Hello from Day 2 of HubSpot’s Inbound ’13 in Boston! Today was totally exhausting and the best day I’ve had all year. I woke up at 3:00 this morning, and definitely not up for the Boylston Street parties tonight. Hope all you HubSpotters are having fun, but also that you are slow and hungover in the morning so I can snag a front row to Arianna Huffington’s keynote!
I’ll write several Inbound-inspired blog posts when I return to Brooklyn, but here are a few takeaways from today:
Seth Godin is the God of Marketing as far as I’m concerned. He encourages us to fly close to the sun, that the Icarus story was changed over time to keep us flying below our potential, and that the 5300 people in that auditorium today are members of a tribe — alive at undoubtedly the most exciting time in the history of humanity (or, at least, communications). He ended with a great quote by Ray Bradbury: “Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.”
According to Jason Keath from Social Fresh, the key to effective brainstorming is FREEDOM > SCALE > FRICTION. Stay open-minded early in the process, even to the lamest and most obvious ideas. Big ideas don’t happen in cramped spaces. The friction and magic occurs when you allow ideas to bump into each other, and let the less viable ones fall to the side. See the video here:
Mitch Joel from Twist Image said something I’ll never forget: “we are a one screen world and the only screen that matters is the one in front of me” … “Technology has removed the technology from technology” (meaning, even your 90-year-old grandmother can use an iPad). The internet is not a fad; embrace it.
Kara Swisher from All Things D covered a lot of the thrilling (“the consumers are already there”) and scary (“Disney World is going crazy with sensors” … “eventually drones will be everywhere”) parts of emerging technology, and told a hilarious story about being on a casino boat in the S.F. Bay where everyone was wearing Google Glass, except her.
Rick Turoczy talked about how humble the people of Portland, Oregon are (“if you find yourself at a 4-way stop sign, you may as well pack a lunch”) and with his talk on the Power of Humility reminded us that your customers just “might be right” and you “could be wrong.” Be mindful of the humble aspects of your product or service.
David Meerman Scott confirmed that I’m totally on to something with blog branding for job seekers and college-bound high school students (which got his own daughter into Columbia!).
Last but not least, the HubSpot keynote presented by co-founders Dharmesh Shah and Brian Halligan. Applause-worthy product enhancements were announced, including a new Content Optimization System to customize visitor website experiences based on where they are in the sales funnel, and “Signals“, a real-time alert system which tells your sales team which prospects are actually opening their emails. You can watch the full keynote below … you’ll love Halligan’s air guitar solo.
Lots more to come. In the meantime, enjoy some photos:
Picked up some awesome (wrinkled – too tired to iron!) merch in the HubShop.
HubSpot Co-Founder Dharmesh Shah giving his keynote. That slide says “Brand is what people say about you, after you’ve left the room.”
The Charity:Water display in Club Inbound. These yellow jugs weigh over 40 pounds when filled with water. HubSpot is donating $45 to Charity:Water every time a HubSpotter walks the stage with a jug and experiences what many villagers in India (women and girls who can’t attend school because they need to find clean water for their families) experience on a daily basis.
Club Inbound early in the morning
Fun banners from @gapingvoid
HubSpot co-founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah taking the stage for their keynote speech.
Seth Godin’s keynote speech
