Update: Pictures uploaded HERE and THERE.
So there goes a first for me, and well.. what can I say? Who wouldn’t be honored to experience something like this for the first time (and in the first ever Search Engine Marketing Conference too), with some of the best Internet Marketers in and out of the country? There I was, youngest in the lot, looking like a teenager, and being one of the only three female speakers — starstruck as I see those people I just used to know and admire online in the crowd, wondering what in the world I’m doing in a place like that.
Geesh, I must be really blessed.
To have the opportunity to share what I know; To have a chat with The Aaron Wall and his wife, Gio; To sit next to the SEO World Champion Benj Arriola the whole day (Day 2) and get loads of pictures with him (which got corrupted, by the way haha); To spend time with some great guys from SEO Philippines; And to learn from top marketing professionals from various fields.
Yes, that’s how small I am compared to the gigantic event that SEMCON 2007 is.
Photos courtesy of Jen and Sharm.
Good job, Sharm, for capturing my powerpoint presentation too, haha.
I learned a lot — starting from when I stepped down from the stage after my talk, that is. It was quite hard focusing on the speakers BEFORE my talk (welcome to the real world, newbie). Good thing there were lots of great topics after mine, plus there’s a whole Day 2 for me to enjoy without thinking about link building anymore. Hehe.
I picked a lot of insights and was especially inspired by Marc’s talk on Landing Page Optimization; Hans Koch’s PayPerClick Strategies; Faith Ponte’s Email Campaigns; and Dustin Andaya’s Affiliate Marketing success. I would have mentioned Google’s Derek Callow too, but I’d be lying if I said his talk was insightful coz truth is, I was too focused on his face and his voice and his cute Australian accent (ugghh, I melt now, mate) to understand what he was talking about. I would have mentioned Yugatech too but, gah, I’d mention him just to get in his good side, you see, I don’t want to see my name in his tabloid. LOL. Peace, Abe, joke lang. 
On the other hand, it’s rather sad to hear some people comment that they didn’t learn anything new from SEMCON. I’ve seen a lot of people express disappointments, disagreements, un-met expectations, and getting “just skin-deep SEO.” I guess it’s expected to get feedbacks like this, after all, everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion (maybe next time, they should be the ones teaching the rest of us hehe). I say, if you claim to not learn anything from SEMCON, then good for you. You probably know more than the rest of us! You’re an expert already!
Now if you’re an SEO Specialist or a webcopywriter, you’re probably using Wordtracker or KeywordDiscovery for hours every single day of the week to test and compare keywords. Perhaps you already know what KEI and long-tailed keywords are also. But isn’t it interesting to find out how Gio does it?
Or say, if you’re a copywriter and you have your own style of copywriting that already works for you, it doesn’t mean you have to do Jayvee’s style of copywriting. Jayvee, however, shares what he knows and what he has observed (mostly leaning towards his non-SEO background) since he’s got experience writing and handling writers himself.
Joni’s right when she said that being there affirmed what she already know, hence, she became more sure that she’s on the right track. We have to face it, a lot of us SEOs are experimenting with the techniques ourselves. The SEMCON speakers were there to present strategies that worked for them, NOT necessarily absolute truths of what to do or not. At the end of the day, it’s still up to you how to apply what you heard.
I could go on and on. But I’m gonna have to agree with Todd Malicoat when he said, “Hey, there is no secret in SEO.” You deal with the basics, learn from what worked for others and what didn’t, and you strategize from there. I guess that’s what SEMCON was all about.
So hey, SEMCON 2008? What ya say?
Benj Arriola says:
Waaaahhh kunin mo pics kay Jason. Maganda pic namin ni Aaron Wall dun!
October 16th, 2007 at 10:31 am
liz says:
congrats girl! sayang naman yung corrupted pics :d
October 16th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Joni says:
Yesss..nakakatuwang makita ang name ko sa isang post na kasama ang names nina Aaron Wall, Gio, Benj, Jayvee, Abe, at Todd Malicoat. hehehe. mbabaw lng kaligayahan ko. :))
Congrats, Rizgurl! You were great!
