This social media guide provides recommendations for attendees of the 2011 BCED Conference in Washington D.C. on using Twitter to engage with the event. It recommends the hashtag #BCEDconf and provides tips on tweeting periodically about speaker topics and handles. The guide also lists speaker handles and relevant conference and venue accounts to follow. Lastly, it encourages having fun while networking at the event through social media.

1. 2011
BCED
Conference
Social
Media
Guide
prepared
by
Purple
Communications
http://purple.us
http://twitter.com/purplecomm
http://facebook.com/purplecommunications
http://youtube.com/purplecommunications
http://flickr.com/photos/purplecomm
http://slideshare.net/purplecommunications
http://linkedin.com/company/purple-­‐communications-­‐inc

2. Purple Communications is pleased to provide this Social Media Guide to
Business Convention and Expo of the Deaf (BCED) and all attendees of the 2nd
BCED event in the Washington, D.C. area as a public service.
This document is provided to assist you in using social media – mainly Twitter -
effectively while at the BCED event – no need to worry about finding the
sessionʼs speakerʼs Twitter handle online. Now you can go right ahead and
tweet or post about the conference, and some hashtags have been provided for
your convenience.
We have provided some recommendations on using Twitter at this conference,
as well as some additional but optional best practices.
Please keep an eye out for additional Twitter handles and hashtags to keep
yourself up-to-date – as the conference progresses. This document may not be
the final source in regards to Twitter handles as people learn about this resource
and join in the fun!
Purple hopes that you enjoy the conference, and will find this a handy resource
while you are here in the DC area! Feel free to share your feedback with us via
any of our social media channels listed on the front cover.
Obligatory Disclaimer:
All information in this guide is provided from publicly accessible information
online. Purple does not claim that this information is accurate and complete, and
is not responsible for any injury arising from use of the information provided.
This
social
media
guide
is
provided
by
Purple
Communications.
Available
online
at:
http://slidesha.re/kyEH2v

3. Twitter use recommendations:
1.
The
hashtag
we
recommend
is
#BCEDconf
–
please
check
with
the
conference
organizers
to
see
if
they
have
chosen
something
yet
-­‐
if
so,
use
that.
If
not,
please
suggest
that
they
adopt
this
hashtag.
Either
way,
encourage
them
to
share
the
hashtag
at
the
beginning
of
each
conference
session.
2.
Tweet
once
or
twice
per
session
if
possible.
If
you
feel
like
doing
more,
go
for
it.
Tweet
once,
telling
whom's
speaking
(and
use
their
@handle
from
later
in
this
guide
if
they
have
one)
and
their
topic.
Second
tweet
should
be
an
interesting
line/fact
from
their
presentation.
3. Donʼt forget to add a period before the @ if you are starting a tweet with
a @handle. If possible, try to avoid starting your tweet with a .@ - see 2nd
example below.
1st Example: .@MarkBrown of the @IRSnews is talking about taxes. #BCEDconf
2nd Example: The @IRSnewsʼ @MarkBrown is talking about taxes. #BCEDconf
3.
Keep
your
tweet
short,
leaving
around
10-­‐20
characters
(20
preferred,
but
ok
if
less)
available
so
the
rest
of
us
can
easily
re-­‐tweet
your
tweets
etc.
If
your
tweet
seems
to
be
getting
too
long,
break
it
up.
4.
The
conference
is
going
to
be
long.
Be
sure
to
keep
your
phone
charged
as
much
as
possible.
If
you
are
taking
a
laptop,
use
that
too.
Save
the
phone
for
when
you
cannot
take
the
laptop.
Memorize
where
the
power
plugs
are!
:)
5.
Make
sure
you
will
have
good
internet
access
in
all
areas
of
the
conference.
If
you
have
a
MiFi,
use
it.
If
not,
you
may
need
to
check
into
getting
hotel
wifi
if
it
will
cover
you
in
the
conference
areas.
Twitter Additional Best Practices:
1. Tweet as often as you can.
2. In your tweets, add another hashtag (#) to the most important keyword
in that tweet in addition to #BCEDconf (or whatever the conference hashtag is).
Example: .@MarkBrown is speaking about not forgetting your #401k as a
business owner at #BCEDconf
3.
As
much
as
possible,
reference
other
@handles
in
your
tweets,
it
makes
you
look
good,
and
will
show
up
on
their
accounts,
and
they
may
re-­‐
tweet
you!
Last
of
all,
but
not
least,
have
fun!
We
don't
want
you
to
feel
like
your
job
is
to
tweet/take
pictures.
If
you
can,
great
-­‐
if
not,
that’s
ok!
This
social
media
guide
is
provided
by
Purple
Communications.
Available
online
at:
http://slidesha.re/kyEH2v

4. Conference:
BCED - @deafbusiness
(See recommendation #1 above for discussion on conference hashtag -
#BCEDconf?)
Hotel:
Hyatt Regency Reston - @Hyatt_Reston
Speakers (incomplete):
Steve Siebold - @siebold
Andy Lange - @purpleandylange
Anna Urman - @NoVaSBDC
Boris Desouza - @grantsdotgov
Christopher Wallace - @NixonPeabodyLLP
Dannelle Shugart - @beyourboss
Deborah Mayer - @DeborahSM
Jerry Nelson - @PurpleJerry
Kacy Paide - @kacypaide
Marina Fanshteyn - @marinafan
Mark Bella - @markbella
Pauline Leitch - @paulineleitch
Rebecca Antonelli - @CCMRaleigh, @antonelliusa
Shashi Bellamkonda - @shashib
Shezad Nawab - @DeafBServicesL
Veronica Tubman - @IRSnews
Vladimir Pavlyukovets - @deafbusiness
This
social
media
guide
is
provided
by
Purple
Communications.
Available
online
at:
http://slidesha.re/kyEH2v