of online community professionals - managers, developers, business people, tool providers, investors - will dissect experiences and strategies in the development and growth of online communities.
Twiistup 8 Infinity	Feb. 9-10	Los Angeles
More than just a conference, Twiistup is LA's biggest technology event. Twiistup combines a showcase for innovation, a platform for thought leaders and an audience of entrepreneurs, media and investors all wrapped in a unique, stylized environment that rivals a Hollywood production.
Media that Matters	Feb. 10-11	Washington, DC
This year's theme, "Storytelling Across Platforms," focuses on today's evolving media world in which the public can engage with creative projects across platforms such as radio, the Web and mobile devices, as well as film and TV.
O'Reilly Tools of Change	Feb. 14-16	New York
The fifth annual O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference explores the new world of publishing without boundaries. This event provides an unparalleled opportunity for stakeholders from across the book publishing and tech industries to network, share ideas and engage in lively debate.
Social Media For Government	Feb. 14-17	Washington, DC
Learn how to engage your employees and citizens by using the latest Web 2.0 technologies to drive communication results.
Mobile World Congress	Feb. 14-17	Barcelona
The Mobile World Congress will showcase dynamic speakers from a broad range of companies and will feature in-depth sessions covering the industry's key growth areas.
Forum and Communities	Feb. 16	San Francisco
During this one-day event, a team of renowned experts will provide guidance on how to effectively engage with community, give tips on how to maximize the value of your communities and offer insights into new services to try and trends to watch out for.
Content Marketing Strategies	Feb. 16-17	Berkeley, Calif.
This new conference will gather leading brands, ad agencies, publishers, PR professionals and service providers to focus solely on the latest strategies, solutions and technologies in digital content marketing.
Intelligent Content	Feb. 16-18	Palm Springs, Calif.
Now in its third year, the conference is an annual meeting of thought leaders and practitioners dedicated to improving the findability, usability, adaptability and delivery of content to a wide variety of users, when, where and how they need it.
Social Fresh Tampa	Feb. 21-22	Tampa, Fla.
Social media must bring real business results to be relevant. At this gathering you'll see case studies, session topics, demonstrations of new tools, industry leaders that execute top social media strategies and a half day of training.
Gravity Summit	Feb. 22	Westwood, Calif.
Gravity Summit is the premier real-time social media event that helps bridge the gap between new social media marketing tools and the business community and seek to help educate and inform marketing professionals, small business owners, advertisers, C-level executives and others about the new marketing and communications landscape.
SearchFest	Feb. 23	Portland, Ore.
Industry experts and thought leaders from around the country will deliver in-depth presentations on topics including Advanced Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Universal Search, Analytics, Paid Search Marketing and many more.
Digiday: On Media	Feb. 23	Los Angeles
The conference will address the biggest issues and challenges digital agencies and marketers face today across the buying spectrum, as well as where they are making their bets for 2011.
SearchFest	Feb. 23	Portland, Ore.
Industry experts and thought leaders from around the country will deliver in-depth presentations on topics including Advanced Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Universal Search, Analytics, Paid Search Marketing and much more.
Launch	Feb. 23-24	San Francisco
The first Launch conference, from Jason Calacanis (who was co-creator of TechCrunch Disrupt and TechCrunch50), will showcase promising new startups and the venture capitalists and angel investors who fund them.
NewsCamp	Feb. 24-27	Raleigh, N.C.
This daylong workshop will tackle subjects ranging from storytelling without words to best practices and emerging technologies. But it's more than talk: You'll spend the afternoon in small hands-on sessions learning how to put these theories into practice.
DEMO Spring	Feb. 27-Mar 1	Palm Desert, Calif.
At DEMO Spring, investors and potential partners can get a close-up look at the latest trend-setting technologies. It's not just a place for face time but for eyes-on-the-product time.
Future of Money & Technology Summit	Feb. 28	San Francisco
The Future of Money & Technology Summit brings together the best and brightest thinkers around money, including visionaries, entrepreneurial business people, developers, press, investors, authors, solution providers, service providers and organizations that work with them at the convergence of cash and commerce.
Enterprise Connect	Feb. 28-Mar 3	Orlando, Fla.
The program focuses on the themes of Mobility, Unified Communications, SIP and SIP Trunking, The Cloud and Virtualization, Video and Collaboration, Planning and Implementing IP Telephony, The Social Enterprise and Managing Technology, Costs and People..
TED	Feb. 28-Mar 4	Long Beach, Calif.
TED will assemble a cast of characters capable of stirring the imagination, with explorers, storytellers, photographers, scientific pioneers, visionaries and provocateurs from all parts of the globe.
