BarCampPhilly kicks off

A big crowd is attending BarCampPhilly. You can follow the action on twitter if you search for #bcphilly.

If you want to share your contact information you can go to Andrew Hyde's fabulous (so simple but effective) grouplist.us/bcphilly. D ekivemark on Twitter to ask me for the password.

After the intros by Roz and JP I attended the session led by Angel Gibson on Understanding Differences in Your Consumer/Audience. There were some useful insights such as:

• Women look for more information and base decisions on a long list (12+) of criteria
• Men tend to work with fewer criteria
• This is coded in our genes - The maternal nurturing instincts.

It is best to ask people what they like. Be succinct. Ask one thing and two reasons.

Sites that do a good job talking to women:

• Procter and Gamble. They set up sites for each product but talk to what they care about when using the product. e.g. how to make your clothes last longer. Solution focused.

Don't under rate the power of simplicity.

It is important to be able to say no. Stay focused.

It is also important to recognize trendsetters and their ability to influence followers.