Infotec held its annual conference April 19-20 at Qwest Center Omaha. Photo by Brittany Mascio.
The annual Infotec Conference brought to Qwest Center Omaha a crowd that included nationally-recognized keynote speakers, nearly 100 track presenters and conference-goers from all over the Silicon Prairie.
In addition to an impressive spread of exhibitors wrapped throughout the hallways of Qwest Center Omaha, the two-day conference provided great opportunities for attendees to mingle with one another and, in keeping with one of Infotec’s stated goals, “to learn about innovative ways to cut costs and increase revenue.” With eight breakout sessions to choose from, Infotec featured presentations on subjects from mobile technologies to project management, a range of topics for every conference attendee – from IT professional to business leader.
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Two specific sessions I listened to both fell under the category of Innovators and IT Trends. In his “Understanding Social Networks” presentation, Dr. Chris Augeri, senior research fellow at the Peter Kiewit Institute, spoke on network perception and influence, primarily focusing on research and development behind social networks.
Dr. Chris Augeri during his “Understanding Social Networks” presentation. Photo by Brittany Mascio.
Highlights from Augeri’s presentation include:
- Metrics were the name of the game. Augeri provided information on how to disseminate analytics to provide the appropriate direction for individual social media strategies.
- “People, meet your data.” Augeri emphasized personalizing data sets into information that is accessible, understandable and reveals the trends of social networking efforts.
- Augeri explained the effectiveness of aggregation and curation tools. He also spoke on how the convergence of media has transformed information flow.
The folks at Hayneedle led the “How to Create a Start Up Within an Existing Business” presentation. Steve Dee and Ryan Paulson tag-teamed a discussion on creating simple, straightforward products with value.
Highlights from the presentation include:
- Organizing the team and delegating appropriately seemed to be key in helping Hayneedle develop The Foundary, a home furnishings flash sale site. Incorporating accountability and timeliness were ways to pick up pace and include the whole team.
- Dee and Paulson said they encourage innovation and functionality to meet their objectives all the while keeping their ideas simple for the customer.
- “Don’t wait for tomorrow to discuss issues.” These words speak to how The Foundary operates and communicates as a team. Even if that means staying late or scheduling impromptu meetings, the pair said it’s worth going the extra mile.
Infotec is produced and managed by the AIM Institute, a nonprofit organization that provides information technology leadership to Nebraska and the surrounding region. For more information on the Infotec, visit infotec.org/conference for all the post-conference highlights.