March
Search Congress and Webcongress	March 1-4	Barcelona
Search Congress will take place March 2, with workshops March 3, followed by WebCongress. Where Search Congress focuses solely on search marketing on the Web, Webcongress focuses on every latest online trend on the web: social search, video marketing and lots more.
Social Media Strategies for Travel North America	March 2-3	San Francisco
Social Media Strategies for Travel North America is the world's leading social media conference solely dedicated to the travel industry. This event is the No.1 meeting place for those working in social media in travel. Ensure you get the real low-down on how travel companies are capitalizing on the converging worlds of social media, mobile and location.
Innovative e-Marketing	March 2-3	Barcelona
This cross-industry event helps uncover the secrets to success from the most experienced e-marketers in the world. Learn how to put ideas into practice in the form of social networking activities, brainstorming sessions, talking circles, keynote case studies and insightful presentations. Use promo code EMK11/006 when registering to save 10%.
paidContent	March 3	New York
Senior business executives from across the content industry come together at The Times Center in New York to discuss making digital content pay without pinning it all on advertising.
Local Online Advertising	March 3-4	New York
This conference is designed for executives responsible for developing, managing, marketing and selling online advertising at the local level and for anyone interested in driving value for their mobile operations.
Digital Media and Learning	March 3-5	Long Beach, Calif.
The Digital Media and Learning Conference is an annual gathering of scholars and practitioners in the field, focused on fostering interdisciplinary and participatory dialog and linking theory, empirical study, policy and practice.
Cloud Connect	March 7-10	Silicon Valley, Calif.
Cloud Connect is the one event that brings together cloud customers and cloud operators who are looking to accelerate their cloud strategy while driving growth and innovation. Register for a free Expo Pass or to Save $100 with Priority Code CNXACC19 at www.cloudconnectevent.com
PubCon South	March 8-9	Austin, Texas
A slate of dozens of conference panel discussions and diverse multiple topic tracks will combine with top keynotes, sessions, industry exhibitors, training programs and a lineup of networking events.
Enterprise Social 2.0	March 8-9	Brussels
This upcoming event will be focusing on driving consumer engagement, business efficiency and CRM through social media.
SMX West	March 8-10	San Jose, Calif.
Participate in your choice of more than 60 sessions on search engine optimization, paid search advertising, social media marketing, local and mobile search, landing page conversions and more. Whether you are a beginner or SEM expert, you work at (or with) an agency or manage search marketing in house, SMX West has programming to fit your needs.
Media Summit	March 9-10	New York
Hundreds of the country's top media, entertainment and technology executives are expected to attend this gathering to discuss broadband, wireless, advertising, TV, film, cable, satellite, publishing, news and other media.
Signal Austin	March 10	Austin, Texas
Signal: Austin is the second event in a series of one-day summits hosted by Federated Media and John Battelle for a community of brand marketers, technologists, digital and creatives shops, entrepreneurs, content curators, media and entertainment executives. The summit will feature case studies, conversations, panel discussions and fun interludes, and the speakers will represent the innovative ideas and solutions that help brands, people and campaigns reach engaged audiences.
South by Southwest	March 11-20	Austin, Texas
South by Southwest offers an amazing gathering of thought leaders in independent music, independent films and emerging technologies. Fostering creative and professional growth alike, SXSW is the premier destination for discovery. The Integrated Media Association Conference will take place March 10 within SXSW.
eMetrics Optimization Summit	March 13-18	San Francisco
The summit will help you learn how to turn customer touchpoint data into insight, whether it's search terms, ad response, web behavior, customer satisfaction, mobile activities, social media attitude or transactions. The eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit also hits Toronto on April 26-29.
Conversion Conference West	March 14-15	San Francisco
Conversion Conference West is a worldwide event series for people who want to get the most out of their online campaigns. This conference is chock-full of the latest learnings and practices from world-class experts.
Web and New Media Conference	March 17-18	Washington, DC
The annual Government Web Managers Conference is the premier networking and educational event of the year for web content managers, web writers and editors, and government employees who contribute content to government websites. More than 500 attendees are expected.
OMMA Global	March 17-18	San Francisco
This conference and trade show attracts a large crowd interested in the business of Online Media, Marketing and Advertising.
Interactive Local Media East	March 21-23	Boston
BIA/Kelsey conferences are consistently recognized for the quality of their speakers and content. Each BIA/Kelsey event brings together top executives to network and discuss topics of critical importance to their respective industries.
Search Engine Strategies New York	March 21-25	New York
Learn about topics such as pay-per-click management, keyword research, SEO, social media, local, mobile, link building, duplicate content, multiple site issues, video optimization, site optimization, usability and more.
Emerging Communications Conference & Awards	March 22-24	Burlingame, Calif.
The Emerging Communications Conference & Awards (eComm) was established to provide an independent forum to showcase and accelerate innovation across communications technology and services. Its mission is to ensure an open exchange of vision and ideas in order to positively influence the future of technology-mediated-communications through education, research and events.
