SES New York and You

If you can make it in New York … well … you can make it anywhere. Midtown Manhattan is peppered with Search Engine Strategies banners and the industry is buzzing with news and information about next week’s search extravaganza.

In addition to the “How can I speak at SES” e-mails, I get several requests for “what to do,” “where to go,” and “what are you most excited about” information for SES.

This week, I thought I’d share some of the insider information about SES happenings and events.

Keynotes

Once you register, pick up your badge and bag of goodies, then pull out a copy of the newly released SES Magazine. Inside you’ll find everything you need to keep track of the when and where for every session.

We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure the experience is positive for anyone involved in the connected digital world. This year’s SES New York features four keynote presenters, each with unique perspective on the world as we know it today, and the one we expect tomorrow.

On the morning of Day 2, Nick Carr will open the day with perspectives on the business of search, information, and our connected future. I’m excited to hear Nick’s perspective, particularly since his new book has been received so well.

Gordon McLeod, president, The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, opens Day 3 with his thoughts on how one of the biggest news and information publications in the world changed its business to meet the demands of the search. Love him or hate him, come and listen to what he has to say. Wednesday’s afternoon keynote with Mahalo’s top man Jason Calcanis is sure to inform and entertain.

Last, but certainly not least (and one of the reasons for sticking around to the last day), Andrew Tomkins, chief scientist at Yahoo Research, brings his experience and “how-to” knowledge to SES Thursday morning.

The Orion Concept

What is an Orion anyway? We introduced the Orion concept last year at SES Chicago with thought leaders (and dual moderators) in the business discussing the impact of blended search results and social media’s on the search.

The Orion sessions and keynotes are designed to provide high-level strategic insights that will help guide the week’s tactical sessions. Without solid strategy, tactical executions in our business won’t mean much.

New York’s Orion discussions include leaders like John Battelle, James Lamberti, Bill Tancer, and Jason Finger. We’ll be discussing the impact of search result multiplicity (a.k.a. universal or three dimensional search) and the vast opportunities that exist within vertical search dimension, along with information prepared exclusively for the SES audience.

Sessions

From small business to big enterprise, tactical execution in the search world is in a constant state of change. The weeklong sessions are the heart and soul of SES and represent an exhausting effort to bring you the latest and greatest in search practical advice.

The SES content team, advisory board, and SES faculty will be highlighting and diving into social media, brand reputation management, measuring success and everything in between.

Quite a few people have asked how the sessions are organized. Simply put, SES Day 1 is engineered to amplify the strategic insights offered by Orion sessions and keynotes. Days 2 through 4 are brass tacks tactical sessions and organized according to the knowledge or skill level that is appropriate for each session.

Oh, and if you’re planning on leaving early, don’t. Day 4 is packed with many surprises, not to mention a great keynote.

The best advice I can offer anyone attending is spend a few minutes with the SES Magazine and highlight what is of most interest and appropriate for you. Many people with more than one person from their firm attending split their time to attend as many sessions as possible, then compare notes after the event.

Party on SES

That’s to say, not necessarily party per se, but more in the vein of networking and winding down each day’s activities. These special events are your way to interact in person with colleagues and constituents in the business.

Highlighting Monday afternoon’s pre-party segue will be the announcement of our first-ever SES Awards. We’ll provide category information for all attendees and the submission and judging process will be posted shortly to Search Engine Watch.

You can check the Search Engine Watch forum for the latest and greatest in social gatherings and networking events.

See you in New York!