Shauna Moerke is…

We have something very special for you this week as the Carnival of HR makes an extra stop, this time at the Upstart HR Blog. Hosted by the always energetic Ben Eubanks, this special Carnival brings together some of the best posts discussing HRevolution! So whether you were able to attend the event or not, you are going to want to check this Carnival out here in order to get all the details! And don’t forget, the regularly scheduled Carnival of HR is making it’s next stop May 26th at the HR WhY blog hosted by Stephen M.G. Harrison! Please send your submissions to stephenmgharrison at gmail dot com by Monday May 24th!

Well, it’s been a week since HRevolution and not only have I caught up on my sleep, all the thoughts and ideas surrounding the event have managed to kind of sort themselves out. I know what you’re saying to yourself, “Not another HRevolution post!” Well, not to worry, this is the last one from me, that is at least until the next HRevolution. And I am hoping there will be another one and that it is soon! Now, over the last week I have reflected on the event, read what other attendees have blogged about it, and I found that one thought kept coming back to me: Social matters.

That’s right, I think that the real value from unconferences like HRevolution is the socialization. It’s the tweetups, the random conversations, the chats over coffee, matching offline personalities with online, and the “secret tracks”. It’s all those fun, silly, and random moments that you can only experience in person and can’t translate to blog posts or twitter not matter how good of a writer you are. It’s about putting yourself out there and being willing to make an ass out of yourself all in the pursuit of deepening the relationships you started online. Even though I would never embarrass myself like that. Never. Really, I promise. Okay fine, I totally made an ass out of myself on several occasions. The point is, I didn’t let that stop me from talking to people.

But why is socialization important? Look, HR is one of those professions where it’s members can only really relate to each other. We can’t go complain about Jane in Accounting problems with her boss to Bob in Legal because that would be inappropriate and violate confidentiality. We can’t form close relationships outside of HR and we have many negative images we have to work against. We need the kind of socialization that unconferences can provide. We need the chance to talk to people who understand, who we can let our guard down with, people who have been where we are and can offer some practical advice. We both need and crave it. It’s not just about the opportunity to learn something new or have our minds open to a new way of doing something. That’s valuable but I feel that the real value of unconferences is the sense of community that it provides.

That sense of community is something that is hard to achieve in a large, traditional conference where the conversation only goes one way and where you’d be lucky to randomly meet up with anyone you could have a deep discussion with, on any number of topics. Unconferences value lies in those random, deep conversations. That is why I have three final thoughts on HRevolution: 1. I think it was too big, which made it hard to connect with everyone in attendance, 2. Returning attendees like myself are important, but I’m glad there were new voices as well to keep us alumni on our toes, and 3. If you did not take advantage of all the social opportunities surrounding the event itself you missed out on arguably the best and most valuable part. Social matters and that is why I found so much value in attending HRevolution. That is all. For now.

So it occurred to me that even though I mentioned HR Happy Hour episode #44 – Live from the #Monstersocial Red Carpet- I didn’t actually highlight it on it’s own. Bad Shauna, always getting distracted by shiny objects. Now, live on location shows are always a little tricky, a little unpredictable, and rife with technical difficulties but hey, they are also a lot of fun. Be sure to check it out below because when we went live our audience of 1, China Gorman, certainly seemed to enjoy herself so you should too!

Moving on to the most recent HR Happy Hour, for episode #45 we brought the show back to a subject near and dear to Steve’s heart: Sports. But it wasn’t all sports analogies and talent management strategies I promise! No, really. We also discussed all the goodness to be expected from the Social Recruiting Summit that goes live this Monday from my home turf of Minneapolis! Yes, I will be in attendance and I’m really looking forward to it! Additionally, we got a preview of the Tremendous Upside unconference thingy these guys are throwing together in Vegas this July. Intrigued? Of course you are, so be sure to check out the show below!

As always, be sure to check out the crazy active twitter back channel at #HRHappyHour for the full show experience.