Social Pulse	March 23-24	Las Vegas, Nev.
As social media marketing programs mature for America's largest corporations, the challenge becomes how to leverage these channels to directly contribute to bottom-line revenues. This gathering answers those questions with new case studies from leading corporations and new insights from authors and social marketers.
SF Venture Summit	March 24	San Francisco
The conference brings together 300+ thought leaders, financiers, entrepreneurs and MBA students from over 60 countries. Guy Kawasaki is one of the speakers.
mediaXchange	March 25-28	Dallas
The Newspaper Association of America's mediaXchange conference is focused on helping attendees gain expertise, learn from their colleagues' experience and find products, services and partnerships.
An Event Apart	March 28-30	Seattle
An Event Apart is the design conference for people who make websites. Also coming to Boston on May 2-4, Atlanta on June 13-15, Minneapolos on Aug. 8-10 and Washington, DC, on Oct. 24-26.
Web 2.0 Expo	March 28-31	San Francisco
Web 2.0 Expo is a conference and tradeshow for everyone who cares about embracing and extending the opportunities created by Web 2.0 technologies.
Social Media World Forum - Europe	March 29-30	London
Two days of interactive & engaging sessions featuring leading key figure keynotes, brand case studies, topical Q&A and debates, exhibition hall, workshops and networking.
Information Architecture Summit	Mar 30-Apr 3	Denver
The IA Summit is the premier gathering place for people and ideas in information architecture. Nate Silver will keynote.
April
Sex::Tech 2011	April 1-2	San Francico
Sex::Tech 2011 aims to bring health and technology professionals together with youths, parents and community leaders to advance sexual health for youths and young adults.
Social Media & Community 2.0 Strategies	April 4-6	Boston
This fourth annual gathering focuses on the business value of social media for established brands, as well as entrepreneurial companies. It brings together community experts with lines of business leaders who are using social media strategically to drive their business.
We Media NYC	April 6	New York
In 2011 We Media will issue a We Media challenge to create the brilliant city of the future, award $50,000 to the best start-up ideas, hold a boot camp for would-be entrepreneurs and focus on new ways to think, create and change everything.
Beyond Books	April 6-7	Cambridge, Mass.
“Beyond Books: News, Literacy, Democracy and America’s Libraries” (shortlink: “BiblioNews”) is a one-and-one-half-day convention that aims to assess shared purpose -- and now shared channels and technologies -- among librarians and journalists to promote civic engagement and open access to information.
ad:tech San Francisco	April 11-13	San Francisco
ad:tech is the meeting place for the world's leading digital marketing and service companies as well as nearly 10,000 digital marketers, influential speakers and domestic and international press.
National Association of Broadcasters	April 11-15	Las Vegas, Nev.
The NAB Show is the world’s largest digital media industry event attended by leading media, entertainment and communications professionals who share a passion for the next generation of video and audio content across multiple platforms — from television, radios and computers to phones, the big screen and beyond.
Signal Chicago	April 12	Chicago
Signal: Chicago will focus on the theme of "Marketing in Real Time." From real-time bidding on new demand-side and exchange platforms to real-time messaging of location-based services, marketing has time-shifted into the present tense.
Sentiment Analysis Symposium	April 12	New York
The symposium bridges technology and business in one of the most exciting applications to emerge in recent years: software that discovers business value in opinions and attitudes in social media, news and enterprise feedback.
MIX 10	April 12-14	Las Vegas, Nev.
A three-day conference for web designers and developers building the world's most innovative web sites.
The Power of eMarketing	April 19-20	San Francisco
The Power of eMarketing Conference offers an unparalleled and exclusive experience in best practices, case histories and processes for social, email and emerging marketing technologies.
Where 2.0	April 19-21	Santa Clara, Calif.
The premier conference for all things location-aware, Where 2.0 brings together CTOs, developers, technologists, researchers, geographers, business developers, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders to shed light on the issues surrounding location, mobile and social.
Mobile Marketing Strategies Summit	April 26-28	San Francisco
GSMI says their conferences create rich environments for learning, networking and ensure customers of great experiences.
The Next Web	April 27-29	Amsterdam
The Next Web brings together the best audience and companies from Europe and the U.S. to discuss the future of the Web and mobile.
Under the Radar	April 28	Austin, Texas
Under the Radar will uncover the disconnect between business units and IT departments, showcasing the most forward-thinking cloud and business app startups. The conference brings startups, industry leaders, press and investors together with one ultimate goal: to get the deal done.
SOBCon	Apr 29-May 1	Chicago
SOBCon is the think tank of the social Web, where some of the best minds in the Internet space gather to present models, discuss insights and determine best practices. SOBCon features six models and masterminds workshops, six up-close, interactive conversations with business leaders and four special presentations, all focused on the new online and offline leadership and loyalty business.
