A Grand Trifecta In Conference Happenings: ACOM11, PCMA11 & VES11

Anticipation, anticipation
Is makin’ me late
Is keepin’ me waitin’
~ Carly Simon

That’s how I feel as I gear up to attend ACOM 2011, PCMA’s Convening Leaders 2011 and the Virtual Edge Summit 2011. It’s actually a grand trifecta happening all in Las Vegas, January 7-14, 2011. Three great conferences co-located in the city that never sleeps.

Anticipating These Happenings

Here are a few of the highlights that are creating my anticipation.

ACOM

ACOM’s opening and closing general sessions with Cindy Novotny, Managing Partner of Master Connection Associates and meetings industry veteran Joan Eisenstodt, Eisenstodt Associates LLC.

Cindy & Joan

PCMA Convening Leaders 2011

PCMA’s General Session Speakers.

• Renee’ West, the first woman to lead a resort on the Las Vegas Strip, today serves as President and COO of Excalibur and Luxor, Monday, January 10, 8:30 am.
• Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com and bestselling author of Delivering Happiness, Tuesday, January 11, 9 am.
• Dan Pink, the bestselling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind, Wednesday, January 12, 12:30 pm.

Some Silent Sleepers You May Not Know Are Presenting  

• Chris Brogan, marketing and social media guru and acclaimed author.
  Chris presents Monday, January 10 kicks off in the Learning Lounge at 7 am. You can get up and close with Chris as he shares about influence and social media.
  He presents in the Social4U Theater and then again on the PCMA 365 Live Stream Stage.
  He also presents The Event and the Pulse: How Social Media Changes Events, Monday, January 10 at 3:45 pm.
• Eric Ly, one of the co-founders of LinkedIn and now with Presdo.
  Tuesday, January 11, 7:50 am, Learning Lounge, Social4U Theater, Top 10 Tips To Tune Up Your LinkedIn Profile
  Tuesday, January 11, 4:15 pm, Learning Lounge, Social4U Theater, Defining Social Media Metrics For Your Event
• Rick Calvert, Co-Founder of BlogWorld and New Media Expo which reached more than 500 Million People in 2010
  Tuesday, January 11, 8:10 am, Learning Lounge, Social4Events Theater, Why You Need To Fire Your Social Media Advisor
  Monday, January 10, 7:45 am, Learning Lounge, Social4Events Theater, Growing Attendance Thru Affiliate Marketing

The Speaker Showcase In The Learning Lounge

Looking for a professional speaker to hire for your next event? Then don’t miss the Learning Lounge Speaker Showcase where you’ll see a different speaker every 15 minutes. Here are some of the speakers:

• Robin Jay
• Nate Booth
• Judi Moreo
• Marilyn Sherman

• Tara Rayburn
• Kelly McDonald
• Mike Rayburn

The Supplier Showdown In The Learning Lounge

Hollywood couldn’t write a better script! The stage is set for this wild west showdown as suppliers duke it out to showcase their solutions to specific critical incidents. See, close up, what works, how and why, straight from the people who say they can make it happen. Showdowns topics include:

Strategic Meeting Management, Emcee: David Peckinpaugh
Monday, January 10, 2011
7:05-7:20am Anil Punyapu, Cvent
7:25-7:40am Olivier Delerm, Certain Software
7:45-8:00am Dan Marks, Lanyon

Registration for Small Conferences, Emcee: David Kliman
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
7:30-8:45am Anthony Miller, Active Network
7:50-8:05am Ray Thackeray, ootoWeb
8:10-8:25am Chuck Ghoorah, Cvent
8:30-8:45am Olivier Delerm, Certain Software

Hybrid/Virtual Events, Emcee: Michael Doyle
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
3:45-3:57pm Ike Kehal, Social27
4:00-4:12pm Mike Westcott, InXpo
4:15-4:27pm John Pollard, Sonic Foundry
4:30-4:42pm Stu Schmidt, Unisfair

While your at it, check out the full schedule of events in the Learning Lounge.

The Virtual Edge Summit

Well, this was one of my top five conferences for 2010. The entire event is jammed packed with great content, speakers and the who’s who in the virtual and hybrid event world. It’s a showstopper for sure.

If you are attending one of these events, what are some things you are anticipating and can’t wait to see?

Disclosure: PCMA is a client of VCC as VCC is spearheading the Learning Lounge.