I am not sure if Social Media Marketing World is the largest social media conference in the world. With over three thousand people attending it may or may not be the largest. The one thing I am sure of is that it is the best conference I have ever attended.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of this great event. It has been held in San Diego every year since it was conceived.

The conference was created by Michael Stelzner of The Social Media Examiner. The Social Media Examiner is the go to website for staying informed on what is new, and going on in the world of social media.

I have known about this great event since it's creation, but had never attended until this year.

My good friend Paul Colligan of The Podcast Report put together a great panel about monetizing your podcast. Paul moderated the panel which included Rob Walch of Today in IOS, John Lee Dumas of Entrapeneur On Fire, and myself.

I personally thought the panel was very well attended, and Paul did a fantastic job as a moderator. The audience asked so many great questions that we were able to answer for them.

The invitation to speak on the panel is what made me decide to finally get off my butt and attend The Social Media Marketing World Conference. Now I am asking myself why did I wait so long to attend?

I feel the key word for this event is the word SOCIAL. Of course it is social because it included a large amount of great speakers, and great sessions on Social Media.

In this case though when I say social I am referring to the fantastic networking opportunities that were available in so many great social settings.

It was hard to believe how many great social opportunities Michael set up for the attendees to network. These networking opportunities really made the event great.

Starting with a speakers party for the session speakers and keynote speakers. This event included a who's who from the world of social media. The top one percenters from the worlds of Facebook, YouTube, Podcasting, and many other areas of expertise.

This networking event with the top leaders in the industry was a once in a lifetime time opportunity to meet, and network with industry leaders in a smaller environment. I met so many people at this event that I recognized, but had never met. I really enjoyed this opportunity to network with them, and what a great way to start things off.

The speakers Networking Party was such a great networking event that I am excited to say that we are going to incorporate a networking event like this at Podcast Movement this year in Anaheim, California.

Then we were taken by bus to an aircraft carrier for another networking event. That's right they actually rented the USS Midway to host a networking party for over two thousand of the attendees.

Who rents an aircraft carrier for a party? Michael Stelzner that's who.

On the ship they handed out bingo cards. These bingo cards required people to track down speakers, and other people to get the squares on their bingo card marked out. Of course there were prizes for the winners of the bingo event. This forced attendees to meet new people, and network with them. What a great idea. As a speaker I met so many people that were excited to get their bingo card marked, and chat for a while.

I also loved the daily power walks. Every morning at six a.m. I joined a group in the hotel lobby, and we walked about a mile at a fair pace. I am not sure I would really call it a power walk at that pace. I would call it another great networking opportunity, which enabled me to make more new contacts.

I enjoyed the power walk so much that I plan on personally heading up a power walk at all future Podcast Movements.

Another thing I loved were the table sessions that were held during lunch. I hosted a table session about podcasting. This allowed people to join the groups and discuss podcasting while eating their lunch.

There were dozens of tables discussing on all kinds of topics. I really enjoyed this opportunity to talk podcasting with new, and seasoned podcasters. This was another great networking opportunity.

Of course during the three day event there were many other networking opportunities. There was the Networking Plaza, and another great networking party called Under The Sea on Thursday night.

I could write about all the great speakers, and all the great conference sessions. I am sure plenty of other people will write about how great those were, and they really were great for sure. There is no doubt that the line up of speakers were as good as you could hope for.

Since one of the quotes I am known for saying is “Sometimes you can make more money networking in the hallways, than you can make in a session” it just seemed appropriate for me to talk about the networking opportunities instead.

As I have tried to state in this post that the social aspect, and networking opportunities at this event were great. They would make this event worth attending all by themselves. When you add all the great conference sessions this is a must attend conference for anyone trying to learn or grow in the world of social media.

Thanks Michael for putting on such a great event, and allowing me to attend. I hope to see you again next year.

To find out more about this great event go to SocialMediaExaminer.com/smmworld.