I dunno what the fuss is all about, but really, I think the conference was great. And I’m already applying some of the stuff I learned to our websites at work. (Lalo yung ky bossing Marc! Yahuuu. hehe). I think some people were expecting to learn magic tricks or something. They obviously went to the wrong conference.
October 16th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
riz says:
@benj, hay nakuuuu kulitin nyo si jason! haha. busy ata eh,di nya ko masingit sa schedule nya
grrr.
@liz, shucks talaga. grrr.
@joni, what can i say? cant really please everyone.
October 16th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
faye says:
Can’t blame those people who were expecting something that’s worth their 8k.
I think the money was more for getting to see and hear the SEO hotshots like Wall live. But there was nothing to take home that cannot be learned from the Net. Let’s hope for a more empowering SEMCON 2008 that’s worth everyone’s time and money. 
October 17th, 2007 at 1:50 am
jayvee f. says:
congratulations miss riz
galing mo!
October 17th, 2007 at 8:42 am
riz says:
@faye, Like I said, can’t really please everyone. I guess I’d be grateful enough to hear at least one or two who appreciated something out of SEMCON and thought that it was worth his/her money and time.
Look at the bright side, at least now you know that you don’t need seminars like this anymore! 
Too bad nga lang, it was all for the price of 8K hehe.
October 18th, 2007 at 8:34 am
steve says:
mam! penge pera! para makapunta ako sa next semcon! waaaah!!!
October 18th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
sharm says:
I agree with you about Derek Callow. Nakita pa namin sa lobby and nagpa-picture kami woohoo… Kaya lang medyo blurred(Marc took the pic kasi) LOL.
Anyways, congrats Riz. Till next SEMCON.
October 18th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
mark says:
you know, what I find sad about all this is people like you who are patronizing to those people who say they didn’t get their money’s worth, like saying it’s those people’s fault that they feel shortchanged.
instead of saying, “oh well, you can’t please everybody” as if those people are all to blame for feeling that way, and saying “maybe next time, they should be the ones teaching the rest of us” as if them not being in your shoes invalidates their observations, why not acknowledge that the speakers/organizers may have shortcomings too.
you (the whole of semcon) may be used to praises from your friends and coworkers, but i hope you also take into consideration the opinions of others.
i’m no seo guru, yet i found the event not worth my time and money. i’m sorry if i sound a bit pissed but please understand that i’m one of “those people” you referred to in your post and your i find your attitude inconsiderate.
October 20th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
riz says:
@mark Hi Mark!
“Patronizing” these people who didn’t get their money’s worth? I’m not sure what you meant by that 
I did, however, got the point that you were one of those who were pissed, and well, I’m not about to convince you otherwise — I do understand that feedbacks such as yours are expected in events like this. And I think I did say in my post that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion.
But so am I (entitled to my own opinion) — which I voice out here because this is my blog, and the post is, after all, entitled “MY Semcon Experience”. I’ve seen a lot of people blog that, just like you, they think SEMCON wasn’t worth their time. Well, so be it. Those are THEIR blogs. They’re entitled to blog whatever they want.
I just said “it was sad” that they felt like that, but I’m not about to change anyone’s mind. 
“why not acknowledge that the speakers/organizers may have shortcomings too.” –> Ohh all of us have shortcomings, that goes without saying. Nobody’s perfect, after all. Then again, maybe you too should acknowledge that the speakers and organizers spent not only money but sleepless nights also preparing for this event. I guess we’re entitled to be “saddened” by these negative feedbacks too. Just like you.
I’m sorry you were pissed, but I guess we shouldn’t be crying over spilled milk anymore. The SEMCON is over and the best we can do is to let bygones be bygones, look at the bright side of things, and just agree to disagree.
October 22nd, 2007 at 12:28 am