If you were taking notes then you probably missed at least 70% of their tidbits of wisdom as they were cascading from them with such speed and aplomb for it was truly watching two ADHD children talking about shiny toys... but let me try and do a recap for you....

Thanks to Guy for attempting to bring the discussion back to what is practical, however, what really came through was they both march to the beat of their own drummer. It seems that they just do what is interesting to them, and we are just lucky that what sees to interest them often becomes interesting to the rest of us.

First they tackled the issues around Google +. "Hey Google + is anyone there?" Google is in a deep hole in comparison to development. There is no write API for G+ and that leads to a whole range of things keeping Google at bay. Scoble highlighted the App HiLight which uses Facebook to show the people who are also on hilight and within 100ft of us. HiLight cannot build on top of G+. And so Google is stuck. Innovation requires others to make it interesting, and without developers often technology is introduced with a bang... and then slowly whimpers into oblivion.

However, Guy is enamored with it. He likes that he can edit on G+ so he posts first to G+, then edits, then posts to Facebook. And that is a lesson. Use the technology for what makes sense to you. Do not force fit yourself to technology.

Use the technology for what makes sense to you. Do not force fit yourself to technology.

Scoble advised to build a brand that goes across all of the social networks. Create the cross links which makes the audience have deeper resonance. As to which are most important? Well, that depends who you are. If you are selling Wedding Dresses then Pinterest is probably the best bet, but if you are Virgin America then Facebook/Twitter. And that is lesson two. Don't just read a book that says these are the ranking of where you should be in social media. Understand your business and what you do and then choose the social channel that will work best to accomplish your goals.

Don't just read a book that says these are the ranking of where you should be in social media. Understand your business and what you do and then choose the social channel that will work best to accomplish your goals.

One piece of advice is that pay attention to what new technologies and social channels are out there. When a technology is new, is when the social graph and the linking behavior gets built so be there early.

So what brands are doing it right in social connections? They both highlighted GoPro. Why does that work? Because their tactic causes conversations. Of course, as Guy mentioned, no one is trying to create something that people don't want to talk about, but Scoble contends, "just build something that 4 people will be interested in. Why? Because if you can get 4 you can get 8 who can get 16." That is how products grow.

How do you do that? One way is to be there at the time the market window is open. InstaGram is an example. They fit into a window. Four months later and it would not have worked. The app Flipboard would have only happened that summer. GoWalla vs FourSquare chose different philosophies. FourSquare saw that the "check-in" was as important as the game. GoWalla did not, and FourSquare one. The market opens up because of new ideas. And that is lesson three: Do not become myopic as to what consumers will adopt, allow them to choose.

Do not become myopic as to the features consumers will adopt, allow them to choose.

As to ways to engage with your social media presence, Guy takes the NPR model. They produce such great content all year that you are willing to sit through the pledge drives. Think the same way in social media, produce a lot a great content, then people will be willing to listen to a small sales pitch. Guy connects people to a lot of content and about one in 20 tweets is promotional, for his books etc... but you do not mind it because the value of the content that he is producing those other 19 times is what the value is. And that is lesson four: The value is not your brand, the value is the content. Engage people with content through your social media, and then you can speak to them about your brand... and they will value your brand because of it.

The value is not your brand, the value is the content. Engage people with content through your social media, and then you can speak to them about your brand... and they will value your brand because of it.

As to questions from the audience asking about how to work with corporate cultures that are not tolerant, I can sum up their advice up thus...

Just do it. It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission... but you have to be a really good listener to the internal politics at your company.

There was a ton of other insights I missed, ignored, or otherwise glossed over, however, the lessons I gleaned above is about the best I could do herding the idea-cats of the keynote.

Enjoy the conference, ask tons of questions, and find the next great innovations to bring back to your companies!

Of course the big boys are here... Bing and Yahoo (Right Media,) ComScore, and Amazon (Web Services,) but a surprise was more traditional big brands like American Express OPEN. And there are a slew of agencies, but what is different is these agencies are specialists, and concentrate on doing a couple things very very well. They speak digital in a way that previous agencies only dream about, from companies like Grafton who specialize in content creation and making sure it is picked up by search engines to extend your message, to a slew of creative, media, and ethic targeting agencies, the options for brands allow them to choose the right agency for the right job at the right time.

Most of the activity that is exciting to me is booth to booth to booth of new vibrant companies, and startups. From companies like Beintoo who is bringing gamification and rewards to mobile, and Fiksu which is helping marketers get their apps discovered on iOS and Android, to SeeMail who allows you to attach your voice to pictures you send to provide more context, and Stipple who enables shopping, search and discovery through images. From companies that are helping in Search, to those facilitating email and CRM; from companies that manage, accelerate and report on social media to those who enable gamification, app discovery and mobile advertising, the entire ecosystem and markets have diversified.

