I’m currently at the inaugural Crypto Business Conference (CBC), created by Social Media Examiner.
I only learned about Social Media Examiner a few months ago when I met Michael Stelzner, the CEO.
Only half a milly followers, no biggie 🤷♂️
Social Media Examiner has hosted an annual conference, Social Media Marketing World for almost a decade (their 10th is next year!) and has now expanded into the Web3 space with this new conference.
I’ve gotta give Michael kudos because he’s not only betting (like many of us) that Web3 is going to be one of the biggest movements in the next decade and beyond, but he created this conference while we’re entering a bear market. That is conviction. On top of that, he has 7 Moonbirds and many other NFTs in his portfolio. He knows his stuff 🙂
I had the opportunity to speak at the conference and cover some frameworks and case studies I’ve written about in the past. If you want an idea of what I presented, check out my pieces below:
I’m still a growth marketing professional, I hope? 😂
I’m grateful for attending and speaking at this conference as this event opened my eyes in new ways.
Themes
Smaller events allow for depth and proximity
Because of the 1-2 punch of being an inaugural event as well as the macro market conditions, this event was smaller than other prominent industry events (like Consensus or NFT NYC), with a couple hundred attendees. A number of the attendees were cross-pollinated from the Social Media Marketing World and Social Media Examiner followings.
Though disadvantageous in the short-term, I believe the density of value provided to the attendees is incomparable and will set CBC up for long-term success. I’m grateful for the feedback I received from audience members who came up to share how my frameworks were helpful for them to continue journey to learn more about Web3.
Because the audiences of CBC and Social Media Marketing World will overlap, I expect the attendance, buzz, and energy will crossover bi-directionally. I know Michael and his team have thought about this deeply and this event will fan the flames that have been lit 😉
The hunger is real
Compared to your typical crypto or Web3 conference, the percentage of attendees that are novices in the space is relatively high. And that gets me excited!
Some of us have heard the phrases ‘Music NFTs are the future’ or ‘Gaming will onboard a billion people onto Web3’. I believe in these statements, but I also believe that education focused events like CBC catered towards beginners will help speed up the onboarding of those billion people.
Traditional industry conferences are great for people who have solid understanding the Web3 space, but there needs to events that cater towards those curious about all the hubbub and are looking for more beginner-friendly content presented in a conference format. CBC is one of those events.
The professional demographics of attendees
Though many of the attendees may not be knowledgeable about Web3 and NFTs, they are experts in their respective spaces. Many of the attendees are entrepreneurs, business owners, and marketers from variety of industries — construction, healthcare, B2B SaaS, restaurant owners, book publishing, etc.
You name the industry, you got an expert or business owner in attendance.
This is what gets me excited about Web3 and broader applications of the tech. At this point, the level of awareness around Web3 and NFTs is saturated. But what many don’t know is how it can be applied to _________ (insert random industry or business here). I don’t have all the answers to that topic, though it’s a fun thought exercise 🤔
In these situations, what is more effective is to provide the right frameworks, tools, and strategies to help those in the various industries to think through applications, deepen understanding, and lay out opportunities in a one-to-many format.
One technology —> Many applications
Being more welcoming to newbies
I’m still new to the Web3 conference circuit, so this may already be happening…but what if there was a ‘new to Web3’ track at every conference? CBC’s focus was around this audience, but what if that was a track or stage that was incorporated into every conference, large and small?
People I met
Mark Tennant and his wife Becky - Mark subscribed to my newsletter a couple weeks back after listening to a podcast episode I was featured on. He surprised me with a crochet version of my Cool Cat that his wife made, and I LOVE IT. I even gave them a shoutout during my talk, what a great prop!
This crochet Cool Cat will be cozy hanging out with its Cool Cat plushie friends in my living room when I get back.
Melissa - During my presentation, I shared how Pearson was incorporating NFTs into their business model. Afterwards, Melissa came up to me to share her thoughts about the publishing space and the opportunities and challenges with all things publishing.
As we sat over lunch earlier today discussing the topic some more, others shared their opinions on how the definition of ‘creators’ could be expanded with the incorporation of textbooks and Web3. What if students could overlay their digital notes and annotations on top of the textbooks and take part in the royalties and revenue share? 🤯
Would that be complex and legally complicated with legal and rights implications? Sure, but these are the possibilities that Web3 brings to spaces that have been traditionally rigid.
Steven and Victor - Both of them are restaurant owners in San Francisco where I live and we had conversations around how customer and loyalty experiences could be improved through Web3 capabilities. I’m excited for them as they think through opportunities to reward their loyal patrons.
Natchi - He flew from India to attend this event and understand how Web3 could help the non-profits and faith-based organizations that he works with. I imagine this is an underserved space as some of these organizations are still integrating Web2 capabilities. Maybe they should skip that step altogether and go straight to the blockchain? 😂 Kidding Natchi, I’m excited for all the new insights you’re gaining from this event as you think through applications!
JUMP - Where there’s a Web3 conference, there’s JUMPers. It was great to meet old faces and new, we’re everywhere!
Todd - Todd performed for the audience with specially written songs for the conference…at 8:45AM this morning. How awesome is that?! It was great to connect and hear more about your story and how your incorporating your talents with the space.
Brandon - We go way back since we started our careers a decade ago in the mobile app space! As a speaker, I got a complimentary +1 and I invited Brandon to attend. It was great to catch up and congrats again on being a newlywed! I’m sure you and your team will consider attending Social Media Marketing World next year since you’re at Reddit 😉
See you later this week. I’ll be traveling tomorrow so I probably won’t have a piece…or will I? 🤷♂️
