No, that’s not a typo! Rob Cottingham (@RobCottingham) was the second keynote speaker today, and he led us on “a lightning tour through both the intentionally and accidentally hilarious sides of social media.” I couldn’t really blog this keynote – it’s one of those things you needed to experience. I laughed a lot, as did everyone else in the room.
Which are funny?
- Podcasting – Really funny.
- End-User License Agreements – Yes, funny!
- Beta – Not funny. Maybe kinda funny.
- Memes – No, not funny.
- Blogging – Funny!
- Business – Rob thinks it’s hilarious, the audience isn’t so sure.
- LOLcats – Audience is 50/50, Rob says it’s a matter of taste.
Some of the non-funny things Rob said:
- At the heart of social media is creative self-expression and the need to connect.
- The first Northern Voice was a techier crowd than it is today.
- Teh funny is a big part of the way we connect on the social web. Shared laughter is something primal.
- If you’re already doing teh funny, please, keep it up!
Two other interesting things about Rob’s keynote – first he attempted to become the first comic in history to heckle himself. He setup some scheduled tweets using HootSuite, very funny. Second, Nancy White drew an “illustrative interpretation” of Rob’s talk on the board behind him. It actually turned out quite well!
Fantastic keynote. I hope someone has some video to share!
MasterMaq's Blog 
Thanks, Mack – glad you liked it, and great running into you there!