Of course, the companion piece to my last blog post, is to celebrate the Social Media Expert Critic. If you’re bashing this type of behavior, then by all means, bash away.

But I don’t think our experts are like that.

Ok, not really. But sub-head this post “You’re never appreciated most in your hometown”.

Yea, I get the whole social media expert bashing thing. I think generally it’s pretty funny. But I don’t get the bashing of the folks trying to make a living off of social media. Case in point, Len Hewit (name changed to protect the innocent).

I’ll admit, I was at once skeptical. I thought, what the hell does this kid know? But I’ve met Len a few times, and he genuinly wants to help people. You may disagree with what he’s teaching or how he goes about marketing his services, but that’s no excuse to categorize him as a social media snake oil salesman.

I’ve watched Len for a few months now with awe as he’s grown his network with positivity. I don’t think I’ve seen a negative tweet from him. But from some I hear from Columbus, he’s the Anti-Christ.

But if he were, why would well known social media folks hang around with him. Folks like Chris Brogan and Gary Vaynerchuck. Yes, you read that right.

Just because you hustle and #crushit doesn’t mean your a charlatan. If he and other folks are that bad in Columbus, OH, then let the market ferret them out.

Now go out and hug your local social media expert.

First off, congrats to all involved with TEDxColumbus, great list of speakers.

Second, my apologies for the guest post I published here. Clearly it was wrong. But I’ve been wrong in the past and I probably will be wrong again. I won’t apologize for mucking it up, but I’ll man up when I’m wrong and apologize accordingly.

Carry on. Nothing left to see but my carcass.

I’m not sure how long Experience Columbus has been doing Experience Columbus Days, but last year I took advantage of the promotion and whole heartedly recommend you do too.

This year, ECD will be from October 9-12. You’ll get up to 50% off at at variety of Columbus entertainment and attractions, plus a can’t-be-beat 25% discount on food at Dine Originals Columbus restaurants. In order to take advantage of the discounts, you’ll have to print out the discount flyer and present it to the places you are visiting.

Guest post from Columbus celebrity and great guy Ryan Bauer. Full disclosure, I really want TEDx Columbus to be a hit. I share the same community goals of Ryan and TED (the original). Hopefully, the organizers of TEDx Columbus see Ryan’s post as a good thing and be open with their motives. After all, I’m completely open with Ignite Columbus. As should Nancy and Ruth.

NOTE: Make sure you read the comments. It’s all good. Cheers, @wyliemac.
*****************************************
Behind the Curtain of TEDx Columbus by Ryan Bauer

The recently publicized TEDx Columbus is facing difficult questions this week after behind the scenes details of the event were reported on twitter.

Modeled after the infamous TED conference, Columbus residents were excited to hear what local speakers had to offer in the spirit of the TED, whose mission is simply, “Ideas worth spreading”. Widely known as the conference that brings together people from the Technology, Entertainment, and Design sectors; the sessions explore some of the best insights and ideas of the last decade. The website, TED.com, offers the best talks and performances from TED and partners available to the world, for free.

TEDx is the name given to the event when held in any local community, although not officially endorsed by the TED organization. TEDx Columbus would be the city’s first attempt at a local TED session and is being organized by Nancy Kramer, owner of Resource Interactive and Ruth Milligan, owner of Milligan Communications. The event will be held at the Wexner Center on October 20th. According to Ms. Milligan, she obtained the license to provide the TEDx conference in Columbus and contacted Ms. Kramer who had attended four TED conferences in the past. Most of the TEDx sessions are heavily weighted with prior recorded TED talks given at official TED conferences in the past. A smaller portion of the TEDx experience are live speakers who are typically chosen by committee after an open call for local residents is given. For TEDx Columbus, all the speakers were chosen by both Ms. Kramer and Ms. Milligan, and according to one source are stocked full of Resource Interactive senior staff and Resource’s business partners. Not only are the live speakers proprietary advertisements for the advancement for Resource Interactive, but there are no prior TED talks slated into the Columbus program according to the source.

It was also surprising to Columbus community leaders that the session was being billed at a steep fifty dollars per ticket, directly against the grain of providing the content for free. The TEDx site requests that the sessions are held free of charge in the spirit of TED’s nonprofit status. When contacted, a TED representative stated that a small fee could be charged to provide some of the event services, such as five dollars for food or parking. According to the source at TED, the cost of tickets cannot exceed twenty dollars (without written consent from TED) and the session must NOT be a money making entity. A source at the Wexner Center stated that the space was donated without charge.

