#INBOUND17: Michelle Obama keynote
I almost felt bad for all the other speakers at #INBOUND17; everyone was so psyched for Wednesday morning's Michelle Obama keynote!
As we've already established, I'm a pretty prolific tweeter at these events. But two of my tweets in particular were going crazy viral (and not even two of my best):
We think 12 times before we open our mouthes, "What if it's wrong?"; men don't think that @michelleobama #INBOUND17
— ✨Christine Gritmon✨ (@cgritmon) September 27, 2017
We're socialized to believe some people's voices are more important than ours.@michelleobama #INBOUND17
— ✨Christine Gritmon✨ (@cgritmon) September 27, 2017
It took me a while to figure out that it was because they'd been included in the official Twitter Moment of the talk!
"When you go through a dark time, that's the time you most grow. Embrace it." @MichelleObama at #INBOUND17. https://t.co/0jmBqaSJ8U
— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) September 27, 2017
The reach and engagement were totally worth the abuse of the trolls who hopped on to state how sexist they felt the quote was (and they've all gone away now anyway). ;)
So. What does Michelle Obama have to do with inbound marketing? Her talk actually did speak to a major theme of this year's conference: identity. Knowing yourself, being strong in your self, and letting that guide everything you do. I also really liked that, after 8 years of having to respond to all sorts of ridiculousness in a subdued manner, she was finally free to comment with - not pettiness - candor. She maintained her grace while also sneaking some serious side-eye towards the abuse her husband suffered and the current political situation (some of which got her into hot water in the media). I loved every moment and am grateful to have smart, strong voices like hers in our current discourse.
Oh, and Roxane Gay did ask the Beyonce question. Scroll down for Michelle's response...
