I was on the cusp of attending the conference for the first time, and had many glorious dreams of what the experience would hold in store for me.

As I explained in the post, as a born and bred “Charlie Bucket” (a la “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”), I had been struggling for months to find my voice in rooms full of “Veruca Salts” – people who might have had less ethics, talent or dedication than I, but still tended to get all the attention…simply because they demanded it.

So did I get my “Golden Ticket” at the 2009 SXSWi conference?

Nope.

When I got to Austin, the joint was fairly crawling with Veruca “Twitterlebrities,” basking in the glow of real-time groupie love.

Me? I wandered around in a daze, making connections with people who were often too drunk to remember my name the next day and forming deeper bonds with the people I already knew.

Oh sure, I learned a lot. (To be honest, I could sit in a closet for an hour and still come out with an insight or two.) While not bowled over by the sessions I attended, I learned from the people I observed, the conversations I participated in and the ideas I chewed on in my free time.

A new year…a new bar of chocolate.

So now it’s one year later, and I’m looking back at that blog post with some nostalgia.

I’ve spent the past year learning, training, presenting, teaching, consulting and reading, but none of that has changed my inherent Charlie Bucket-ness.

And instead of finding myself on more equal ground with the Verucas, I’ve actually been overwhelmed by new hordes of them.

In the past year, my market has been flooded with unemployed marketing and communications professionals launching new careers in social media. (My personal favorites are the ones who come to my training camps and then add “social media expert” to their LinkedIn profiles the next day.)

The marketing tool of choice for the “social media Verucas” is also the bullhorn they use to market themselves, transforming some of the social tools I love dearly into echo chambers of posturing and promotion.

In short, the social space has become crowded, brutish, competitive and often just plain nasty.

But like Charlie, I’ve chosen to stick it out, cause really…what else am I going to do?

I was in marketing and communications for more than a decade before I had social tools to work with. And I’ll be here another decade after today’s newly self-anointed “social gurus” have moved on to “the next big thing.”

Cheer up Charlie. Just be glad you’re you.

So where does this leave me as I’m packing my bags to head down this week to “Geek Mecca?”

Well, I’ve been waiting patiently for over a year for the “social media Verucas” to fall down the “bad egg” chute, but that doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon.

So like Charlie, I plan to just keep chugging forward anyway, simply because I’m doing something that I love, I love the people I’m doing it with and I believe that life’s too short to toss away a gift like that.

Maybe I’m just naive, but I truly believe that hard work, innovation and honesty are the true “Golden Tickets” for success. I just need to keep my eye on the prize and my focus on the future…

If I can just outlast these other kids, I’m going to own this stinkin’ chocolate factory.

Read my guest post on the Minnesota Public Relations blog.

Is this because I’m brilliant?

Heck no.

If anything, I have a lot to learn. And that compels me to continually seek out new educational opportunities at meetings, workshops, webinars, teleseminars and conferences, both locally and nationally.

But lately, everything I go to has had the same soundbite loop of examples, (Zappos!) ideas, (”Listening is key”) and anecdotes, (”Gary V was just a guy with some wine and a dream…”) all framed by the uber assertion that, “Social Media is AWESOME!”

And, sure enough, there is always a hungry crowd of people sitting at these events.

These are, ironically, the same people I talked to about social media more than year ago who regaled me with questions about Twitter as if it were some sort of mythical Sasquatch–like beast that I had stumbled upon in the woods.

In time, these people got the message that social media was here to stay, so they started using these tools, too. And now they too want to get together and talk about how it works, why it works and how to use it for their business.

Don’t get me wrong … I think that’s a great thing. There should continue to be events for these people to go to. (In fact, I’ve created some of these events myself, where, I too, am guilty of using the soundbites mentioned above.)

My problem is that personally, I’m not interested in those questions or events anymore.

I’ve been working with social media intensively, extensively and exclusively for nearly two years.

I’m ready for some new dialogue.

I want to talk about questions like …

• How do we create metrics that can adequately measure the nuisances in the qualitative and quantitative data gained from measuring social media conversations? (Because, yes, we can measure this stuff. Yes, there is a science to this. And yes, there are whole conferences being devoted to this topic.)

• How do we navigate the ethics of social media when qualities like, “authenticity” and “transparency” open the door to a host of landmine issues like, “Who determines what data is private?” “Where should the disclosure line be drawn between being someone’s fan and being their marketer?” “How do you maintain authenticity while at the same time being highly strategic about your engagement?”

• How to we develop and manage a content strategy for social media when the message is not being used for the traditional two-way exchange of sender and receiver, but rather is a living dialogue that ping-pongs between senders and receiver (and each receivers’ receivers) ad infinitum?

• As more and more learning and interaction happens virtually, what will the new role be for real-time events and interactions? How can we respond to the needs of online communities for face-to-face connection? How do we capture the “a ha!” moments that occur offline and relay them back to the online network?