Future Midwest	April 28-29	Detroit
FutureMidwest Innovations Inc is dedicated to accelerating business and cultural transformation in the Midwest by developing initiatives that unite community passions with emerging technologies.
May
CMS Expo	May 2-4	Evanston, Ill.
Created for Web designers, developers and business people, CMS Expo is the place to be for the most relevant, timely and actionable information in the fast-growth CMS Sector. Attendees will learn the latest Web skills while making highly valuable business connections, all under one roof.
Digital Hollywood Spring	May 2-5	Marina Del Rey, Calif.
Digital Hollywood is the premier entertainment and technology conference in the country. Dozens of media and entertainment execs on tap to discuss the state of digital content.
The Founder Conference	May 3	Mountain View, Calif.
Join 600 entrepreneurs for a full-day conference that covers finding co-founders, how to launch and get press and traction, how to improve your pitch to investors and more.
Digital Impact	May 5-6	New York
Digital innovation has never been more important or accessible to public relations professionals. At the PRSA 2011 Digital Impact Conference, "Building Knowledge, Skills and Value for the New Decade," deep dive into case studies, new technologies and opportunities where communicators may take the lead.
99% Conference	May 5-6	New York
This event brings together some of the world's most productive creative visionaries to offer a behind-the-scenes look at their processes as they share road-tested insights on pushing ideas forward.
Confab	May 9-10	Minneapolis, Minn.
You’ll hear from passionate, pragmatic speakers who are recognized for their expertise in the fields of user experience, CMS, marketing, media/publishing, social media, and SEO. Attending will be authors and folks from agencies, small businesses, and enterprise-level organizations.
Content Delivery Summit	May 9	New York
This event is designed to bring together customers, vendors, analysts, and Wall Street to discuss and define where the video delivery industry is headed.
School of WOM	May 9-11	Chicago
School of WOM (Word of Mouth) focuses on how to engage the social consumer across business disciplines. With an emphasis on hands-on learning from industry experts, experiential thought leaders and engagement passionistas, School of WOM will ensure that your brand becomes talkable across multiple consumer touch points.
Streaming Media East	May 10-11	New York
With more than 100 speakers across 30 sessions, Streaming Media East is still the one online video show that is solely focused on giving you real information you can apply immediately in your business. The gathering combines cutting-edge exhibitors and intensive conference sessions, giving you the chance to hear and see the best and the brightest minds in the online video industry — at the podium, in the Exhibit Hall and among the attendees.
Big Omaha	May 11-13	Omaha, Neb.
Big Omaha 2011 is the culmination of the amazing entrepreneurial energy taking place within the Midwest.
Winning Media Strategies	May 15	Detroit
BIA/Kelsey's annual conference focuses on the latest developments and trends for enhancing the traditional media business and creating the progressive change television, radio, cable and newspaper companies must make to ensure long-term success.
RailsConf 2011	May 16-19	Baltimore, Md.
RailsConf is the largest official conference dedicated to everything Ruby on Rails. Through keynotes, sessions, tutorials, events and of course lots of hallway hacking, RailsConf is the meeting place for the Ruby on Rails community.
Next Conference	May 17-18	Berlin
NEXT puts the interactive consumer in the focus point of consideration. NEXT is the place where people discuss and experience how the consumer on the Internet is evolving.
ArtezInterAction	May 19	San Francisco
The program will cover a range of topics from integration of social media tools to exploring mobile giving to best practices for online fundraising that will help nonprofits connect with their donors and prospects online. Learn about the latest trends in cloud computing, social network fundraising, smartphone apps and mobile web e-commerce.
Privacy Identity Innovation	May 19-20	Santa Clara, Calif.
The 2nd annual Privacy Identity Innovation conference (pii2011) brings together key stakeholders and decision makers from various communities to examine critical technological, ethical and legal issues affecting the future of digital privacy, identity, reputation and trust. In particular, the program explores how to protect sensitive information while enabling new technologies and business models.
Social Media Marketing & Monitoring	May 23	San Francisco
Social Media Marketing & Monitoring will bring together leading marketing experts, brands, agencies and journalists for an intensive one-day conference. Speakers will offer updates on the latest strategies, tools and techniques in social media marketing. The gathering will examine trends from Facebook to Foursquare, Groupon to social gaming and social media monitoring and influencer engagement to social CRM.
Social Media Optimization Conference	May 23-24	San Francisco
Traditional advertising and even Search Engine Marketing don’t deliver the bang they once did. More and more, people are getting news, entertainment and business resources from social media. At SMOC you'll learn how to boost your visibility in search engines and fuel your readers' desire to comment, consume and share through social media.
