Rogier Noort, Author at Rogier Noort

Oi! Conference.., and why you should attend

To be honest here.., and I like being honest:

If you live in the UK.., or if you are in the neighbourhood between 10th and 15th June, you should get a ticket to Oi! now.

Let me tell you why… (but you can buy a ticket first if you want, I’ll wait).

Great Speakers

I was chatting with Mark Schaefer, yeh, I know, name dropping.., but there it is. He mentioned the Online Influence Conference, Oi! for short.
I checked it out and for starters I will give you four reasons why you should attend:

Mark Schaefer – Top Marketing Blogger and author
Mari Smith – Premier Facebook Marketing Expert
Tom Webster – The Brand Savant
Tamsen Webster – SVP of Digital Strategy

If you recognise (any of) these names then you can buy tickets right here (no affiliate), right now.

It’s a Tour

Now, this is not any old conference. It’s a tour!
The above mentioned tour four cities in the UK: Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester (this is where I’ll be, so let’s meet up) and Glasgow.
For the last three there are still early bird tickets available at, wait for it.., £99. For Cardiff it’s £149. Boom, another excuse out the door.., it is not expensive.

I’m really inspired by the energy and drive behind this conference. It’s shaping up to be a powerful day of practical learning from some of the best minds in the US, and beyond!

Mark Schaefer

So, a tour. All four will speak at all four events. And not just them. Local talent is invited to sit in on forums and have there own talks.
Combining mega power with local knowledge…, nice concept, right?

Oi! Needs You

Here’s a photo of our puppies.., just to keep your attention long enough to read the following:

Of course, this is a weird blog post and I’m only writing it because the organisation behind this conference are just “a couple of bloggers and friends” who love putting this together.., but they need there seats filled in order to break even. They need your help.

You can read more about this on the Oi! blog, written by Tony Dowling, the founding father of the Oi!.

Remember, I’m not gaining anything by writing this, Tony asked for help, this is how I’m giving it. I already bought a ticket (I don’t need more).

Enrich Yourself

So, that’s all I got.

I don’t you do not want to miss this and if you are a Social Media professional you cannot miss this.

Plus, there is no reason for you not miss this. It’s just such incredible value for money.., it’d be really be silly not to go.
Just to put things into perspective.., I bought the early bird for Manchester, I’m staying in a hotel walking distance from the venue, have a Ryanair flight from Belgium! And I still pay less than the last conference I went to (without a flight and without a hotel).

Just saying…

Get your ticket now!

A Song for a New King and 16 million opinions.

In typical Dutch tradition everybody has an opinion about everything.

This usually manifests itself best when our national football (soccer) team is playing (badly), and the higher the stakes, the more opinions there are.

Everybody is a coach and knows what’s best for our team. But, in fact, next to the current national coach there might be 3 or 4 people in the land that can do an equal or better job. Not a couple of million (but that doesn’t stop them from having an opinion).

Now, 30th April we’ll have a new King, the first King since 1890, and the Dutch top of the poppers decided to create a song in his honour.

“Het Koningslied”

, or “A Song for a King”.

Now, I have an opinion about most things.., some things I know nothing about and I’m still able to form an opinion. I am often wrong and should learn to either say something positive or meaningful.., or say nothing.

I don’t like “Het Koningslied“. I never really liked Dutch music (just a few exceptions), and I do not particularly like Dutch singers.., especially when singing in Dutch (just a few exceptions).

“Het Koningslied” has the perfect formula for me not to like it.., and as I said, I don’t.

However:

It was not created for me.
It was not written by me.
It was not produced by me.
It was not recorded by me.

I know it took a lot of effort to create, that all involved spend time and gave it their all.
And now the whole nation has an opinion.., and it isn’t good. In fact it’s bad, really, really bad (and really sad).

Instead of adopting it for what it is, it got burned.., to the ground.

Unconventional Dutch king inauguration song Koningslied scrapped after public outcry dlvr.it/3GKt0K

— New York Weird News (@NewYork_Weird) April 21, 2013

In fact, it received so much criticism that the producer of the song, John Ewbank (who wrote/produced a record number of eighteen #1 Dutch Top 40 hit singles) withdrew completely from the project. Ewbank received so much personal criticism that he decided that it was not worth being involved any longer.

Well done Dutchies… What a great way to show your appreciation for what was supposed to be a song of celebration and support.

The song isn’t that bad, it might not be to my taste, but that’s irrelevant. The people who created it made a valiant attempt to reflect the (royal) moment and the Dutch culture. I’d say that’s a very difficult thing to do.., and apparently impossible.

Why So Serious?

People.., do not take yourself so serious. Just because you can Tweet or write a comment on YouTube does not mean you have to, or that other people want to here it.
You could not have done a better job than Ewbank. The song was not written for you, but for your future King (and I believe he’d love it).

There’s a time and place for criticism and you are allowed to have your opinion. But, make it about a better moment or experience, offer help to improve, genuinely offer support.

There is no more neutrality in the world. You either have to be part of the solution, or you’re going to be part of the problem.
– Eldridge Cleaver said

People, chill out. Have fun, find positive outlets, be grateful, choose to be happy and appreciate each other.