During his presentation, Bo Fishback successfully Zaarlyed a bottle of fresh milk, which caused many in the audience to tweet, such as Neil Blumenthal: “Founder of Zaarly @Bofishback Zaarlyed fresh milk during speech, bottle of milk and providing cow showed up – brilliant!” Photo by Malone & Company.
From year to year, the surge of conversation that follows Big Omaha springboards inspiration and action beyond the lanyard wearing and Red Bull drinking times of the conference.
Nearly two weeks has passed since this year’s Big Omaha and as we debrief, we’re excited to perpetuate the conversation once again and hear what the energy of the conference has generated. Our attendees, speakers, sponsors and volunteers rallied for two and a half days sparking energy, drive and motivation to move forward beyond the words of the conference. We’re jazzed to hear what Big Omaha traction has inspired others to do, and we’ve compiled a list of various outlets to keep up with the ongoing dialogue.
Thanks to our sponsor
Twitter Statistics
If you were not in attendance at this year’s sold-out Big Omaha, a quick glance at your twitter feed between May 11 and May 13 could have made believe you were perched up in a seat at KANEKO participating live. Attendees and fans of Big Omaha were busy live-tweeting more than 6,500 times during the conference and more than 9,000 times overall (as of May 15) with the hashtag #bigomaha.
Photo by Malone & Company
Our friends at Confurrent have supplied us with some Big Omaha Twitter data and the following tweets are just a few standouts that capture the feel of this year’s conference.
@DavidSpinks: Love the vibe here at #bigomaha. I can already tell how different it is from other conferences.
@pud: #bigomaha conference reminds me of SXSW before SXSW got huge & insane. Wouldn’t be surprised if this is huge & insane in 5 years.
@jessicalawrence: Love how #bigomaha crowd welcomes every speaker with standing ovation.
@inkandearnest: “My job today is to convince you that there’s never been a better time to be an innovator.” -Aneesh Chopra #bigomaha
@coreyspitzer: Solutions to world problems will come from entrepreneurs not from big institutions #bigomaha
@ramhatter: No idea is new. It’s all about execution. – @NeilBlumenthal at #bigomaha
@garyvee: #bigomaha I hope u are ready for me 🙂 I know u will be, Best crowd ever! here we go, Third time in a row, I am excited!
@MarcEcko: #bigomaha rocks. Amazing people. Hard not to love.
@secos: Remember: #bigomaha is a spark and a catalyst, but in the end it depends on us working together to create amazing new things
Blogs
Since Big Omaha 2011 finished up, we’ve been wrapping our heads around all of what was seen and heard and our attendees have helped share their experiences and insight with us. We find great value in the words and actions of our attendees and here are a few of the best blog entries on their conference takeaways.
Big Omaha Recap: More to Come
By: Wendy Townley
Sunday, May 14
A quick glance to my right displays a numerical digital readout. And the numbers obviously tell me I am crazy. It is 5:11 a.m. on a Saturday, and I am wide awake. I have found myself bright-eyed at this hour many times before; its occurrence is almost always the result of something inspirational.
What I Learned from Big Omaha Change Yourself and Change the World
By: Greg Meyer
Monday, May 15
Just Get Going
When I sat down to write my takeaways from the Big Omaha conference I attended this week, I struggled with finding a focus. And then I realized that the two key things that I learned from the speakers and from my fellow attendees made it easy. First – as Shervin Pishevar put it in his inspiring talk, always ask for what you want, because you can “go from 100% no to the potential of 100% yes.”
Big Omaha: From the ether comes inspiration
By: Todd Murphy, Universal Information Services
Monday, May 15
Coming off the third year of the Big Omaha Conference, an event that promotes itself as “The Nation’s Most Ambitious Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship”, I can attest that this event is like no other in the World. Yes, there are the high powered speakers who have “made it” with an idea PLUS luck, timing, venture capital and/or bootstrapping. Yes, there are great parties that punctuate each day’s events. Yes, there are even visits from politicians.
Big Omaha 2011 – Review
By: Ef Rodriguez
Friday, May 20
My review of Big Omaha 2011 in a word: focused.