Innovation Journalism 8	May 23-25	Stanford, Calif.
IJ-8 The Eighth Conference on Innovation Journalism is a venue for researchers from many disciplines and institutions to present work and ideas relating to the interplay of journalism, communication and innovation ecosystems.
Social Media Business Summit	May 24-26	New York
Experts from every field of the blogging and new media will be on hand to share their knowledge, techniques and advice at BlogWorld's Social Media Business Summit. Industry gurus will share their experiences and network with attendees in seminars and moderated panels. Topics will range from high-end experienced blogger, podcast, broadcaster and social media themes to novice “start-up” topics.
WebVisions	May 25-27	Portland, Ore.
WebVisions explores the future of Web design, technology, user experience and business strategy to uncover the trends for Web and mobile applications, blogs, social media, animation, motion graphics and more.
D9 Conference	May 31-Jun 2	Southern California
Since its debut in 2003, The Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference has been breaking news, highlighting innovation and bringing you straight-up conversations with the most influential figures in media and technology.
CeBIT Australia	May 31-June 2	Sydney
Perhaps Australia's top tech conference, CeBIT will have a strong focus on enterprise mobility. This dynamic area has already begun to transform the way the world is doing business and will be a key technology set to drive productivity in 2011 and compliment new and existing concepts such as cloud architecture based business.
June
GTEC DC	June 1-3	Washington, DC
UBM/TechWeb's new conference, Government Technology Expo + Conference, addresses themes of Gov 2.0 and open government. GTEC brings together an audience of government buyers, decision makers, contractors and system integrators to drive more efficient and effective government through the latest technology services and products.
Realtime NY 11	June 6	New York
How are brands like McDonald’s, Delta, PepsiCo, Citibank, IBM and the NHL creating real business value with real-time tools like Twitter, Foursquare and Facebook? Find out at Realtime NY 11 (formerly TWTRCON), a full-day immersion in the mobile, social and real-time Web. Learn how to listen and respond to customers, create effective promotions and get bottom-line results. See real brands share case studies, best practices and the latest tools for the social, mobile and real-time Web.
WebContent	June 6-7	Chicago
Within five years 50% of all Web traffic will come through mobile devices and more users will access the Internet via mobile devices than desktops. Join national content experts, marketers, strategists, developers and other industry thinkers so that you can learn how to get your content to increasingly mobile clients, customers and fans.
Conversational Marketing Summit	June 6-7	New York
Leading agencies, marketers, platforms and entrepreneurs come together for the marketing industry’s most rigorous and thought-provoking annual two-day gathering that bridges the innovations of the Internet with the practice of marketing. Conference site has not been updated for 2011.
Personal Democracy Forum	June 6-7	New York
The annual gathering of people interested in how technology is changing politics, governance and society. It's a must-attend event for political junkies and anyone using new technologies in politics or government.
Internet Week New York	June 6-13	New York
Internet Week is a week-long festival of events celebrating New York's thriving Internet industry and community.
Inbound Marketing Summit	June 7-8	San Francisco
Chris Brogan heads up this conference series geared to social influence marketers. The Inbound Marketing Summit is where the online marketing community gathers to solve today's marketing and business communications challenges. Another Inbound Marketing Summit is coming to Boston on Aug. 16-17.
Advertising 2.0	June 7-8	New York
The annual gathering of advertising, marketing and media execs covering global brands, marketing, mobile and media. It's put on by Barry Diller's IAC and Digital Hollywood.
SMX Advanced	June 7-8	Seattle
This is the only search marketing conference designed exclusively for experienced Internet marketers. Sessions are fast-paced, Q&A-packed, frequently controversial and quite informative.
Likeable U: Class of 2011	June 8-9	New York
Designed to give you a better understanding of when, why and how to use social media to achieve your overall goals as a brand as well as an individual, this two-day conference will thrust you into the movement that is social media with sessions over two days featuring thought leaders from Facebook, Twitter and other social networks along with practical and hands-on how-to sessions.
PitchCon	June 9-10	Los Angeles
Formerly known as LATV Fest, PitchCon 2011 features an expanded roster of top-level TV and digital content producers, development executives, agents, advertising and brand executives. PitchCon highlights include advance pitch prep sessions; master classes on production budget and scheduling, legal issues, producing web video, short-form entertainment and multi-platform writing; YouTube NEXT with emerging producers; a how-to session on spec scripts for writers; and the Pitch Pit, an opportunity for participants to get guaranteed meetings with “Catchers” from more than 50 companies, networks and agencies.
MaxFunCon	June 10-12	Lake Arrowhead, Calif.
MaximumFunCon is a gathering of creative people who wish to be more awesome.