According to TED.com all of the TEDx sessions must be clear of a commercial agenda. That seems to be in complete contrast to the Columbus session from what can be determined thus far (a website with additional details was supposed to be launched weeks ago). According to the present information, both Nancy Kramer and Ruth Milligan will stand to profit nearly twenty thousand dollars from this one evening between ticket sales and corporate sponsorships alone. That won’t even touch the sales pipeline that will be built on that evening for both Resource Interactive and Milligan’s PR and Marketing firm. With such clear criteria from TED, it’s baffling that the organizers of the Columbus session are truly missing the mark on what could have been a significant night for Columbus. Between the obvious profit and the presenters’ proprietary angle on the evening’s information the Columbus community is left wondering: Are these really the ideas worth spreading or just ideas worth buying at fifty dollars a ticket?

***************

What follows are comments from Nancy and Ruth. Thanks for your clarifications.

First up, Nancy Kramer:

I am blessed and fortunate to be a four-time attendee of TED. Any TEDster will tell you it’s a real life-changer. As anyone who knows me can attest, each year I come home inspired and excited to spread the word to everyone I know. In fact, I write a play-by-play of each day and share it with the company, encouraging them to watch the talks online. So when Ruth was kind enough to contact me and ask for my help with TEDx Columbus, I immediately jumped at the opportunity to share TED with an even larger audience. 

This morning it was brought to my attention that there was some confusion in the community surrounding the event and that both its integrity and spirit were being questioned. Ryan, I’m so sorry that you feel as though our efforts have been disingenuous and misaligned with the core spirit of TED. Respectfully, I have to disagree. Your post is filled with mistruths and incorrect conclusions, and I feel it’s important to share the truth behind TEDx Columbus. Sadly, had you reached out to me with the information given by your source, this could have been entirely avoided. In the interest of clearing the air, I’ll address your list of grievances, one by one: 

“All the speakers were chosen by both Ms. Kramer and Ms. Milligan, and according to one source are stocked full of Resource Interactive senior staff and Resource’s business partners” 
The speaker selection committee consists of Ruth Milligan, Mike Curtin from the Dispatch, Doug Kridler from the Columbus Foundation, Dave Ungar from OCLC, Jack Jackson from the Wexner Center and myself. There are no senior staff from Resource Interactive involved (aside from some small assistance from marketing) and not one business partner from the agency. Additionally, no one from Resource Interactive is speaking, nor was anyone from the agency ever considered as such. The speakers are not business focused. They were selected based on their compatibility with TED themes of Technology, Entertainment and Design, and the Columbus TEDx theme of local residents making a global impact. In fact, we’re pretty proud of (and inspired by) the lineup. We think you will be too. (And I would REALLY love to share them, but we don’t have the release yet to do so.) 

“There are no prior TED talks slated into the Columbus program according to the source.”
Yes, there will be prior talks at the Columbus program. Those TED sessions are being chosen based upon the Columbus theme and the popularity of each at TED.com. 

“Both Nancy Kramer and Ruth Milligan will stand to profit nearly twenty thousand dollars from this one evening between ticket sales and corporate sponsorships alone. That won’t even touch the sales pipeline that will be built on that evening for both Resource Interactive and Milligan’s PR and Marketing firm.” 
There are absolutely NO profits stemming from this event. The charges cover parking, food, and AV. And let me elaborate on that—our costs associated with audio and video are higher, as we are working to meet TED’s productions standards with the hopes that TEDx Columbus will be broadcast on TED.com for everyone to enjoy. The ticket cost covers the amount of the budget, and Resource Interactive will pay any unforeseen, inevitable expenses. This event is for the benefit of the TED community and Columbus, created with the genuine intent of spreading ideas and inspiration. And I can assure you; in no way will this event feed the sales pipeline of our company. This is in no way a commercial event and all potential speakers have been informed that selling is not appropriate and should not be included. 

“According to the source at TED, the cost of tickets cannot exceed twenty dollars (without written consent from TED) and the session must NOT be a money making entity.” 
The cost of producing a TEDx event, and in turn the cost of admission for attendees, is the Achilles heel of this process. But just to be clear, we do have approval on the cost of admission and have worked with our license director throughout this process. In fact, our TED license director is so encouraged by our list of speakers she’s considering attending the event. 

All misunderstandings aside, I’m incredibly encouraged to see such passion coming from the Columbus community regarding the event. I certainly wish it had come in a different form, but I hope I’ve put the rumors to rest on these issues. We hope to see you there. Stay tuned for details—we’ll be announcing the speaker lineup and opening seating when we launch the site next week. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me directly. 
Respectfully, 
/nancy kramer

*******

Next is Ruth Milligan:

Nancy was kind enough to take the time to explain our role and clarifies some of your misunderstandings. As one of the original licensees for TEDx, we are a part of a group that is working through every detail of how to organize a TED event. I will say that from my perspective, it has been the most challenging but inspiring projects on which I’ve had the pleasure of working. 