I went into this conference looking for something smaller and more intimate. What I found was a collection of some of the most directed and sharp minds I’ve ever been around. The conference allowed me to get close to these folks and have genuine conversations with them, since they weren’t preoccupied with other events happening just around the block (which is so often the case at SXSWi, for example).
Thank you!
We are humbled by the number of articles, video, photos, blogs and tweets so far from Big Omaha participants. Although we’ve shared with you only a handful of the best from this year’s conference, we’d like to thank all whom have given special attention to contribute to the Big Omaha conversation.
Complete Coverage
As of Tuesday, May 31,* here is the most recent list of press coverage and blog posts that gave attention to Big Omaha 2011.
Ef Rodriguez is interviewed by Malone & Company for a future Big Omaha recap video. Photo by Malone & Company.
Pre-Coverage
- Jan. 5 – Quora, discussion: Who should be a speaker at Big Omaha 2011?
- Jan. 6 – Nebraska Entrepreneur: Big Omaha – Past, Present and Future
- Feb. 14 – Ben Milne, Dwolla blog: An Event You Should Not Miss – Big Omaha
- April 16 – Wendy Townley, The Weekly Grind: The Skinny on Big Omaha
- April 21 – Kauffman Foundation: Entrepreneurs Have Change at Ticket to Big Omaha in ‘Express Your Pledge’ Challenge Presented by Kauffman
- April 28 – Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: How to Win A Free Ticket to Big Omaha
- April 28 – NE Creative, blog: Oxide’s 2011 Big Omaha Website
- March 31 – Tim Jahn, Beyond the Pedway: Why I fell in Love with Big Omaha
- May 3 – Mark Marich, Entrepreneurship.org: Baton Rouge Entrepreneur Wins Ticket to Big Omaha
- May 3 – Micah Baldwin, Graphicly: Cars and Sweet Tea
- May 3 – thethechad, Zaarly blog: Big Omaha is sold out! RT for a chance to win a ticket! #Zaarly4BigO
- May 5 – Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: And the Winner of the Big Omaha Ticket is…
- May 6 – Ben Lueders, Fruitful Design: How I Won a Contest
- May 6 – Ross Boettcher, Omaha World Herald: Big Omaha offers speakers, networking
- May 7 – Rob Swirbul, personal blog: Big Omaha conference this week, watch free videos from last year
- May 9 – Susan Nellson Baird, The Daily Cowbell: Enjoy Big Omaha, even without a ticket!
Day-of Conference Coverage
May 11
- Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: Why Big Omaha? 5 F’s As To Why
- Marcus, Tudor Heights-Omaha blog: Ode Big Omaha’s Events Itinerary This Week!
- Annie Sorensen, anniesorensen.com: Big Omaha, follow along
- Geoff Johnson, Malone and Co. blog: Big Omaha 2011
- Dear World, blog: Dear World: Omaha Launches at Big Omaha 2011
- Ninth Division, blog: BigOmaha 2011 iOS app
May 12
- Ben Milne, Dwolla blog: #bigomaha = We’re Going to Omaha Next
- Sarah Lacy, Predictably Rabid: Now That’s What I Call Midwestern Hospitality
- Kansas City IT Professionals, blog: Live Blogging From Big Omaha
- Dan Gilbert, Learning Innovations, Inc. blog: Big Omaha 2011
- Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: Big Omaha 2011: Ben Huh
- Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: Big Omaha 2011: Leila Janah
- Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: Big Omaha 2011: Dan Martell
- Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: Big Omaha 2011: Shervin Pishevar
May 13
- Ross Boettcher, Omaha World-Herald: Time for Big O innovation
- Cindy Gonzalez, Omaha World Herald: Immigrant entrepreneurs key
- Brad McCarty, The Next Web: Cheezburger’s Ben Huh talks entrepreneurship and 5 minutes of happiness
- Ben Lueders, Fruitful Design: Big Omaha 2011 Awards!