IABC World Conference	June 12-15	San Diego
Join more than 1,400 business communication professionals from 40 countries to learn about the latest trends, issues and best practices in communication in this annual event put on by the International Association of Business Communicators.
2WAY Summit	June 13-14	New York
The ReadWriteWeb 2WAY Summit to be held at Columbia University will feature speakers such as Union Square Ventures’ VC Fred Wilson, Mahalo founder Jason Calcanis, NPR social media guru Andy Carvin, Gawker Media founder Nick Denton, Hunch co-founder Chris Dixon and many more.
OnMobile	June 14-15	Redwood City, Calif.
OnMobile 2011 is where the top venture capital-backed mobile companies disrupting the consumer and enterprise worlds join forces with the big players pioneering the new mobile device and operating system platforms. This two-day executive event features high-level debates on what's hot in the emerging mobile market and how these innovations are disrupting how companies and consumers work, play, advertise and connect. OnMobile also showcases the top entrepreneurial CEOs who are driving mobile innovation.
Velocity	June 14-16	Santa Clara, Calif.
Now in its fourth year, Velocity — the Web Performance and Operations conference from O'Reilly Media is the premier technical event dedicated to optimizing every aspect of your company's website. What you'll learn at Velocity will have a positive, direct impact on the bottom line.
140 Characters	June 15-16	New York
This event from Jeff Pulver is expected to be the largest worldwide gathering of people interested in the effects of the real-time Internet on both business and "we" the people.
Enterprise 2.0	June 20-23	Boston
Enterprise 2.0 makes accessible the collective intelligence of many, translating to a huge competitive advantage in the form of increased innovation, productivity and agility.
Cloud Computing World Forum	June 21-22	London
This third annual forum is free to attend and will feature most of the key players in the cloud computing and SaaS market providing an introduction, discussion and look into the future for the global information and communications technology industry.
Create or Die 2	June 25	Greensboro, N.C.
Journalism That Matters' “Create or Die 2" is a gathering focused on journalism entrepreneurship by and for people of color. Explore the role that journalism plays in communities taking responsibility for their own stories and explore opportunities for potential entrepreneurial journalism ventures. During this three-day event, you will conceive, design and pitch ideas for the next news and information businesses, tools and services that amplify diverse voices and strengthen the role of communities in shaping their stories.
Future of Web Apps	June 27-29	Las Vegas, Nev.
The Future of Web Apps is a conference for Web developers and entrepreneurs. You'll learn about cutting-edge tech and exciting new ideas.
Connections	June 28-30	Santa Clara, Calif.
This event highlights consumer and industry research from Parks Associates, showcases key players and new technologies and delivers insight and recommendations for new business models and opportunities in digital media/content, mobile applications and services, connected consumer electronics, broadband and home systems.
July
Project SEARCH	July 11-12	Minneapolis, Minn.
This fifth annual conference from QuestWorks in Orlando, Fla., serves as an opportunity to convene The Project SEARCH team's international network of partners for a week-long offering of education, training and shared learning and planning to assist new and existing program sites in executing the Project SEARCH model to its fullest potential. Register here.
AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media	July 17-21	Barcelona, Spain
ICWSM, the fifth international conference on weblogs and social media, put on by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, brings together researchers from computer science, linguistics, communication and the social sciences.
CleanSlate	July 19	New York
CleanSlate 2011: Marketing and Media in the Tablet Economy is a one-day thought-provoking BtoB conference designed to explore the rapidly changing world of media consumption and advertising in the new Tablet Economy.
Fortune Brainstorm Tech	July 19-21	Aspen, Colo.
Fortune Brainstorm TECH is a marketplace of ideas that assembles top technology and media thinkers, operators, entrepreneurs, innovators and influencers. These leaders inspire a conversation that informs Fortune's editorial coverage throughout the year.
OSCON	July 25-29	Portland, Ore.
The O'Reilly Open Source Convention assembles the best, brightest and most interesting people to explore what's new and to champion open source adoption across the computing industry. Participants from the vast, diverse community will come together to learn, collaborate and inspire each other.
Summit at Stanford	July 26-28	Palo Alto, Calif.
AlwaysOn's annual gathering of tech power brokers, VCs and business folks, held on the Stanford campus.
August
BlogHer	Aug. 5-6	San Diego
BlogHer conferences bring together thousands of women bloggers -- both veterans and beginners -- from around the world to discuss, inspire and connect with each other.
Inbound Marketing Summit Boston	Aug. 16-17	Boston
The Inbound Marketing Summit is where the online marketing community gathers to solve today's marketing and business communications challenges.
September
Social Media World Forum - Asia	Sept. 1-2	Singapore
Look for two days of interactive and engaging sessions featuring leading key figure keynotes, brand case studies, topical Q&A and debates, an exhibition hall, workshops and networking.
