When it comes to metrics, we have to be clear and transparent. One of the reasons I feel print is hitting hard times is because of inflated metrics. Online channels, social media, Web 3.14 all allow easier methods of tracking impressions and activity, versus say a magazine that has a deal with a hotel chain and is left untouched on your room's coffee table.

I appreciate your response. I'm just a stickler for accuracy, especially when I'm the subject. While it still amazes me that people read the (to quote a commenter on my blog) “self-indulgent…dreck” that I write, some people do. I try not to think too much about it, or to take things like today personally, because if I did I'd have to apply such a fine filter to every word I typed, that nothing would ever make it through.

I have no problem with being quoted accurately, as much as I'd be perfectly happy to toil in obscurity. I am just sensitive to the implications of the liberties taken with actual facts in that particular commentary, since the post implies that there was some buzz about that tweet, when there actually was absolutely zero, until today.

It's not an easy task to balance the job I have, with my “free time” activities, and to maintain a reputation (which, if I may be so bold, I think I've earned) of professionalism and smarts. But, that's getting personal.

The less-personal is… think about other influencers who might be reading all this. Being listened to is one thing. Being made some kind of example of, to assist with a literary or analytical point, is another.

It's water under the bridge, I get to respond by participating in the conversation, that's cool. I'm just disappointed. I generated some content that I'm really proud of, in very limited free time, while on the show floor… which DID create actual, organic buzz and triggered conversation. I'd much rather my #ORWinter activities be remembered for that, if anything.

Thanks for the response, and I'll see you soon!

Regarding your comment in reference to Naturally Bamboo's “social media success” I couldn't agree more. April was working the show floor from set-up to tear-down. But for the purposes our analysis, a quantitative report on social media activity, all I can speak to knowledgeably is the traffic she generated online. It goes without saying that April promoted her brand incredibly well with minimal resources. She outperformed literally hundreds of other exhibitors with much bigger staffs and even dipper pockets. She also demonstrated the effectiveness of social media as brand building buzz generating tool. I'm certain that real face time had a lot to do with her success but that kind of qualitative anecdotal information was just not in our mix of reference materials. But you make a very good point in that we need make sure that online communication is ultimately a vehicle through which we facilitate real world direct interaction and not the sole means through which we connect.
That's why I'm counting on seeing you in person in the not too distant future fully expecting a hug and not a slap across the face

I'm not aware of my tweet that you quoted regarding @naturallybamboo being repeated or passed along with chuckles or otherwise… perhaps I missed something, but I monitor my @replies and RT's and didn't see that one get “picked up” until it was just repeated here.

True, anything I say online is meant to be read, and it's public. And, I'm a huge fan of April and her apparel. But, unless I'm missing something, the commentary on the impact of that tweet is inaccurate, and exploitive. Yes, I was tweeting in my private capacity at that point; but I am also a colleague and professional in this industry, and that commentary might have unintended consequences for my professional reputation, among folks in the biz who don't know me personally the way the authors of this analysis do.

I'd also add my observation that @naturallybamboo's “social media success” at the show had a very small amount to do with actual tweets. Her influence at the show was, in my view, based on the actual real life relationship building she hustled to do. When she didn't have meetings, she was on the show floor meeting people, making connections, and likely meeting new “Twitter” friends — but also making an impression in person, face to face. The importance of the “real life” aspect of relationship building at the show — while outside the scope of data you can measure based on analysis of the #ORWinter tag — is the real story as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks, each of you, for your hard work during the show and after!