Twitter Away at SLA

The word is slowly spreading, so in case you haven't yet heard...

As part of SLA's Innovation Lab, and for the first time at conference, we will be using Twitter to make the conference experience more collaborative via use of a backchannel.  The hope is that conference will become a "we" event.

See Twitter at SLA2008 if you need information on getting started.

So, you're setup with your Twitter account and following SLA2008, now what?

Between now and conference take some time to use Twitter.

• Send a few tweets everyday from your phone, handheld or the Twitter website
• Try to get a conversation going with a few people you are following by using @replies, which are tweets directed at a specific user in response to one of their updates.
• Try using #hashtags to tag your tweets.  (For example, use #sla2008 for tweets about Seattle)
• Try sending links to websites and blog postings
• Look at LiveTwitting.com if you want to organize and consolidate twitter updates from sessions.

There are different reasons to use Twitter during the conference.  Here are a few examples I came up with.  Add more to the comments.

• note-taking during sessions, meetings and presentations to stay focused and engaged
• share gems of what you have learned with other conference participants or colleagues back home
• a "parking lot" for ideas as they occur to you
• connect with colleagues at conference
• direct people to your blog for fuller postings

Keep the following in mind:

• Twitter is real-time and public
• The "whole" world will read the messages or "tweets" that you post
• Twitter is free to use, but sending text messages and browsing the web from your cell phone or handheld likely isn't, so check with your wireless provider about any charges you will incur by using the service
  

For conference participants:

• You are limited to 140 characters or less
• Using Twitter during a presentation might distract you (or the presenter) so use it with caution...perhaps add your thoughts following the session
• Keep in mind the standards for privacy and regulatory issues when using Twitter - don't post sensitive information

For followers of SLA2008 who aren't at conference:

• By following the sla2008 feed, you will have the opportunity to participate in SLA2008
• Feel free to ask questions...they might even be posed to presenters on your behalf
• Exchange relevant links to sites and blogs about topics being discussed

For Further Reading

• Live Twittering A Conference? Try Live Twitting!
• Twitter, the ultimate conference ‘backchannel’
• One Thing I Don't Like About Twitter
• Twitter FAQ
• The Official Twitter Commands

Comments

[Jane Dysart]

Very clear and understandable, Daniel. Will see what I can find at SLA to twitter about.... should be interesting.

[Connie Crosby]

Terrific summary, Daniel! Twitter is by far my most favourite networking tool. People are welcome to follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/conniecrosby and are welcome to ask me questions.

Great work!
Connie