Content Marketing World	Sept. 6-8	Cleveland
Learn how to transform your marketing department into a storytelling factory, engaging your prospects and customers in all the right channels with the right messages – including social, mobile, email, online and even print and in-person strategies. Email me for a $200 discount code.
DEMOfall	Sept. 12-13	Santa Clara, Calif.
The fall edition of the august tech innovation conference.
TechCrunch Disrupt	Sept. 12-14	San Francisco
Disrupt SF promises "more hackers, more startups, more special guests, speakers and judges, more disruptive companies and products, more giveaways, more after parties and more fun."
SMX East	Sept. 13-15	New York
SMX East features three days of sessions, keynotes and access to the leading vendors in search marketing. Sessions will cover a wide range of search engine marketing topics: SEO, paid search advertising, analytics, local, mobile and more.
Social Media Summit	Sept. 14	Harrisburg, Penn.
The summit brings together a diverse group of speakers to examine the far-reaching impact of social networks on politics, parenting, entrepreneurship, training and education, world affairs and the local news. This event is ideal for parents, budding journalists, corporate leaders, advocates, nonprofit groups, military personnel, HR directors and managers, business owners, college students and others who wish to think about the impact of social media beyond marketing and brand building.
National Association of Government Webmasters	Sept. 14-16	Cincinnati
While focused on government web professionals, anyone can attend this ninth annual conference.
SOBCon Northwest	Sept. 16-18	Portland, Ore.
SOBCon is coming to the Pacific Northwest. Liz Strauss and Terry "Starbucker" St. Marie will be connecting businesses to the planet and the people who live on it as they about business models that work for profit and for social good. SOBCon NW will have the same "Models & Masterminds" format featured in the Chicago SOBCon, with 6 work sessions, 4 interviews, 4 special presentations, and a half-day non-profit "give back" event.
Strata	Sept. 19-21	New York
The inaugural O’Reilly Strata Conference brought a sold-out audience face to face with the people, tools and technologies that are the mastering the challenges of Big Data. It’s here, and it changes everything. From lean startups to global corporations, smart companies know that the future of business comes from harnessing big data. Look for insights, vigorous discussion and cutting-edge perspective.
Directional Media Strategies	Sept. 20-22	Denver
Directional Media Strategies is BIA/Kelsey’s annual conference dedicated to the future of the Yellow Pages industry. Sessions drill deeply into the drivers of the Yellow Pages business in the future with a focus on the building blocks of a diversified operation.
Online News Association	Sept. 23-25	Boston
ONA is the annual gathering of new media movers and shakers, journalists and online news managers.
Search and Social Woot! Hawaii	Sept. 26-29	Kauai, Hawaii
Whether you are an avid search marketing or social media marketing rock star; an executive looking to improve your business, or a member of an agency, the Woot! will provide you with the strategies, how to's and know-how around search marketing and social media marketing.
Block by Block: Community News Summit	Sept. 29-Oct. 1	Chicago
Join co-hosts Michele McLellan and Jay Rosen for a lively and informative gathering of online community news entrepreneurs. Share your best practices, progress and challenges with fellow local news pioneers and learn from their experiences. The Block by Block summit agenda is built based on what online community news publishers most want to learn about at the conference and what expertise they can contribute. Revenue and community engagement are the chief focuses.
October
Direct Marketing Association	Oct. 1-6	Boston
DMA2011 helps progressive marketers to better engage customers and improve bottom-line results in all channels, including social, search, mobile, video and more.
WITI's Women and Technology Summit	Oct. 2-4	San Jose, Calif.
WITI (Women In Technology International), the world's leading professional organization for executive women in technology, will gather around the theme of "Collaboration, Strategy and Growth" through hands-on speaking engagements and panel discussions.
Android Open	Oct. 9-11	San Francisco
Android Open is the first conference to cover the entire Android ecosystem. Whether you're a developer, IT pro, business decision-maker or marketer, you'll find the latest and best information for maximizing the power of the Android platform. Android Open is a big-tent meeting ground for app and game developers, carriers, chip manufacturers, content creators, OEMs, researchers, entrepreneurs, VCs and business leaders to share best practices, tools, models and lessons learned.
Web 2.0 Expo NY	Oct. 10-13	New York
Web 2.0 Expo is a conference and trade show for everyone who cares about embracing and extending the opportunities created by Web 2.0 technologies.
Social Media Marketing & Monitoring	Oct 12	New York
Following sell-out conferences in San Francisco and London, this intensive, high-value marketing conference is heading to New York. Looking for the latest techniques in social commerce, social media monitoring, location marketing, social email and gamification? Join DVF, WGN America, NBC, Peter Shankman, Christine Perkett, Brian Reich, Brandwatch and many more at this must-attend. Get 10% off your registration with this code: SMBIZ10
International Professional Communication Conference	Oct. 17-19	Cincinnati
"Communicating Sustainablity" is the theme for the IPCC 2011 Conference. The theme refers to the many different ways in which communication plays a role in helping us conceptualize, analyze and solve the environmental challenges of the 21st century.
