by John Fox

Did you miss out on the ballot for this week’s CommsCampNorth? Is it possible to learn from the information sharing that takes place there?

Unlike most industry events, conferences and seminars on a myriad of topics, a CommsCamp is so very different because it is focused explicitly on communications professionals who hold dear to the heart the principles of good, effective and often innovative customer engagement and communication.

And usually fortunately comms people are very good at sharing their knowledge and experiences for the benefit of others facing similar challenges to our own.

We all have friends and work associates that we follow on social media and in blogs. They influence our own thinking and encourage us to think out of the box and to try something new. It’s good to follow, and definitely on CommsCampNorth day. Follow the conversation tweeted by your regular contacts who you know to be present but also keep an eye on the @CommsCamp Twitter feed for an overall narrative of the event and topics in discussion. Following #CommsCampNorth hashtag timeline on CommsCamp day can be revelatory for folk of all experience levels. One can pick up snippets of ideas mooted by one person that are responded to by others. And you can lob in your own thoughts from afar too.

Rather like an oak tree that grows from an acorn, these little snippets can in time grow into big ideas and workable solutions, and best of all, this knowledge and experienced is shared at no cost to you whatsoever. There is considerable benefit to be gleaned by following CommsCamp remotely, but don’t set too much score on the day itself.

For many the real benefit of the day comes later.

For many past attendees the overall evaluation of the event will not be what’s seen on the timeline of the day.

Rather, it’ll be the new contacts discovered, post-event blogs written by attendees on a favourite subject, or even your own remembrance months after the event that that little problem you’re trying to fathom out today was discussed at CommsCamp and you now know who to maybe contact and seek some additional insights to help you.

You can follow John Fox on Twitter here.