So it’s 5 am, I find myself sitting in bed in a much too big suite at The Wit Hotel now that I’m by myself and I’m having problems falling back asleep. Not because I’m not tired, I am most certainly that. And not because I’m missing my BFF April, even though I already am. You see, the last few days here in Chicago have been a whirlwind of activities and emotions and they are all jostling around in my head for attention. I”m thinking that I need to pull some of these thoughts out and by writing them down, be able to not only organize them in my brain, but also be able to get some more sleep before I drive home. You all just get to be the recipients of such thoughts so lucky you.

Here are some of my thoughts on HRevolution:
- The HRevolution committee did an amazing job putting everything together and their hard work is evident in how effortlessly everything seemed to fall into place from the perspective of an attendee. It takes a lot of hard work to make things run that smooth.
- The location for the event was top notch (Catalyst Ranch) and really drove home the the fact that this was an unconference and the old conference rules did not apply. The “feel” of the event was more dynamic and different right from the start due to this and I felt the difference over last year, when it was in a hotel ballroom, immediately.
- With almost 3x as many attendees here this year there were a lot more voices to be heard, people to meet, and conversations to be had. The only downside is that last year I was able to personally chat with everybody, even if only for a couple of minutes, and this year I didn’t come close to that try as I might. And I did try. And try. So if you attended the event but I didn’t get the chance to chat with you, and even if I did, please take this as an open invite to reach out to me. I’ll be doing the same.
- Cupcakes and maple bacon popcorn rule. #justsayin
- I can’t believe I missed a chance to ride in a mini cooper with Crystal Peterson and Jason Seiden. Still kicking myself over that one.
- Shenanigans were had, oh boy were they, and sometimes I wonder how you guys put up with a dork like me. I appreciate the indulgences on your part for the crazy antics.
- Next year there needs to be a nap room because some people, i.e. me, can and will fall asleep in the “sausage room” on a scratchy floor if they have too but they would prefer something a little more comfortable.
-I loved the interactive nature of the tracks, how the attendees were pushed to be creative, how freely people questioned, spoke up, and challenged each other. The conversations were lively and I felt I got at least a few great concepts out of each session I attended.
- You can’t come to an unconference and just do the event itself. You just can’t. The value of all the tweetups, spur of the moment sightseeing, running into people in the lobby or on the street, etc. is not often apparent, but it is there. The socializing aspect is critical. It helps you break the ice, get to know people better in different contexts, and is another way to deepen your relationships with them. Miss out on that and you miss out on a large part of the overall experience. You can learn more about someone and who they are in a quick run to the deli across the street than you would in the short time between tracks as you move between rooms.
- Upgraded hotel rooms rule. #justsayin
- Don’t be afraid to hug people. I will hug you.
- The HR Happy Hour was a little rough this week as we went live from the #MonsterSocial tweetup but it wouldn’t be our show without craziness, technical difficulties, and laughter.
- I came to the event with some specific goals in mind and I accomplished almost all of them. Having that focus was very helpful when there is much to do and less time to do it in, but I’m glad I also stayed flexible and didn’t plan out every second.
- BFF’s rule, making new BFF’s is even better, and stealing other peoples BFF’s is best of all. #justsayin
- #hashtags are now part of my everyday conversation and are awesome, even if only social media geeks like those at this event know that I’m using them.
- Despite the coolness of online relationships, there is no replacement for meeting someone in real life.

Ok, ok, I think that is enough of a brain dump for now that I should be able to get back to sleep. Better formed and more cogent thoughts from the event will be coming your way in the future so please look forward to it too!

Wow, another HR Happy Hour is in the can and we went all out and brought you a revolution, an HRevolution! Now, I have already expressed my overwhelming excitement for HRevolution 2010, so I bet you can tell how much I was looking forward to this show. Despite some technical difficulties at the start of the show, we had a great time, questions about the event were answered, and we learned that both bacon swag and hugs will be found in abundance at the event! Check out the show below, our crazy active #HRHappyHour back channel on Twitter and I hope you can join us on May 7-8th in Chicago!