Digital Hollywood Fall	Oct. 17-20	Marina del Rey, Calif.
Digital Hollywood remains one of the nation's premier entertainment and technology conferences.
Pivot	Oct. 17-18	New York
Pivot is a new kind of marketing conference singularly focused on helping brand marketers and their agencies connect with the social consumer.
Web 2.0 Summit	Oct. 17-19	San Francisco
The Web 2.0 Summit brings together 1,000 senior executives from the worlds of technology, media, finance, telecommunications, entertainment,and the Internet. This year the theme is "The Data Frame," focusing on the impact of data in today's networked economy.
Pop!Tech	Oct. 19-22	Camden, Maine
Pop!Tech will mark its 15th annual gathering with more than 600 remarkable thinkers, leaders and innovators showcasing powerful ideas and projects that are changing the world. I attended one year — it's a great gathering.
November
Social Media World Forum - North America	Nov. 1-2	New York
Two days of interactive & engaging conference featuring leading key figure keynotes, brand case studies, topical Q&A and debates, exhibition hall, workshops and networking.
Social CRM	Nov 3	New York
Are you connecting with customers on multiple platforms? Are you mapping this across your organisation? Do you have a joined-up strategy for managing customer engagement? Featuring an amazing case study from American Airlines, plus Dr Natalie Petouhoff, Tatyana Kanzavelli, Richard Hughes and Adam Metz, #SCRMNYC will provide a 1-day master-class in Social CRM. Don't miss it! BUY YOUR TICKET HERE: http://www.oursocialtimes.com/socialcrmnewyork/ Get 10% off with this code: SMBIZ10
BlogWorld & New Media Expo	Nov. 3-5	Los Angeles
BlogWorld moves from Las Vegas to LA, where experts from every field of blogging and new media will be on hand to share their knowledge, techniques and advice. Industry gurus will share their experiences and network with attendees in seminars and moderated panels.
Social Media Prom	Nov. 6-10	San Francisco
Social Media Prom is "a formal dance for all of you who didn't get a chance to make it out of your house, the backseat of the car, or ..."
The Market Research Event	Nov. 7-9	Orlando, Fla.
TMRE remains focused on the business value of market research and this year brings you more than 140 sessions and more than 175 speakers. Join the global community of market research leaders as we tackle the most critical issues in market research today and rally as an industry to Lead in A New Direction.
Sentiment Analysis Symposium	Nov. 9	San Francisco
This gathering bridges technology and business in one of the most exciting applications to emerge in recent years: software that discovers business value in opinions and attitudes in social media, news and enterprise feedback. The event comes to the West Coast for the first time, building on the April 2010 & 2011 symposiums in New York.
Innovation Summit	Nov. 10-12	Sonoma County, Calif.
Put on by Partners for Growth, this conference is designed not just for CEOs, CMOs, venture capitalists, developers or designers but also reaches out to anyone interested in technology. The gathering will bring in speakers from the nation and Europe to discuss how to be innovative and build upon the entrepreneurial spirit.
December
LeWeb	December 7-9	Paris
LeWeb brings together the most influential audience in the Internet ecosystem. Top industry entrepreneurs, executives, investors, senior press and bloggers gather for two days to focus on the key issues and opportunities in the Web marketplace.
Interactive Local Media West	Dec. 12-14	San Francisco
BIA/Kelsey's Interactive Local Media is the definitive conference on local digital advertising and marketing. This event provides a 360-degree view of the local marketplace, covering local search, Internet Yellow Pages, vertical directories, Internet video, online classifieds and mobile search. Also see ILM East.

Additional conferences (and missing ones)

We can't find plans for a 2011 version of:

• Teens in Tech 2.0
• Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup
• SocialMediaPlus
• TWTRCON
• SIME conferences
• M.O.B. Conference : Monetizing Online Business
• BlueGlass LA
• Supernova
• Techonomy Conference
• Big South Social Media Summit
• PICNIC
• Online Community Summit
• Pivot Conference
• SocialBizWorld
• Future of Crowdsourcing Summit
• Streaming Media West
• BRANDSconf
• Bulldog Reporter’s 2010 Media Relations Summit
• Reboot (last held June 25- 26, 2009, in Copenhagen)
• Digital ID World - US
• FASTforward

For a list of all things geek, check out Robert Scoble's Plancast events calendar. In addition, Conference Alerts has a comprehensive list of 2011 academic conferences by subject category.

-- Thanks to Serge Paulyn Ramirez for helping to compile this directory of events.