5 things I learned at Aspen Ideas Festival

In it's 9th year, The Aspen Ideas Festival gathers some of the "most interesting thinkers in the world" to talk about issues, ideas and what inspires them.  The Aspen Ideas Festival is presented by The Aspen Institute and The Atlantic who are dedicated to dialogue and exchange and committed to bringing their leadership ideas to the public at large.

Click4 pix: 5 Things I learned at Aspen Ideas Fest.

AspenSpin was not credentialed press for Aspen Ideas fest but we did get to experience our first AIF as a volunteer and by attending a few events that were open to the public.  We were not privy to the inner sanctums of AIF (credentials only)...where the real ideas probably flow.  We got a small taste of the brain power that convenes in Aspen every June on the beautiful Aspen Institute campus at Aspen Meadows.

We had very lofty expectations for Aspen Ideas Fest.  In some ways the conference met those expectations.  In other ways...meh.  At AspenSpin we try not to judge..but...judge we do.  We're not attempting to be critical or snarky, but hopefully you'll share our wry observations. 

IDEAS = PRIVATE JETS.  Apparently if you have really good ideas you can convert them into a private jet...or at least a fractional jet share program.   The tiny Aspen Airport was stacked deep with private planes during Aspen Ideas Festival.  

Arianna Huffington and David Brooks of The New York Times. Click 4 pix.THOUGHT LEADERS NEED TO SELL BOOKS TOO.  There are some very smart people speaking at Aspen Ideas Fest.  They have some great ideas and they're sharing them with the world.  Some of the sessions are extremely interesting and informative. Others are esoteric, obtuse and nebulous.  Maybe the stuff is just over my head?   One thing is very clear...selling goods and services is a must...even for thought leaders.  For example, I was fired up for a lunch session entitled "Family Wealth..is it really about the money?" presented by the official Trust Company sponsor of AIF, U.S.Trust.  My previous career as a wealth manager prepared me well for this speech.  I knew most of the lingo...so I was hopeful that I would get some interesting and useful take home points.  Not the case.  The session turned out to be a sales pitch extolling the virtues and strengths of U.S. Trust's Trust Services Department. Wow not what I expected.  Maybe i'm too cynical.

The Politics of Volunteering:  Volunteering is a great way to immerse yourself in Aspen Ideas Festival.  When I reported for duty, I was hoping for a good position, maybe interim CFO or at least temporary Managing Director.   I was assigned to join the gift bag stuffing effort.  My direct supervisor was a 20 year old college sophomore.  Most of the bag stuffers were high school students, but a few, like myself were older, former professionals.  Stuffing 3000 gift bags builds character & camaraderie, but the office politics was fierce. Certain volunteers had developed pseudo-authority and attempted to influence the group dynamic.  I kept my head down & kept stuffing.  Some long-time volunteers were rewarded with golf cart keys, lanyards with personalized credentials, collared AIF shirts and sweet room monitor assignments.  I should have kissed more a$$.

Blah, Blah, Blah...Yada, Yada, Yada.  I know...it's an ideas festival. Discourse is the goal, right? But boy can these people rap. It's not just the speakers and panelists... it's the attendees & volunteers too. But what are they saying...I often couldn't figure it out.  One well heeled fest-goer winked and said "the emperor wears no clothes.  Another guest chimed in with "much ado about nothing" to describe AIF.  There's no doubt there are a lot of amazing ideas shared at AIF... but separating them from the rhetoric can be challenging.

Intellectuals love Aspen too.  It's pretty clear that the AIF crowd loves Aspen.  Everybody has their interpretation of the Aspen Idea... mind, body & spirit.  The intellectuals and their posse's are in Aspen to gather, engage, explore and lead us to "a good society".  They seem to be doing just that...as well as enjoying the natural beauty, the social & cultural opportunities and the hedonistic offerings.  If there's one idea that everyone agrees upon...Aspen is the best.

An Aspen Ideas panel discussion about the Middle East. Click for pix.Mark Penn, who may or may not be leading Hillary Clinton's possible run for the White House in 2016. Click 4 pix.The Aspen Institute's Campus at Aspen Meadows is fantastic. Click for pix.

Alpenglow in Aspen for The 2013 Aspen Ideas Festival. Click 4 pix. 

IRCE 2011

IRCE Keynote Arianna Huffington. click 4 pixThe Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition (IRCE) is the largest e-commerce event in the world.  IRCE 2011 hit San Diego this week with full force.  7500 conventioneers and more than 500 exhibitors invaded the Gas Lamp District to rally around e-commerce.  Special Guest Speaker Arianna Huffington, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Huffington Post (which recently sold to AOL for $315 million) led a tremendous roster of speakers and presenters. Huffington confirmed to the crowd that "self expression has become the new entertainment"and that there has been "an explosion of creativity and expression".  She explained the importance of transparency and immediacy in today's hyper-connected consumers.  According to Huffington content today must be"real time, social and engaging".  She clarified that customers today are becoming more selective, they are no longer surfing thousands of sites, but going to a select few.  She quoted Craig Newmark from Craig's List "trust is the new black".

Click 4 pix:  IRCE 2011

Jack Love publisher of Internet Retailer magazine, organizer of the event said that both the news media and the retail industry are going through a "revolution". In 2010 On-line media accounted for 13.5% of all ad spending while making up 8.5% of all retail sales...and increase from around 2% of sales in 2000.  e-bay's North American head man, Christopher Payne shared that among e-bay's $62 billion in sales, a pair of shoes was purchased every 3 seconds in 2010.

IRCE SWAG was off the hiz.Key take homes: Multi Channel retailing is unquestionably the wave of the future. According to Walgreen's President of e-commerce Sona Chawla multi-channel customers are 3x more valuable than regular customers. Walgreen Co. opened their first store in 1901 and has 7500 brick and mortar stores..and recently purchase DrugStores.com to increase their e-commerce portfolio.  To compete today a retailer must be local, digital and mobile.  The digital retail channel is growing 5x faster than traditional retail.  The social media impact on retailing is unclear as retailers attempt to leverage the social graphs of their customers to maximize sales and create trust.  Many believe that social media will transform shopping allowing consumers to "share the experience".  Facebook will attempt to become a force in retail, look for f-commerce coming soon.  Friends can provide a "trusted" recommendation and "purchase validation".   Women dominate social media as approximately 70% of likes and shares on FB are from the ladies.  Speed is important, customers want their on-line purchases faster.  e-commerce and commerce are blurring into one.  It took the i-pod almost 3 years to sell 1 million units, the i-pad sold more than 10 million units in less than one year.

On the exhibition floor IRCE attendees mingled with models and were showered with tons of swag. Affliate marketers, call center solutions, catalogers, CRM system operators, data management services, shippers, e-commerce platforms, e-mailers, fulfillment providers, logistics specialists, merchant services SEO experts and more passed out free stuff like it was .....free.

IRCE 2011 was an enlightening look into the future of retail.  Thanks to technology the shopping experience is changing rapidly across the globe.  To sum it up in 140 characters or less... People are buying cars on their phones.

See the pix, click IRCE 2011

Its not a convention in San Diego without some Cali Girlz. IRCE 2011. Click 4 pix.

 Net Suite...winner BEST SWAG BAG...IRCE 2011, San Diego 

#winning Andy Party was a swagasaurus and spokes-model rapper all week.