When I lost my job in September, a flood of thoughts threatened to overwhelm my mind. The obvious stuff sat at the top of my list of concerns, namely “I need to get a new job ASAP so that I can pay bills and take care of my family.” Sure, I’ve been here before, but it never gets easier – at least not for me. It definitely doesn’t help that the economy isn’t doing too well right now, and the job market sucks because of an overreliance on artificial intelligence. Too many employers are happy with generic work done by prediction engines that hog natural resources because it keeps costs low.

But that’s another post for another day.

Getting laid off also meant I would have to miss my favorite event of the year: Content Marketing World. Since 2011, the Content Marketing Institute has held this annual occasion wherein thousands of people from around the world gather to learn about the newest trends in content marketing and to engage in wonderful networking opportunities with their peers. It’s a lovely chance to connect with like-minded marketers and creators for in-person conversations about content, SEO, analytics, creativity, and more. Missing this year’s get-together in Denver, CO is going to be a big bummer.

So I decided to do something about it by creating an Alternative CMW.

Each day, I will examine the schedule of speakers and determine which sessions I will “attend” that day. I will them consume some piece of content created by that industry leader or leaders. This could mean reading a recent article or two, perusing a chapter of a new book, watching a YouTube video, listening to a podcast episode, or whatever my brain things will interest me most.

Here’s how it will work:

• Each morning of CMW 2026, I will post my #AltCMW schedule on LinkedIn.
• For each session, I will provide a link to whatever piece of content I’m consuming.
• After each session, I will share one key insight from that piece of content.
• At the end of CMW 2026, I will write a blog post collecting all my thoughts.

Hopefully, I will be able to find a relevant piece of content with material that is most like the session title, but if not, I’m OK with that. The point is education, connection, and battling FOMO. Do I usually worry about missing out? No, not really. But this year is different, because it happened right before the actual event because of unseen and unexpected forces outside of my control.

Think of it as a fun challenge – and you can join, too!

I welcome all content marketers who aren’t attending Content Marketing World 2026 to use the hashtag (remember how helpful those things were on Old Twitter) #AltCMW to share what you’re doing throughout the week. Tell us what you’re learning and from whom. Share some of your favorite memories from past events. Talk about who you will miss not seeing in person and call them out on LinkedIn so that they can participate with you.

Let’s show everyone in Denver that we aren’t TOO jealous to not be there.