SMX Madrid 2008... made in Spain
On May 20th and 21st, Search Marketing Expo landed in Spain, led by Tomy Lorsch and Rafa Fdez. Tamames, and featuring big names such as Danny Sullivan (Partner and Chief Content Officer at Search Engine Land and Search Marketing Expo), Rand Fishkin (CEO of SEOmoz.org), and Bernard Girard (author of the book “The Google Model: A Management Revolution”).
Truth be told, the event’s agenda looked very promising (and I can’t deny that the SEO stars delivered), although it went through several changes right from the start.
I can assure you that I really don’t like the “made in Spain” label I’ve used in the title, given the meaning I’m attaching to it—but I feel forced to do so… Spain is different… so different, especially if we compare it, for example, with SES London 2008. Always from a demanding and perfectionist point of view. ;)
Since I’m one of those who prefer “the bad news first” when faced with the classic “I have good and bad news”, let’s start with the facts (or incidents) regarding the organization and content of the event:
- Practically all conferences and seminars started late (some by up to 30 minutes!), starting with the opening session.
- There were serious issues with sound and microphones (working one moment, failing the next)… almost leaving us deaf on a couple of occasions.
- The level of some speakers was, to say the least, questionable (especially the local ones, unfortunately… even though I really dislike lumping everyone together, I won’t name names). There were some memorable quotes (“little gems” I’ll keep to myself… at least for now).
- Few exhibitors (although it’s fair to remember this was the first SMX in Spain).
- And for me, the most surprising thing of all: those of us who paid had NO Internet connection!! Yes, yes… SMX Madrid 2008 with no Wi-Fi for attendees. “No comments”.
But it wasn’t all bad, not by a long shot:
- The announcement of the Spanish version of Search Engine Land (although some of us already knew, and while I include it as a positive, I’d rather be cautious… let’s see how it goes).
- The attitude and concern I sensed in Tomy Lorsch to make sure everything he could control went smoothly.
- Social and professional networking.
- Attendance: quite good, although I perhaps expected more.
- Rand Fishkin: generous with know-how and humor. He shared a lot of information and was genuinely entertaining. Excellent talks and presentations.
- The food: excellent. We’re in Spain, right? :)
Conclusion: encouraging, as long as lessons are learned from mistakes, shortcomings are analyzed, and the work continues with enthusiasm. Keep it up!
Another day I’ll summarize some highlights from the most notable presentations.