• How do we build and integrate social media into a larger marketing and PR strategy so that it serves as an invaluable new tool in a company’s arsenal (with its own strengths and weaknesses) rather than a “bell and whistle” to tack onto an already overextended business workload?

Where are these types of conversations happening?

Locally? Yes. These questions pop up at most every coffee meeting I have. People are creating word-of-mouth support networks, but that’s generally where the “education” ends. Most events are still being built to simply help professionals sell social media to their clients and companies (and that’s a fine goal). But this means that, for now at least, they are trapped in Social Media 101 mode.

At national conferences? Maybe some, but not at the ones I’ve been to lately. Those have been the lands where the giant corporate case study reigns supreme, even when they are entirely devoid of nimbleness and innovation. (Note to conference planners: the hottest ideas in social media are NOT coming out of giant corporations.)

Online? Always. I am currently attending Twitter U to get my Social Media MBA. The ideas are coming in a steady stream from networks and blogs, (thank you Mack Collier, Brian Solis, et al), but the answers many of us seek will still ultimately be found through application and interpretation. For those, we need community and clients – areas where offline interaction can still hold the most impact.

Not sure what the solution is to this problem. But I know it’s not one I can solve on my own.

I don’t have all the answers, but I know I do have good questions, so I’ve pitched myself to speak on these topics both locally and nationally, but have had little success.

I’d build my own events to tackle these ideas but, since I’d be trying to pull in an audience of my peers, I think it’d be an exercise in futility (especially if I had to charge money for the events to cover my costs). As Chris Brogan so aptly put it last week, the Twin Cities is still pretty siloed when it comes to forming tribes to support each other in the social media community. That’s a damn shame.

So this morning, I watched the Twitter stream as the social media faithful here in town gathered for yet another event. They likely tackled social media again, twisting the topic like some programmatic Rubik’s Cube to examine and discuss from some new angle.

Ultimately, I’m not sorry I stayed home.

I have work to do and clients to help. Not sure anything they would have found would have helped me with either.

As usual, for now, it looks like I’m on my own.

(I always figured you needed training, recitals and a monogrammed bag with ballet slipper patches on it to officially be called a “dancer.”)

Yep. That's me in the sailor suit in the middle. Long story.

But, I can dance. And, I can make up moves and build whole dance routines in my head. So, earlier in my life, I often found myself in the role of a choreographer, too.

I choreographed routines for cheer teams, marching bands, musical casts, and once, a huge crowd of people who fell down like Dominos at the end of the song, spelling out the word “W-E-L-C-O-M-E” with their bodies.

And you know what?

I loved every stinkin’ minute of it.

But then I got old, injured, and intimidated by the girls who were dancing “in the big leagues.” So I decided that I wasn’t a dancer or a choreographer anymore.

End of story.

But recently, I read a blog post that made me rethink that decision…

THE BIRTH OF “THE CHOREOGRAPHER”
In the post, the writer lists the top 5 “people, places and things that will be on top of the mountain a year from now,” one of which is a role he dubs “the choreographer”…

“…quick moving, creative, optimistic businesses are going to need someone who can harness all this dynamic energy. This is where the choreographer comes in. Someone who can align the researchers with the account teams; coordinate the digital team with the ad buys and make sure that it all looks and feels right. No mean feat, but crucial to insuring that an integrated marketing plan delivers the goods.”

When I read that description I thought, “hey, that’s me!”

Every day I wake up, look at my Twitter feed and think, “Crispy crackers, I missed a lot while I was sleeping! Time to take the pulse of the industry, make a game plan and start making things happen.”

Then, my team and I do just that.

We read up on the latest technologies, navigate uncharted terrain, translate and train, pull it all together into uber marketing or PR strategies, and then direct everyone’s efforts to implement them so they achieve measureable results.

The reality is that I never stopped being a choreographer…I just started choreographing different things.

SO WHAT’S YOUR NEW ROLE THIS YEAR?
The nature of doing business is changing daily, giving birth to a host of new job titles, responsibilities and roles like “the choreographer.”

So, let go of your preconceived notions of what your industry really needs this year (Another book? Another blog? Another “Twitterlebrity?”) You don’t have to be an author, start a blog or be the next Gary Vaynerchuck to make an impact.

I’d wager that what your industry needs most are solutions.

And, it’s entirely possible that you alone have the innate skills to provide those solutions – skills that may take the shape of a role no one has even dreamed of naming yet.

Think back to those moments in your life when your passion reared its glorious head and revealed your natural talents for all the world to see.

Those are the skills your industry needs.

Those are the skills that will put you and your business on the map this year.

For me, the lesson is that, at heart, I will always be a choreographer. And perhaps the world needs my ability to “stage the big production number” now, more than ever.

