I’ve watched with much interest this Facebook phenomenon surrounding “25 Things You Don’t Know About Me.” I didn’t actually do it myself, but hordes of my friends did. And hordes of their friends did, too.  It harkens back to those shampoo commercials in the 1980s (yes, clearly aging myself) … you might remember them … “she told two friends, and they told two friends, and THEY told two friends” … exponential growth in reach, spilling out and filling up your then-CRT television. Viral marketing. So, not a new concept, obviously, but a concept that today has a much bigger engine behind it than shampoo-donning girlfriends … large-scale, web-based social networks.

This is powerful stuff … and it’s a similar concept to what Jeff Howe, Wired editor and author of Crowdsourcing, will explore in our Tuesday morning keynote. The PCC Summit this year will have a big focus on cost containment and exploring the business value of PCC initiatives. This keynote is a big piece of the latter. You won’t want to miss it.

Sharepoint is a big part of a lot of PCC initiatives … you’ve told us as much. For those soldiers among you in the battle to get Sharepoint implemented, we’ve got a great pre-conference workshop called “Lessons Learned From the Sharepoint Trenches.” In this 2.5-hour workshop, which runs from 3-5 pm on Sunday June 7, EPC Group CEO Errin O’Connor will lead you through real-world case studies and a framework for identifying and overcoming the biggest challenges to implementing Sharepoint in your environment. A separate $495 fee applies for this workshop … well worth it to hear from a Sharepoint implementation veteran, as well as sharing experiences and opportunities with your fellow soldiers in the trenches! So, come join us a day early and learn that much more.

Did I say welcome to the PCC Summit in my last post? What I really meant was welcome to PCCC … yes, that’s three Cs. The last “C’ is for cost optimization, a major focus this year for, well, everyone. Fortunately, portals, content management and collaboration provide ample opportunities to not simply reduce costs, but also to create value for your organization. We’re going to explore both. Below is just a sampling of conference sessions aimed at cost optimization and value creation.  If you want to see more, have a look at our entire track dedicated to cost optimization, or — even better — visit us June 8-10 at the PCC … C … Summit.

12 Steps to Save and Make a Million Dollars in Content Management

More Than a Pretty Face: How Good User Experience Delivers Business Value

Getting Real Return from Collaboration Investments

Beyond BFF: Getting Business Value From Social Networks

Who Else Wants a Wiki? How to Value the Technologies, Rate the Vendors and Choose the Products of Social Software

Welcome to our sixth Gartner Portals, Content & Collaboration Summit 2009! I’m the Program Director for the event, and I’ll be using this blog … along with several of my colleagues … to update you on key happenings and exciting developments for the event. The first of these developments is important, so please take note: We’ve changed the event’s dates and hotel (but we’re still in Orlando). The conference will now be held 8-10 June 2009 at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes, a beautiful property at which we’ve secured fantastic rates for conference attendees.

Visit the conference website.

Visit the event’s hotel & travel web page.

Learn about the lovely JW Marriott Grande Lakes.