Have you
ever awakened to an empty stomach to find only a stale bagel or muffin? You bite into it hoping for satisfaction. Unfortunately, it tastes like a mouthful of
sand and you quickly forget this disappointing attempt at breakfast.
This brief
episode is analogous to many people’s experiences at academic and business
conferences. Conferences promise
satisfaction, but often turn out to be dry, forgettable events that leave
attendees longing for true intellectual sustenance.
Common woes include:
multiple sessions that require attendees to choose one good session over
another; unprepared or dull-as-dishwater speakers; the inability to provide
feedback to organizers; and the failure to build upon momentum from a
stimulating conference.
But social
media and the communications revolution offer a fresh spin to the staid and
stale convention concept. New media is
providing many interactive ways to improve the true exchange of ideas. Here are some ideas to spice up your next
conference:
Real-time blogging and Facebook posts: Many conferences have multiple break-out
sessions going on simultaneously.
Attendees go to one while missing out on other interesting
possibilities. Conferences can provide
real-time blogging to capture the essence of a session, which can be posted
immediately onto sites like Tumblr. Use Facebook
to highlight the blogs to a wider audience. This allows attendees to keep up
with the entire conference and not left out when that session is later
discussed.
Here are
examples of some real-time blogs that Webface recently did for The Ohio State
University’s conference, The 2012 Public and Land Grant University
Conference on Energy Challenges: The Next 50 Years. http://energychallenges.tumblr.com
Twitter and hashtags: Creating a hashtag (#) for a conference
allows attendees to provide instant feedback on sessions and speakers and keep
up with concurrent sessions. This
instant feedback loop gives conference organizers or speakers the ability to
tweak an event or speech while in progress.
Here is the Twitter feed from the OSU conference. Our hashtag was #energy2012. https://twitter.com/#!/OEEatOSU
Curing the deadly (and boring) PowerPoint
presentation: Too many conference
presenters load their presentations with bulleted text and then read slide
after slide, which is about as boring as last night’s ice-cold meatloaf. Video
and infographics are the new tools to cure the deadly PowerPoint
presentation. Conference organizers can
be proactive in encouraging speakers to follow PowerPoint standards that will
entertain and teach instead of chasing complaining attendees into the hall for
more coffee.
Capturing and using
the good stuff: Too many conferences
end, with everyone headed home, never to think about it again. Capturing the good stuff that comes out of a
conference on blogs, video and other social media sites keeps alive the
conference’s momentum and useful materials.
It also provides a record for those who are interested but unable to attend. This helps build buzz for future conferences. Facebook is excellent for this function. Here is the Facebook page Webface created for
the OSU conference. http://www.facebook.com/energychallenges
Today’s
conferences do not have to be as stale as day-old bread. They can be alive and vibrant events that
truly spread your good word. A little
proactive planning by organizers can make your next conference a truly
memorable and lasting event.
John McGory and TC Brown are partners at Webface, an original content marketing company. Let Webface help make your next conference or presentation one to remember.
