Big Omaha buzz still alive amongst attendees & region

In its inaugural year, the mantra of Big Omaha 2009 was to bring “forward-thinking creatives, entrepreneurs and innovators to Omaha to rebuild the country from the inside out.” The mantra of Big Omaha 2010 was along the same lines: “[Bring] together the region’s best and brightest to motivate, challenge, excite and connect with one another,…

The 9 Clouds team attempts a group jump in the Big Omaha Photo Booth. Photo Booth set up by Malone & Company Photography.

In its inaugural year, the mantra of Big Omaha 2009 was to bring “forward-thinking creatives, entrepreneurs and innovators to Omaha to rebuild the country from the inside out.”

The mantra of Big Omaha 2010 was along the same lines: “[Bring] together the region’s best and brightest to motivate, challenge, excite and connect with one another, and in turn raise the bar on the level of work we’re producing.”

Although we were only able to fit 500 attendees in the event venue, KANEKO, the entrepreneurial energy extended throughout the region as Twitterers mentioned or hash-tagged Big Omaha (#BigOmaha) in over 4,700 tweets from May 6 to May 18.

Photo by Malone & Company Photography

Twitter Statistics

In addition, the Big Omaha tweets engaged Twitter users from 14 different countries, according to statistics released by Todd Murphy of Universal Information Services. Countries included France, Germany, India, Japan and Singapore.

More than 300 tweets were sent the night of What Cheer‘s Network Neighborhood : Big Omaha Opening Party at The Slowdown on May 13.

Day two of Big Omaha resulted in over 1,600 tweets, with Gary Vaynerchuk and Scott Belsky‘s presentation (left) among the sessions with the most Twitter activity.

The closing day of the event resulted in nearly 730 tweets, with the entrepreneur panel being the most tweeted session.

Confurrent reported the top five Twitterers:

  1. @davidburn – David Burn of Ad Pulp
  2. @JeremyHL – Jeremy Lipschultz of University of Nebraska at Omaha
  3. @MissusLippy – Sandy Lipschultz
  4. @snbaird – Susan Baird of s.n.baird communications
  5. @gabek – Gabe Kangas

Of the tweets sent, some users were mentioned significantly more than others. Confurrent reported these Twitter users to be the top five mentioned:

  1. @BigOmaha
  2. @garyvee
  3. @dens
  4. @zappos
  5. @slobotski

Universal Information Services reported that two words generated the most buzz throughout the event: Charitywater and Zappos.

 

Tweets

Here are some of the notable tweets from Big Omaha 2010:

@Todder4News: Location play 1% in t/ success formula for a distributed service. Creativity occurs everywhere & all t/ times … #bigomaha

@nealusa: Want to get more done? Do less stuff.” – @jasonfried at #bigomaha. Truer words have not been spoken.

@chronopositron: Chase the vision, not the money … The ironic thing is that the money will follow. – @zappos #BigOmaha

@Joe_Craig: @hunckler If life is a marathon, I am at t/ 13.5 mile mark. I run 8 minute miles. #BigOmaha was a @PowerBar! I’m adjusting…

@apavka: Omaha, Don’t move. Let’s build our tech scene here! There’s so much quiet talent. Let’s share & grow. #bigomaha

@tchap623: Giving up my birthday for charity: water on June 13 as seen at #bigomaha – hoping to raise $10K for 2 wells. www.mycharitywater.org/chapman

@Todder4News: You know you’ve made it when @scottblake turns your face into1  Barcode Art at #BigOmaha

@skidvis: It’s been said before, but Holy Spanks! @slobotski & @dustyd are the absolute best! BigOmaha rocked my clean-water deprived world!

@thenewdorothy: Reading all the tweets about @bigomaha makes me wish I would have called in sick & made the trek with @dietsche. But there’s always 2011!

 

The Blogosphere

Bloggers weren’t far behind the tweet pack as the Big Omaha’ers began filing away their thoughts at the crack of day one. 

Here are some of the notable blog posts from Big Omaha:

 

Live: Big Omaha 2010

By Andrew Mager of ZDNet.com

Friday, May 14

Big Omaha is not your normal ‘tech conference.’ Unlike Web 2.0 Expo or South by Southwest, Big Omaha is about what’s next, not what’s already happened. Yea, it’s in the middle of the midwest, but that’s what makes it great. Big Omaha co-founder Jeff Slobotski said that his conference sold out this year at 500 attendees. He doesn’t want it to be the next SXSW, he wants to keep it intimate. I suspect that next year, the demand for tickets will be through the roof.

Read full post

 

Big Omaha Has Heart, Like the City and Scene it Serves

By David Burn of AdPulp

Saturday, May 15

Yesterday afternoon Gary Vaynerchuk said Omaha is a ‘sensational city.’ He also said he’s driven by gratitude. Vaynerchuk is grateful that his family left Russia when he was three and that his parents instilled in him the need to hustle to get ahead. As a Nebraska native, I know what he means. There are no mountains here, and no ocean. However, there’s plenty of room to think, connect and build things of lasting value. There’s also a willingness to work and hustle, and the city’s solid economy is a testament to that.

Read full post

 

I slept only 7 hours in 3 days (and no, I was not at SXSW)

By Rob LaGeese of Stuffleufagus

Sunday, May 16

Why didn’t I sleep? Because I was surrounded by amazing people that had amazing stories to share. And I may have shared a few of my own. They were willing to sit in the courtyard of the Magnolia with me from dusk until dawn and share what they knew (and a bit of brew!) … I am no longer in Omaha, but Omaha is now in me.

Read full post

 

Free Ride to Big Omaha 2011

By Levi Rosol of Levi Writes

Sunday, May 16

Big Omaha was amazing. If you didn’t go, I truly feel story for you. But have no fear! Levi is here! And I can help. If you live in the Des Moines area, or anywhere near I-80 between Des Moines and Omaha, I will provide your transportation to and from Big Omaha 2011, May 12-14. Even if you don’t know me, contact me. I will get you there.

Read full post

 

Synthesis: Big Omaha 2010 (Part 1)

By John Kreicbergs of Patchchord.com

Tuesday, May 18

The brainchild of SiliconPrairieNews.com founders Jeff Slobotski and Dusty Davidson, Big Omaha was created to bring together entrepreneurs, innovators and creatives and inspire them to ‘follow their passions, build the businesses they love and strengthen their creative communities.’ The inaugural event was held last year in 2009 and proved to be a wildly successful happening. Now in its second year, it is obvious that Big Omaha has an undeniably precocious potential.

Read full post

 

Thank You!

Although we’ve only shared some of the memorable tweets and blog postings, we appreciate of all the pre- and post-Big Omaha 2010 coverage. Thank you to all of those who dedicated special attention to the event and help us carry out our mission of supporting entrepreneurs and creatives.

 

Complete Coverage

As of Monday, June 22,* this is the most recent list of press coverage and blog posts that gave attention to Big Omaha 2010.

Pre-Coverage

Post-Coverage

If we’ve missed one, please add it in a comment below or email me at andrea@siliconprairienews.com and we’ll update the list.

*We’ll be updating this list as more coverage is published.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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