By Katie Gausepohl
June 2007 is a momentous month for me. I turn 50, I attended my first Search Marketing Expo and I’m posting my first blog entry. Life does begin at 50!
So, as a 50-year old search marketing conference virgin – and as the finance manager for Third Door Media — I just want to say hey and thanks to all the people I met who made SMX Advanced a fantastic time. I’d never actually met these creatures known as ‘search marketers,’ and as it turns out they are an unbelievably friendly and inclusive bunch.
I didn’t know what to expect - but seeing that I could have given birth to many of the attendees I wasn’t expecting much. I’m still learning the language of search marketing, and my co-workers are working hard to pull me into the technology of the 21st century.
So here’s a quick re-cap of my whirlwind experience at the inaugural SMX Advanced:
Saturday:
Seattle is a spectacular spot. The Edgewater hotel looks a bit like a Disney themed hotel. The rooms are gorgeous – too bad I’d have my eyes closed most of the time I was in mine. Chris Elwell, president of Third Door Media, got the Beatles Suite, which he richly deserved for all of his hard work on SMX Advanced over the past 8 months. The weather was unbelievable 80+ degrees; Pike’s Market was jam packed and full of surprises.
Conference Job #1: Bag Stuffing
Took us three hours to stuff hundreds of bags with conference proceedings, pens, and other sponsored items. Here we met the women of Marchex for the first time – Gannon and Emily stopped by to see how we were doing. Later in the show, Gannon became infamous for bringing over co-workers to view the exhibit hall. (Next year, Gannon, we will get these name tags printed before the event.)
We hope you all loved the bags – and appreciate that they have not one, but two zippers which we had to open and close twice to stuff with goodies. (Next year, look for one-zipper bags, in black with two straps- we do listen to your feedback.)
Sunday:
Lowell’s for breakfast was a find, and I seriously considered taking home copperhead salmon. We had the morning off – the last free time we’d have until the conference ended. I managed to put a dent on the credit card at Nordstrom’s Rack.
Conference Job #2: Check-in for Microsoft Party
An evening cocktail party with fantastic weather, food and drinks. Adee from Microsoft- greeted me with 4 huge boxes of Microsoft Ad Center promotional water bottles, along with a roll of raffle tickets for the X-box, Zune and Vista give always. (I really wanted to win any one of those prizes.) So we quickly set out to open boxes, stuff the straws and place the bottles. Thanks, Seaton, for your help.
I checked people in at the registration desk and it was great to put a face to many of the names I had typed over the past few months. What surprised me straight away was how friendly all those arriving were. I can’t tell you how many people took the time to have a bit of a chat when people weren’t queuing behind them.
The venue was great and the doors open to the great weather - upstairs looking out the windows to the bay the view was magnificent. Lisa Williams, you will always be known for the spectacular white coat. Shari Thurow, great to finally meet after having done an especially challenging Search Marketing Now webcast with you. Everyone I talked to had a great time and really enjoyed what was a very successful party. Thanks, Rand Fishkin, for covering the registration desk while I darted in to check out the party.
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Kevin Johnson is President of the Platform & Services Division at Microsoft. He oversees the Windows and Online Services businesses and sits on Microsoft’s Senior Leadership Team, which sets overall strategy and direction for the company. 