So instead of mapping out a physical journey through a song, now I’m aggregating the information in tweets, posts and feeds and using it to create a different kind of path for people to follow.

In the end, it’s no less beautiful for me to watch unfold – a series of calculated moves that, once implemented, leaves a wake, stretched out end to end, that spells one word…

S-U-C-C-E-S-S.

The cover provocatively asks if Kutcher could be “a new kind of media mogul.”

My answer?

Unequivocally.

As a strategist, I can recognize a solid and smart marketing process when I see one – and Kutcher’s is watertight:

1. Be hot, famous and prolific in some key social media channels.
2. Watch as step 1 generates a large following of gawkers and fans.
3. Watch as steps 1 and 2 attract large corporate brands who want to sell stuff to hordes of gawkers and fans.
4. Let those brands piggyback on, or co-opt the content within, the aforementioned channels.
5. Monetize participation, release co-opted content to the aforementioned hordes and make beaucoup money.

As the article states, Kutcher intends to become, “the first next-generation media mogul,” using his own brand as a springboard and syndication system.

And, I have no doubt he’ll be successful at it.

But his strategy (heck, his whole company) is uniquely suited to capitalize on Kutcher’s stature, connections and lifestyle.

So where does this leave the rest of us whose personal brands aren’t so much springboards as they are teeny planks?

Me? I was never on a TV show. I’m not married to a celebrity. I have no pre-existing corporate endorsements. I’ve never punk’d Justin Timberlake so bad that he nearly cried (btw…that was a great episode, AK).

And yet, I’m working this space just as aggressively as Kutcher and his posse. And, I’m looking to magazines like Fast Company for ideas and inspiration on how to be successful in my own right.

Is there anything a regular lady from the Midwest like me can learn from “team Ashton?”

While the consensus online seems to be that Fast Company took a gigantic jump over a very attractive shark in writing this article, I still think the answer is “yes.”

1. Find your hook

I’ve got two words for you: trucker hat. Kutcher knows the value of a gimmick, a prank or a well-positioned must-have accessory, and he works that sucker for all its worth.

Do you have a “trucker hat” idea for your business?

• Is your value prop that you “do good work?” (Congrats, that’s true for every other company in America too. What else you got?) Are you the “first,” the “best,” the “only,” or the “award-winning” anything?
• Is your hook easy to identify, ubiquitous and a key player in every facet of your overall marketing strategy?
• Will your hook translate well across multiple platforms and media spaces?

2. Mix the mediums

Social is not the end-all, be-all of marketing. Part of the key to the success of Kutcher’s company is that they are integrating content across multiple platforms, and seeding projects in television, movies and the Web.

Are you thinking outside of the social media box, too?

• Are you creating marketing content that is snackable, portable and customizable across a range of platforms?
• Are all your marketing channels designed to work together symbiotically?
• Are you keeping an eye on emerging technologies so you can be the first to identify the new places where your clients or customers might want to play?

3. Pretty it up

Yeah, Kutcher’s good looks are doing him some favors in his race to “mogul-ness.” But, “be hotter” isn’t a real practical strategy for the rest of us to pursue. Perhaps a more tangible lesson we can learn from this former model is that working your looks is just as important as having them.

Is your company ready for its close-up?

• Do you have a consistent and appealing visual identity across all your marketing platforms and spaces?
• How is that headshot of yours holding up? (Is it reinforcing your brand, or is it just a so-so pic you shot with your laptop cam?)
• Are you striking some awesome, “blue steel” marketing “poses” via your podcasts, video and writing?

4. Keep an eye on the Benjamins

Kutcher knows Hollywood, and he’s cannibalizing that world to build his new business model. One lesson we can learn from him (and that world), is that everything costs money. (In Hollywood, it takes a village to raise a celebrity…and all those villagers need to get paid.)

Are you ready to capitalize on your new media investments?

• Are you approaching your contacts and pitching unique marketing partnerships where you can share the work and the wealth?
• Do you have clear strategies in place for ensuring that the content you give away will come back to you as revenue down the road?
• Have you identified some companies who are doing this well? Are you tracking their every move and taking copious notes?

5. Enjoy yourself

For all we know, Ashton Kutcher could be reading Ayn Rand books in his spare time. But in public, the AK brand is all about having fun. And you know what? People loooove to have fun, and they are attracted to other people having fun. Marketing doesn’t get any more simple than that.

Are you having any fun?

• Do people enjoy reading/watching/listening to your marketing? (Um…do you?) Is it interesting? Provocative? Funny?
• Are you enthusiastic about what you do? Are you letting that enthusiasm bleed into and invigorate your brand?
• Are you remembering to break a few rules now and again?

Ultimately, Ashton is an anomaly…

So it doesn’t really matter if he’s the “first next-generation media mogul,” or not.

Really, the more interesting question is…

…who will be the second?