This is no longer the year of any one specific thing, be it "social media" or "mobile" or "email" or "Search" where the majority of new companies are focused on one vertical; this is the year of everything. There does not seem to be one predominant trend or theme, instead the trend is not a "vertical" but "innovation," and that is a good sign for our business.

The convergence of advertising and technology is what AdTech is all about, and the conference this year is delivering on that.

The answer to the that question was given by Scott Symonds from AKQA."India, for its great enablement of math and technology and ability to grow and create solutions." Shawn Carolan views Apple as a combination of Italy and China for its beautiful design, with a market ecosystem that is not quite a walled garden, but if you run afoul of its "rules" watch out. Molly Wood from CNET @mollywood handled Facebook, which she views as Norway. Which makes sense only when you realize that like Norway, from the outside it is beautiful; everyone is unusually attractive and sexually liberated. But they are also a monarchy, and have a secret dark side (Norway is the worlds 6th largest arms exporter... who knew?) Doug then chimed in with Twitter. The odd one out in this group. If Twitter were a country they would be the Cayman Islands if they were run by Iran. They are not motivated by others. There is a lot of secrecy. And we really don't know what they are thinking. But we really cannot afford to have a failed state of Twitter.

The panel was one of refreshing candor, and they answered questions as to whether Google is relevant in the walled garden world of Apple, Facebook, and Twitter (the answer is yes.) When you solve problems you grow the market, and then you build audiences which Google still does well. However, there is a darker side. It all keeps reverting back to freedom and access. The Flip camera did the same thing, only to announce today it was going under. Why? The same technology transferred to cellphones and it became a duplicate device.

For Google there is obviously a threat from the Social sites on the web. 25% of bonuses for everyone in the company will be tied to Google's Social strategy in 2011. 2011 bonus multiplier. Employees must test the social products. But as Molly really points out, 25% is tied to SMAMing your friends if you are an employee? Really?

She goes on to illuminate that Social is not about the kumbaya of people talking to each other, but of the recommendations that your can friend-source. That's why Social is important. It's about turning from Search to Social Search, and whereas Search indexes existing content, Social Search mines the brains of your network and allows you to crowd source recommendations from trusted sources.

To most on the panel it feels like Twitter is not as important because they have not figured out what to do with the data, but that is one of the reasons why it's such a powerful user tool. An interesting stat is 1 in 4 Twitter users is African American. And from a meme standpoint it the mirror opposite of Facebook. Facebook reinforces your view of the world, where Twitter brings in things from the outside.

What about that content that is brought in. The control of content and delivery of content will be the next battleground, but as Molly points out, what the New York Times is doing is asinine in the extreme. "You are going to charge me what? for what? Why would I do that? I have Twitter."

Is there a place for world class content? Yes, but it's like salt. Salt used to be this extremely valuable thing. But now it is on every table. "You cannot keep trying to sell me salt and charge me the price of the past. The idea of objectivity is over. I do not need you to tell me it is happening. I have Twitter. I need you to tell me WHY it is happening." The individual becomes the information. The publisher becomes the context and the skew.

And this is a lesson. The Power Brokers in our industry change, and change rapidly. Are we trading television dollars for digital dimes? Probably, but those who hang onto trying to continue to charge those dollars will find that they end up with nothing. And personally I'd take a boatload of dimes over nothing.

Two years ago there was a shift in Visa. He realized that digital could no longer be an island with it's own budget, for when it was, winning just in digital was not moving the needle. It was no longer an experiment, no longer a "lab" that could be kept in isolation. What did he do? He destroyed the digital marketing team and embedded those resources inside the core team. Digital moved from the periphery into the middle. It became a core focus. He was tired of agencies, vendors and internal teams talking about their "little digital world." "If you're able to use digital to build the total brand, then that is success." If you don't believe that, then try this on for size; YouTube alone has 2 billion views a day, which makes it bigger than the three major networks combined. But TV is not dead he informs us, it's use for advertisers has shifted from long-form programming to "live events." That is where the magic of TV now lies.

They were finding out through their data that the concept of purchase moved from an "action," to a comprehensive "Social Experience." They were finding that although "Search" is powerful, it has changed to an emotional connection being developed through "Social Search." When someone tweets out a request and crowd sources their network. The Social Web has changed how consumers engage with brands. From a "Yell and Sell" funnel to an "Army of Advocates," and that is why the shift to the new model is necessary.

To operate in this new model he had to create a new strategy to inform Visa's decisions.

1. Think audience first
2. Guided by three social principles
   Sharing is the new giving
   Participation is the new engagement
   Recommendation is the new advertising
3. Activate with Paid, Owned and Earned Media
   .

But more importantly, he advises that the way advertising has been done should profoundly shift from a "create the magic with the creative and find where to run it" to a "media plan first, and then do creative to activate where you should be." This channel shift strategy moves the focus from the creatives within an agency to those who understand the social dynamics of consumer intent, and that is a profound shift… if you can convince your agencies to get on board.

