Sessions at Blogworld & New Media Expo LA 2011 on Thursday 3rd November in Room Petree Hall C

Sentiment. Influence. “Buzz.” Social media is throwing off a ton of data, but how much of it is useful? The proliferation of clickstream information being generated by the social web has ushered in a new era of Big Data, but without insight, judgement and a little common sense, all of these numbers will drown us long before they save us.So what’s the solution? How can you make sense of this never-ending torrent of data?Join Tom Webster, VP of Strategy for Edison Research, as he leads you through a tour of rotting meat, bronzer and breakfast cereals on the way to a new understanding of social media. Webster is no stranger to big data (his company, Edison Research, is the sole custodian of one of the biggest data sets of all – the US National Election Exit Polls) and he has two decades of experience helping brands and companies pull actionable insights from primary and secondary research.

These days every blogger with any clout (or Klout!) is approached regularly by agencies. Some agencies are smart about it, and some aren’t. Either way, bloggers have more options, control and opportunity than they realize and can get more out of the deal than they ever thought possible. In this presentation, Dave Fleet (Edelman) and Jeremy Wright (OSL Marketing), execs from two large agencies, will show bloggers how to help agencies create symbiotic relationships where everyone wins more!

Influence online is the single hottest topic of 2011. Tools, methods and ideas about how to develop and implement an influencer list are becoming more common by the day. Unfortunately, the current tools and methods are riddled with issues including lack of contextual relevance, insufficient rigor behind the metrics and inappropriate application of the available information.