I’m not sure what people’s expectations will be, but mine is to present the most dynamic array of speakers that you’ve ever seen in one sitting. And all of them with hair-raising, head-turning ideas, concepts and perspectives that I, in my wildest dreams, could never originate. I am humbled, truly, to be a part of the process of working with these exceptional speakers and a committed curatorial team all for the sake of truly sharing some of the best ideas we have worth spreading. 

For those of you that know me personally, I’ve devoted much of my life to non-profit causes as it is my passion. As a lifelong resident of Columbus, I’m a devotee to making us shine across the globe. And as a former (and sometimes present) speechwriter, TEDx Columbus is a way that I can make a contribution back by helping to curate these dynamic talks for the world to hear. 

I will add a bit about charging – when I spoke with the License Director for TEDx, it was indeed a confounding dilemma for her with every one of her TEDx events (there are over 200 across the world). We had to make a choice how to cover our costs for this initial unproven event (when many many people still have NO idea what TED is and evaluate sponsorship potential), and do it without incurring any debt. Indeed, our concern is far from profit but designing a model that can be replicated and enjoyed again in the future. 

My husband, who is standing over me right now, wonders in fact if I still have a day job since all I seem to do is worry about TEDx Columbus. Will that speaker fit in 18 minutes? Is that the right topic angle? Do we have enough coffee for folks and how will we distribute parking vouchers? And who is getting the sitter? Since he is about to shut my computer so we can leave town to celebrate my birthday, I’ll be happy to respond to any questions next week that Nancy and/or Dave can’t address. 

I do hope that many of you will join us for our first TEDx Columbus on October 20. 

Ruth Milligan

Grove City. Southwestern School District voters. You should be proud of yourselves.

Idiots.

Update, a friend on facebook made the following comment, and thus the strike out:

I just want to clarify something, Alvin. Grove City DID pass the levy. It was the others who did not, and that is why people are talking here about wanting to detach from South West. And it’s not just the sports. Grove City’s marching band has been winning accolades and awards for years. How sad for those kids who will now not be able to play their instruments, and possibly get music scholarships.

No way

this,

in Columbus!

We’re just not that interesting for something like Just Ducky Tours.

But prove me wrong. I never thought I'd see a launch party on the mother f'n boat.

]]> http://the270.com/2009/09/02/id-be-surprised-if-cbus-had-a-just-ducky-tour/feed/ 0 http://the270.com/2009/09/02/id-be-surprised-if-cbus-had-a-just-ducky-tour/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/The270/~3/mlWTaRORmLA/ http://the270.com/2009/09/02/longaberger-a-short-drive-away-to-a-good-time/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:11:12 +0000 wyliemac http://the270.com/?p=832

You know I just had to take a picture of these

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate to be invited and attend Longaberger’s first blogger’s event. At the event, they had us make a basket and gave us a tour of the basket making facility and the Longaberger Homestead shops.

The basket in focus with the dog grommlets was the one I made

Longaberger Homestead is located just east of Newark, Ohio in the country town of Frazeysburg, Ohio (5563 Raiders Road, Frazeysburg, OH 43822). It’s only an 30 to 45 minute drive from Columbus, but well worth the trip. If you’re looking for something fun and unique, you might want to check out Longaberger’s Heritage Days this September 11 and 12. The schedule of events looks exciting and you can even make a basket for the special price of $39.95.

Materials lined up for basket making

Or, if baskets are not your thing, you can drop off your loved one with a wad of cash and go play golf at the renowned Longaberger Golf Club. I’ve played it once and it is amazing.

In the next few years, someone will open a kayak rental shop on the Scioto Mile

Last weekend we traveled to Pittsburgh to catch the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Buffalo Bills. One thing that caught my eye was a vibrant waterfront with boats, jet skis and kayaks! Now the Scioto river will never have big boats like those found in Pittsburgh, but the soon to come Scioto Mile can have kayaks. Heck, we can have kayaks now!

Mark my words, some enterprising person will open up a water sports rental kiosk on the Scioto Mile and rent out kayaks. After all, I did say Columbus should have pedicabs.

I’m on a boat motherf*****s, on a boat for the Cornhole All-Stars Launch Party. It rocked.

Best use of the Santa Maria. Ever. Click on the picture to see my chaslaunch photos on Flickr.

And to top off the evening, they played the uncensored version of I’m on a Boat. Classic.