Why the shift? Because the power of the social connection on recommendations and purchase is essential. And Visa realizes that even Digital goods are purchased with real money.

According to Nielsen, by 2020 the vast majority of households in the US with children 18 or under will be multicultural. How do we deal with that? How will our marketing have to evolve? This is what digital has been built for. This is what we are all here for, and why the mood is the most positive I have seen in years. For those of us who have been in the industry for years, and for those just entering digital, this is the crux, the paradigm shift, the tipping point, or whatever term you want to pull out of thin air for "change."

Enjoy the conference. Enjoy that you are in this industry at the right time, and realize, that you are definitely in the right place. Enjoy the show.

From Alex Koll from Rooftop Comedy whose stand-up routine was stellar, to Ben and Rafi, (the Fine brothers,) who spoiled 30 movie endings in less than a minute, and Greg Benson of mediocre films (you may have seen him giving away "Deluxe Hugs $2" next to someone giving away free hugs online.) Even Iman Crossman appeared as Obama, in style, threatening to break up Google, and require all television advertising to have production budgets of only $500; and Devon Kelly and Shaun Peterson, all from Take 180 entertained us.

It was basically a cornucopia of the geniuses behind things like the Gay Leprechaun, to Deluxe Hugs, the Fine Brothers show, and that creepy Guinea Pig Twilight spoof. Almost half a billion video views were represented by those on stage. A bigger viewership than the last episode of M*A*S*H and the Superbowl, combined.

But beyond the potty humor, and brash comedy, there were some definite insights. There is a certain multiple facet role of video online where those who do the work, are also the producers, the writers, the editors, the comedians. The medium just does not come with the monetary association of value yet, and new role descriptions inhabit this world. From "The Predator," a combination Producer/Editor, to the "Shreditor," the Shooter/Editor.

"We work on budgets of a couple hundred bucks a minute, where-as traditional media works in the tens of thousands." Jim Lauderback, CEO of Revision 3, likens it to what happened when he was in journalism print media years ago. "There used to be a producer, the journalists, a cameraman, etc... and then we switched to backpack journalism where one person served all those roles."

There is an advantage to the lower seeming production quality. There is an authenticity that connects with audiences, and when you are doing product placement that authenticity translates. It actually helps instead of hurts brands, as your viewers actually praise the brands in the videos of having the balls to let someone play with their brand in a way that is not always kosher. The viewers want to see that level of risk. It elevates the brand when you put it in the hands of comedic talent. The brand becomes "cool."

With advertising changing, it now has to earn it's audience. Comedy is visceral to our nature, and the internet seems well poised to help comedians translate that. Because, of all the takeaways one stood out...

"In order for an impression to be an impression, it has to impress someone."

And that is something brands too often miss online. So if you want to not take risk, these people will help your competitors, and they'll both be laughing all the way to the bank.

"Create the environment which they want to stay. At the holding company there is a lot of turnover because the little people got forgotten. Keep the people challenged and step out of your day to day. You have to give them an opportunity that is not within their job position. Its the best job in the world."

She reminded us of the MediaPost article they run every year. Assistant Media Planners get to live like millionaires. They eat at the nicest restaurants, and get to stay at great hotels and resorts.

Mike Denzler, from OMD half jokingly added that there should be a Draft for talent. It's obviously always one of the prime headaches in media.

"You have to work really hard to get the right people the bus. Avoid being in a reactive situation."

They all stressed that the media department cannot know everything and that to be honest with your clients about that. Trust with clients is very important and setting expectations that not everything is a win. You should try new technologies in media, but vet them first, with your internal team and your client. Be it social media, which is still a small portion of the pie for the bigger clients but more important at boutique clients and agencies, to iAds, they all emphasized that the danger in media is comoditization.

"When media becomes comoditized it is bad for our industry. It's then reduced to a price game." Mike said. Allen Stern from Agency.com added that the "key is to position yourself as the agency that takes a 360 degree holistic view of their business. The business does appreciate and understand when you do that, even if you are not producing the most widgets."

They all seemed to agree that measurability is something that should be praised with online media. "It has given digital agencies a seat at the table. You can be accountable for every penny they spend. Bring more strategy from a digital perspective to the table. Here is what you did and here is what it has done for you. Leverage what you can do, and not be beholden to it." according to Tamara. "Just because we can measure it  is not answer. Seek to understand their underlying needs beyond the metric." Mike added.

On a final note John Durham, the host, asked the panel some quick questions.

What is one of the overhyped phrases? Sexting & Integration.

What is an interesting Technology? Tamara mentioned Tracksimple. A tool that allows you to consolidate your metrics in one place. And Allen mentioned that Norm Page showed him Aperture that backs into your media plan with a whole slew of possible missed opportunities, targets etc...

People, Communication, and Knowledge will still be the key tools in media, no matter what new technology or media opportunity is out there.