Jeese Noyes and I have been exchanging emails on the topic of “What is Dreamforce?” She asked me to give her a few lines for her blog… Her’s her amazing article: http://blog.eloqua.com/what-is-dreamforce/
That inspired me to write a post and expand on that topic… here’s some thoughts… love to hear yours!
What is Dreamforce?
That’s a really good question. You could say its a conference, where analysts, reporters, customers and prospects come together to hear the latest and greatest news about Salesforce. I myself am always looking forward to seeing Sassy… I am wondering if she knows that Jargon is coming this year? He could use some love… (Jargon is the GetSatisfaction’s manifestation of all things not to do in social media… whereas Sassy represents all the things that are on target for this new social customer marketplace.) I have a feeling love is in the air!
All kidding aside part of why I look forward to Dreamforce is that I get to see people who are near and dear to my heart. Yes, I know I’m a geek-nerd… and see tech conferences as the time to reconnect with some of the smartest and most amazing thought leaders in the industry. It is home week. I get to see my buddies in from the #SCRM or accidental community as they call it. I get to see friends from PR, Marketing and other disciplines… And we get to banter, evaluate and analyze where the market is, where its going and what Salesforce’s contribution to the next wave of software provides for business. And we get to do some tweeting, some blogging and go see great music, have a beer or two. Life is good.
And think that more than anything Dreamforce is really a tribute to doing things differently. You may not agree with everything that’s said there. You may have your own perspective on the where the market is and what you think the week’s events mean for business. But there’s one thing that I think everyone can agree on. Its a week of celebrating doing things different. March Benioff started Salesforce.com 1999. A former Oracle executive he had a vision of doing things different. He had the courage to step outside the box and do something so out of the box… literally his software was online… not in a box!
In 2004 Salesforce went public, under the stock symbol CRM. Marc’s vision that there was a way to do software differently. He was doubted and criticized. Twelve years later, he is truly someone to admire because his vision manifested into an amazing reality. Why? Because he thought differently and as a result of that thought leader, the whole software world has been dramatically changed.
As an analyst, a consultant and an executive adviser, thinking different is at the core of what we do. To me Dreamforce reminds me that– to advance business — we as practitioners need to remember to keep thinking different. And that’s why I am excited about being at Dreamforce. It’s a place and time to take stock of where we have come and where we will go- as an industry…
If you want to hear more good thinking different content at Dreamforce, I have to give a plug for my panel… THEY ARE AMAZING! We’ll be speaking on Aug 31 2-3PM on Measuring ROI with Social Customer Service at Dreamforce. Location: Moscone West – 3016
Come hear how companies are thinking differently about Customer Service, Social Media and getting a ROI. Take a note from Marc’s notebook… Think different or die.
@drnatalie www.doctornatalienews.com
Want to help shift the world’s thinking? Learn. Share. Grow… here’s some links to share:
Links to the social media ROI videos
Links to the social media ROI white papers