The document provides guidance on using social media, particularly Twitter, for networking and engagement at conferences. It outlines best practices for each stage of the conference experience, from planning to attend, to actively participating at the event, to following up after. Key recommendations include researching other attendees and sessions of interest in advance; using hashtags to join conversations; scheduling tweets to promote your own sessions; and following up afterwards to maintain connections formed at the event. The overall message is that conferences are opportunities for in-person and online networking through various social media platforms.

1. Social media for conference
networking
How to hang out on Twitter in a way
that is cool and useful.
@jwhyteappleby
#iSkillsSM

2. You…and you on the internet
#iSkillsSM

3. Today
Content:
• You’re planning to go to a conference!
• You’re at a conference!
• You’re presenting at a conference!
• You’ve just come back from a conference
• You’re (gulp) running a conference!
#iSkillsSM

4. Today
Format:
• Tweet what resonates
• Use our hashtag (#iSkillsSM)
• I’ll Storify and share
#iSkillsSM

5. Social media in 2014
• Twitter is king – but it works best when it’s not
solo
• ‘The back channel’ is no longer hiding out
back
• Social media is accepted, even required in the
professional context – but work culture will
still determine how and when
• Personal and professional do (and should*)
blend
• It’s always, always a conversation
#iSkillsSM

6. You’re going to a conference!
• Figure out your devices and apps
• Laptop – cumbersome but fully loaded
• Tablet - good compromise, but a pain if you have to do
any serious writing or if you’re using Google Docs
• Phone – can use data (dangerous!), hard to follow
depending on screen size
•Twitter app
• HootSuite
• Many paid options, most under $5
#iSkillsSM

7. HootSuite
#iSkillsSM

8. You’re going to a conference!
• Check out the program.
• Who’s going to be there? Who do you want to meet?
• Add them. Say you’re looking forward to their
session.
•Sometimes conference streams have their own hashtag.
Save these to your devices.
#iSkillsSM

9. #iSkillsSM

10. You’re at a conference!
• Wifi
•Who do you want to meet?
•Has an event been set up to facilitate this
meeting? If not – set one up!
•Interactive or break-out session? Consider using a
GoogleDoc so the whole group can work together.
•Don’t keep a blog, but want to share your notes?
GoogleDoc!
#iSkillsSM

11. Live tweeting a session
vs. tweeting during a session
#iSkillsSM

12. #iSkillsSM

13. Connecting sessions & projects
#iSkillsSM

14. Connecting sessions & projects
#iSkillsSM

15. Connecting sessions & projects
#iSkillsSM

16. Beware the TechnoMob
#iSkillsSM

17. But friendliness is really, truly the norm
#iSkillsSM

18. You’re actually going to leave the
convention centre!
• Because you need to eat, and you’re in a new city
• If you can plan something, great.
#iSkillsSM

19. You’re actually going to leave the
convention centre!
•If you can’t plan anything, just put something out there –
conferences are full of people at loose ends!
• “#iSkillsSM attendees! Interested in information
literacy? Like tacos? Meet-up at El Rico tonight!”
• “Any other iSchoolers at #iSkillsSM want to explore
the Market area?”
#iSkillsSM

20. You’re presenting at a conference!
• Share your Twitter handle in your first slide
• Shorten your links (using http://bit.ly)
• Pre-schedule some tweets, if you’re mentioning reports
or sites you recommend they check out (Twuffer)
• Or have a friend tweet links as you talk. This is
probably less stressful, if you have the right
• Respond to people who engaged with your talk!
#iSkillsSM

21. The conference is over!
• Make a to-do list within three days.
• Who do you want to follow up with?
• Great to meet you – enjoyed your talk
• What did you want to share with the audience of
other talks?
• If you’re interested in topic X, there’s a
conference happening here next year you should
really apply to…
• Which websites did you Favourite for later visiting?
• What resonated, and can be put in to practice?
• If you’re going to blog, do it immediately.
#iSkillsSM

22. Blogging your notes
#iSkillsSM

23. Blogging your notes
#iSkillsSM

24. Storify – Tell a story!
@caropinto
#iSkillsSM

25. You’re running a conference!
• Good for you. Only other conference organizers will ever
appreciate your grueling efforts.
• Develop a communications plan.
• Who tweets when and what do they share?
• Do you want to highlight different sessions?
• Do you want to gather feedback through Twitter?
Who will be keeping track of that?
• Put everything people need to know on their badge
•Make sure there’s time for less formal networking
opportunities
•Wi-Fi is non-negotiable (but bad wi-fi is worse than none)
#iSkillsSM

26. Other tools
• Blogging (WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr)
• LinkedIn
• Zotero or Mendeley
#iSkillsSM

27. Slideshare
#iSkillsSM

28. Diigo
#iSkillsSM

29. Draft
#iSkillsSM

30. Draft
#iSkillsSM

31. Other stuff:
• 4Square
• Podcasting (Ardour, Podbean, Soundcloud)
•GoodReads
•Pinterest
• Jing
#iSkillsSM

32. What’s ahead – The conversation
• The Public Journal of Philosophy & the work of Chris Long
• Digital Dialogues (podcast) & Public Digital Scholarship
http://www.cplong.org/
• Eduhacker
• Education and technology. Many pieces about using
social media in the classroom, as part of building your
online presence
#iSkillsSM

33. #TheEnd
jacqueline@scholarsportal.info
@jwhyteappleby
#iSkillsSM