- Jenn’s Travelogue Blog: Big Omaha in Review
- Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: Big Omaha 2011: Sarah Lacy
- Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: Big Omaha 2011: Gary Vaynerchuk
- Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: Big Omaha 2011: Neil Blumenthal
- Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: Big Omaha 2011: Micah Baldwin
- Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: Big Omaha 2011: Marc Eckō
- Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: Big Omaha 2011: Break in the Recaps
Post-Coverage
- May 14 – Brad McCarty, The Next Web: Big Omaha: the most important conference you’ve never attended
- May 14 – Wendy Townley, Do I dare/Disturb the universe?: Big Omaha Recap: More to Come
- May 14 – Shannon Ehlers, The Midnight Blogger: 5 Cool Thing That Happened to Me at Big Omaha
- May 15 – Greg Meyer, Information Maven: What I learned from Big Omaha: Change Yourself, and Change the World
- May 15 – Wendy Townley, Do I dare/Disturb the universe?: Big Omaha 2011: Top Tweets
- May 15 – Jeremy Harrington: Big Omaha 2011 Sketchnotes
- May 15 – Todd Murphy, Universal Information Services: Big Omaha: From the ether comes inspiration
- May 16 – Derek Homann, Stop Sucking So Bad: Big Omaha 2011, an Attendee’s Recap
- May 16 – Bethany Nelson, bethanyn.com: Big Omaha 2011
- May 16 – Aneesh Chopra, Business Immigration Law – Global, US, Canada blog: Technology and the Future of the U.S. Economy
- May 17 – Tim Jahn, Beyond the Pedway: Unconventional Steps To Entrepreneurship – with Dan Martell
- May 17 – Micah Yost, thrive development: The Art in Innovation
- May 17 – Wendy Overton, Silicon Bayou News: Big Omaha: The Best Conference You’ve Never Heard Of
- May 18 – Dan Flanigan, Metro Magazine: Photos: Big Omaha 2011 Happy Hour
- May 18 – Robert Murphy, Ram Hatter: Big Omaha 2011: Community
- May 18 – Swanson Russell: Big Omaha 2011 Recap
- May 18: Chad, Far Reach Technologies Why You Need to Attend Big Omaha
- May 18 – Annie Sorensen, personal blog: Big Omaha, a recap
- May 18 – Kansas City IT Professionals, blog: Forget about Game Changing, Big Omaha is Life Changing
- May 18 – Camille Wolf, PM Lately: PM @ Big O
- May 19 – Tim Jahn, Beyond the Pedway: 5 Reasons You’re Probably Not Going To Big Omaha Next Year
- May 19 – Mike Hostetler, Millennial Navigator: Hacking the American Dream
- May 19 – Hudl, blog: Who Let These Guys Out in Public?
- May 20 – Ef Rodriguez, personal blog: Big Omaha 2011 – Review
- May 23 – Nick Seguin, HuffPost Business: Building Entrepreneurial Communities: Lessons From ‘Big Omaha’
- May 23 – Finding Out About, blog: Lessons From ‘Big Omaha’
- May 23 – Nathaniel Whittemore, Inc.: Why Twilight Fan Fiction is an Asset to the World
- May 23 – Nathaniel Whittemore, Inc.: The Three Startups You Must Know From Big Omaha
- May 23 – Anne Good, a.g. outloud: Big Omaha/Dear World Project
- May 24 – Cali Harris, caligater: So, How Was Big Omaha?
- May 24 – Erik Koerselman at the Kauffman Foundation U.S.A: Big Omaha & Cats
- May 25 – Nolan Carson, Oneniner: Big Omaha 2011
- May 31 – Kelly Lux, Information Space: Philip Kaplan, Being Awesome at Big Omaha
- May 31 – Dave Link, Metro Magazine: Bigger
- June 6 – Payaal Patel, Business Innovation Factory: Moving from Conservative to Creative: Entrepreneurship in Omaha
- June 19 – Chuck Peters, Business 380: Big lessons from Big Omaha
If we’ve missed one, please add it in a comment below or email me at brittany@siliconprairienews.com and we’ll update the list.
*We’ll be updating this list as more coverage is published.
