The title of this article poses two questions: 1. Should you attend the USIU Digital Media Bootcamp? and 2. Should you spend Shs 75 thousand for such a function? Let me answer both questions separately but first some background information would do.

USIU Digital Media Bootcamp

Our own Winnie Kurua wrote an article back in May this year "Why your organization is eligible for the Digital Media Bootcamp" and more recently the Daily Nation and HumanIPO have also carried articles trying to explain the essence of the Bootcamp organized by USIU and sponsored by Nation Media Group, Globetrack International and MSK.

Briefly, the USIU Digital Media Bootcamp will be a two days event to be held on 24th and 25th July 2014 at USIU, Nairobi to offer training, insight and practical knowledge on how organizations can utilize digital and social media tools in order to improve their bottom line.

Why you should attend

The "you" in this sub-title is the target audience. The type of people the bootcamp organizers target have been given as:

  • Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors
  • Government Personnel
  • Marketing and Communications Professionals
  • ICT Program Directors
  • IT Service Providers
  • Content Providers
  • Technologists / Social Media Specialists and Consultants
  • Social Media Practitioners
  • Higher Education Curriculum designers and E-learning Specialists
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Bloggers & Tweeters (that includes me) and
  • Students undertaking marketing and communication related courses

Indeed, if you fall in any of those categories, then you should plan to attend as topics to be covered in the two days event include:

  • Why social media isn't a fad, but rather a revolution.
  • How brands and marketers are achieving success in social media.
  • Best tools
  • Great social media strategies in action
  • How to organize your social media strategy properly.
  • Quick, practical wins.
  • Future outlook for social, mobile, digital and beyond.
  • Digital leaders are made, not born. The 5 habits of digital leadership (S.T.A.M.P) and how you and your team can develop them
  • Your Digital Reputation is Your Reputation. Privacy is dead. Reputations are dying. Don't let it happen to your company, your team, or your family. Learn the art and science behind why digital reputations are determining success for everything and everyone.
  • Crisis Communication

Forget those topics. The reason I want everyone - especially every CEO and Marketing Directors/Mangers including other top decision makers in all industries in this country - is the laxity with which these people have treated digital media and online marketing platforms. As a blogger, I will really love it when most organizations warm up to digital media and social media in particular to drive their sales - meaning more businesses will be coming our way. As the situation currently stands, it is rather hard to convince the conventional marketers and advertisers to promote their businesses and brands on social media let alone on blog sites.

I therefore, kindly, urge you to take your diary and jot down the 24th and 25th July as an important day for you and your organization. Please don't miss the bootcamp. Registration is still ongoing and you can register simply by filling in the registration form at the bootcamp's registration portal - problem is you can't pay using M-PESA.

Should you pay Shs 75K for the USIU Digital Media Bootcamp?

First, let's clarify - the portal above explains thus:

Registration fees mentioned above include the following:
Entrance to sessions, registration pack, daily lunch and refreshment breaks,and webinars after workshop. Plus a complimentary copy of Erik Qualman's book 'Socialnomics: How Social Media transforms the way we live and do business.'

Another clarification to be made is the importance of the guest speaker, Erik Qualman. In the Bootcamp's website, Erik has been described as:

 A Digital Dale Carnegie...the author of Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business. Socialnomics made Amazon's #1 Best Selling List for the US, Japan, UK, Canada, Portugal, Italy, China, Korea and Germany. His book Digital Leader helped him be voted the 2nd "Most Likeable Author in the World" behind Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. He also holds the Guinness Book of World Record for the longest continuous podcast. His latest book What Happens in Vegas Stays on YouTube is already being adopted by universities and companies for training purposes. He made Forbes Top 50 Digital Power Influencers list.

 

Socialnomics was a finalist for the "2010 Book of the Year" awarded by the American Marketing Association. Qualman produced "Social Media Revolution" the most viewed social media video series in the world, which has been used by NASA to the National Guard. Forbes and Fast Company Magazine list him as a Top 100 Digital Influencer.

Indeed there seem to be value for money, including the most important gain - an opportunity to network. But when I went through the topics and carefully Googled on the same really didn't get the essence of paying Shs 75,000 for an event that will last significantly less than 24 hours. But aren't these corporate oriented events rated the same?

Yes.

There is away Corporates like misspending. It reminds of the first ever International trip I ever made - I traveled all the way to Khartoum, spent six days there, to only be given the information I needed in a one page excel document - a document that could have been easily and conveniently sent to my email within seconds. They call it corporate PR.

If you take your time and properly Google the topics given above using appropriate search terms, you will land to a lot more useful information that one can read through and gain significantly more than you would gain by attending the bootcamp.

I am not saying that attending the event is a waste of time, that you rather Google the topics and self-teach yourself how to handle social media in order to drive sales. No, I am saying that I don't think you should spend Shs 75 thousand for such an event.  How much then, would be a fair deal?

The best platform to compare the USIU digital media bootcamp is the annual Wordcamp on WordPress and Social Media. Wordcamp although targeting mostly bloggers, only require attendees to part with Shs 3,500, a price that's only 4.6% of the cost Bootcamp organizers want attendees to part with. Well, Wordcamps are also always graced by Internationally renowned guest speakers. In my honest opinion, the bootcamp should not cost no more than Shs 5,000 per person.