Mark Walsh delivered the lunch keynote at SIIA. Walsh has a fascinating background. He currently serves as CEO of GeniusRocket, but previously served as CEO of Genie, VerticalNet and Air America Radio. He was CTO of the Democratic National Committee during the Kerry campaign and lives in the DC area, giving him a somewhat unique view of politics and technology.
Mark's presentation was entitled "Lessons on Politics" and he particularly focused on the concept of MicroScripts, ultra-short marketing messages. MicroScripts dominated the recent election cycle - just think about how your perception of the following terms have changed in the past few months: lipstick, (bridge to) nowhere, maverick, and of course, change.
Walsh suggested that MicroScripts will impact product marketing as well and that we need to focus on shorter and shorter ways to express core product features. As he said, "it's not an elevator pitch anymore; it's a bumper sticker".
But it's not all bad news. Walsh sees the current time and the new administration as potential antidotes to the MicroScripting trend. Describing Obama as "human ritalin", he described how we are forced to slow down and think by his deliberate speaking style.
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