[I wrote this last fall, but apparently it was never published. It feels a bit dated now, but I'm posting it so that I'll at least have the record of what I was thinking at the time! I frequently have troubles with Blogger, but have been too lazy or bus to move this blog over to WordPress.]
I recently nudged my colleague, Andy Fluke who is the technical support for the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation about working on ways to use technology to create a buzz prior to, during and following the conference. He agreed to twitter, but said he would cease if he didn't get 50 followers in 30 days. Wrong approach! Here's my response.
Andy,
Since I'm the "butt-kicker" in the group, let me offer a few thoughts and
insights on how technology can knit us together leading up to, during and
after the conference.
1. Standard tagging: Through standard tagging, we can easily see each
other's content uploaded on Flickr, Blogs and elsewhere. For example, last
August a Texas Forums co-hosted an event with the League of Technical Voters
called We Are All Actors. People took photos that they uploaded to their own
site on Flick and they wrote blogs. But no matter where they posted content,
they tagged it WAAA2007. So on Flickr, you can see everyone's photos with that tag. You could do the same for blogs if you tag them with Technorati tags.
2. Real time feedback: Twitter was used heavily at SXSW Interactive here in
Austin to give real time feedback during sessions. I was there with a couple
of colleagues and was able to see what they were doing and what they thought
about the presentations they were attending. If I was in a session that
wasn't working for me, I could easily vote with my feet and go where
something cool was happening. (OK presenters may not like that, but we DO
want to make sure everyone gets what they want from the conference, right?)
Also, you can get instant answers to questions. For example, I recently
wondered (twittered, actually) about the difference between tinyurl.com and
tiny.cc. within less than five minutes, I had two responses. I use
twitterific so I get messages on my desktop as soon as the come in. (This is
also one way I get good recipes, consumer guidance, referrals, etc.)
3. Drive traffic to blogs. I follow a very prolific blogger who writes for
several blogs and a podcaster. Through the magic of microblogging (that's
what Twitter really is) I get one sentence from them along with a "tinyurl"
If I'm toobusy, then I can save it as a favorite. For example this twitter from Tom Parish:
tparish Posted my podcast with Dr. Nicolas Horney on "In Search of IT
Agility" at EnterpriseLeadership.org http://tinyurl.com/2ukqd4
4. Lots of people prefer the microblogging of twitter. (See:
http://twitter.com/Digidave/statuses/780610943) Below is snapshot of
Twitterific and posting by David Cohn - someone I've never met, but who
found me and found that we share similar interests.
5. You can send direct messages to people through twitter - much easier than
e-mail AND it doesn't clutter things up. You might think that being limited
to 140 characters is a bad thing. OH NO! It's a VERY good thing. Twitter
combines the best of e-mail and instant messaging. If people don't have
computers or can't afford the wireless (it's not free at the Renaissance, is
it?) they can still participate with their phones - there will be plenty of
people with computers on hand to sign them up.
6. Spontaneous meetings. Many of the geeks I hang out with in Austin (and
elsewhere) don't make appointments. They go to a coffee shop or bar, Twitter
their location and people spontaneously show up. That's how we all found
each other at SXSW. Imagine you've just come from a stimulating session and
want to keep talking about what you learned. You post a twitter with the
topic and your location and people can join you. Think "Technologically
facilitated Open Space".
7. Mobile technology: Twitter works with cell phones - both receiving and
sending. No need to be online.
8. Instant updates of changes: A speaker gets sick? You're in a room that
you thought would have a flip chart, but it doesn't? Post a notice.
"Workshop A cancelled." or "Any flip charts not being used? I could use one
in Serenade Room" Response: "not using the one in Serendipity Room. Sending
it over to you." Everyone tied into Twitter is empowered to contribute to
the conference.
So the real power isn't in how many people are following you, but in how
many people are connected and ABLE to connect with Twitter! I knew about the
NCDD twitter NOT from this e-mail, but because Tim Bonneman twittered that
he had just joined. I joined immediately, then I got this e-mail. But it
took me 24 hours to respond and now I have to make a decision about where to
file it! E-mail and RSS feeds are just too cumbersome any more.
Taylor
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