Big Omaha…where do I even start? This past weekend I was able to attend the Big Omaha conference with the 9 Clouds team, along with 500 other businesses persons and emerging entrepreneurs. This was my first event as a non-student, as I just graduated from South Dakota State University not even two weeks ago. I have attended a handful of events like Big Omaha as a student, and now I can look back and reflect on the differences between attending these events as a student and as a young professional.

Big difference #1: I actually met people
I have to admit, I was a little nervous about attending this conference. Outside of the 9 Clouds team and a few people from Sioux Falls I had met previously, I didn’t know anyone. At student conferences, I along with my classmates believed in safety in numbers and usually spent most of our time with each other.

Big difference #2: Conversation vs. lecture
Another new experience for me was the quality of conversation. As a student, most conversations with professionals were more of an educational Q&A than a discussion. At Big Omaha, I learned about what other people are doing with their business, but they also wanted to hear about what I did. I discussed with others everything from social media trends to the validity of business cards to what song the DJ should play next.

Big difference #3: It’s ok to party
Anyone who has attended an event as a student remembers the warnings received about “professionalism”. As one teacher once reminded my class, “If you came here just to party, that’s a very expensive cover charge.” So, to say the least I was a bit surprised to find out the evening activities were all held at bars. Didn’t I just spend the past five years being told not to do this? I am never one to complain about a free drink, but it took awhile to shake the feeling like I was in trouble if my teacher saw me. I’m not saying everyone was there just to take advantage of an open bar, but a little liquid courage does make networking much easier.

Big difference #4: Turning the “listen” into “do”
The line-up of speakers at Big Omaha was by the far the best I have seen so far. Everyone had something unique to contribute, but I did see a theme of pushing transparency in a business, which social media plays a huge role in. Many of the speakers talked about ideas I can finally use…not to help land a job, but do my job better. In honor of presenter and Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley, I decided to allot “badges” to some of my favorite presenters.

Do it Now Badge: Scott Belsky, founder of Behance and author of Making Ideas Happen. He discussed creativity being your biggest asset as well as your greatest obstacle and how to overcome it.

Change the World Badge: Scott Harrison, founder of charity:water. Scott told his emotional story of how charity:water came about and the survival and growth of his organization.

YEAH! Badge: Gary Vaynerchuk, founder of Wine Library TV.  Gary’s humor and high-energy got everyone off their seat and ready to tackle the world one conversation at a time.

Try, Try Again Badge: Dennis Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare. Dennis told his story of how Foursquare, a location-based social media game, was essentially a project 10 years in the making and a rollercoaster of success and fail stories.

Smile Badge: Tony Hsieh, Author of Delivering Happiness and CEO of Zappos. Tony discussed the importance of customer service how creating a happy work environment is vital for the success of a business.

Overall, I thought Big Omaha was an amazing experience and cannot wait for Big Omaha 2011!