ACCM Conference: Your Story

Back in the early 1990s, there was no better way to gauge the vibe in the catalog industry than to attend the Catalog Conference.

Of course, the internet changed everything. The Catalog Conference became the ACCM, trying to hold on to both the hipsters working on e-commerce and the catalog establishment.

The hipsters fled to Shop.org. Shop.org had "the vibe" for awhile.

Then the hipsters fled to Web 2.0 and Blogging conferences. That was fun for about a year, then the hipsters fled to conferences about Facebook, and this year, everybody's a-twitter about Twitter. Who knows where the hipsters will go next month? Who even cares anymore?

So this year, I'm going back to ACCM after a six year absence. The conference organizers were kind enough to accept my application for a press pass, so I plan on doing something useful with the opportunity.

Of course, I'll accept invitations to meet with you about past, current, and future Multichannel Forensics projects. Send me an e-mail, and we'll set up time to meet on Tuesday, May 20 to chat about a Multichannel Forensics project.

I'll also have a limited number of copies of "Hillstrom's Multichannel Secrets" (pictured above) and "Hillstrom's Multichannel Forensics" to give away.

But most important is "your story". I plan on profiling several catalog executives and leaders at the conference, seeking to communicate "your story", describing to our audience what it is like to be a multichannel leader in the era of third-party opt-out engines, e-commerce, ecological disdain for the industry, outsourced databases and circulation, web 9.3, social media, co-op databases, matchback analytics, and falling response rates.

If you want to set up time to tell me "your story", send me an e-mail. I will be available all day May 20, and in the morning on May 21.