How strong that community is was probably best shown in the “NERD101 Spark ideas” session. A very a-typical session as it wasn’t about software or business, it was about life and life’s lessons. With 6 speakers chosen from the community talking about items that inspired them hoping to inspire others. The room was packed and it was a fantastic session. With some very personal stories.

Now what made it extra special to me was that on Wednesday I happened to find myself in the elevator with one of the outside press analysts specially invited. He was on his way out and we got talking (shortly). When I asked him how he’d found the Lotusphere experience and what had surprised him most he mentioned the Sparks session. He’d seen it in the schedule and visited it, not knowing what to expect. He loved the topics and the fact that there was a group of NerdGirls organizing it. But most importantly he was surprised to see how close a community we really are.

@CuriousMitch talking about ‘Get cancer, get social’

So although I’m sure that didn’t make it into his article I can’t help but feel proud of this. Social business is about getting people to work together and connecting in ways they haven’t tried before. Sometimes that means going off the beaten track and exploring new grounds. Having an purely inspirational session at a Tech conference, lead by the community and presented by the community is, in my eyes, definitely going off the beaten track. And I couldn’t think of a better community then the Lotus community to embrace it!

Lotusphere 2012 wasn’t just Social, it showed what Social is about!