3 Ways to Use Social Media to Crowdsource and Blog a Conference Backchannel

conference backchannel
conference backchannel

One of the goals of my blog is to research, curate and effectively share information with my audience. Conferences are a great aggregator of expertise and information that have inspired some of my most popular blog posts. Here’s three strategies that I’ve used to crowdsource my research and harness the conference backchannel. All three tools employ hashtags – the popular practice where conference attendees include a common tag in their tweets. Typically conference organizers will designate an official hashtag – some combination of letters / numbers prefixed with a hash symbol “#.”

Use Twitter Visualizers

Wiffiti There are many great Twitter visualizers that can be set up to automatically gather specific Twitter #hashtags. Two of my favorites are Wiffiti and Twitter StreamGraphs. Wiffiti displays entire tweets, while StreamGraphs graphs frequency of keywords within the tweets. Both are interesting visualizations of the conference backchannel. Each tool is free and can be embedded on your blog. And neither requires you to attend the conference. 

Here’s how I used these visualizers  to cover the 2010 ASCD conference. 

Streamgraph For some fun, I used StreamGraphs to blog “comparative coverage” of two conferences that were in session at the same time in this post, “Humanities Conference Smackdown! AHA vs MLA Twitter Visualizers.”

 

Use Prezi

Itsc11-prezi Prezi is a presentation tool that adds a dimension of space and scale to information. It can be displayed both as a stand alone presentation and embedded on a blog. Here’s how I used Prezi at the ITSC 2011 conference in Portland Ore, where I had been invited to attend as a guest blogger. My onsite tools included my MacBook, iPhone and Flip Video.

During the conference I attended sessions to gather photos / video and tweeted my observations along the way. I also gathered content from other attendees by following the conference hashtag #ITSC11. The finished Prezis can include – tweets, images, video, YouTube video, PDF’s, screenshots, text, hyperlinks and clipart.

Periodically I gathered all the content and created a Prezi. (BTW – I used the same Prezi technique to blog the San Antonio ASCD in 2010.)  

 

Use Storify

Storify Storify is a new platform that allows users to quickly tell a story using material from the social web. Recently I received an invitation to try out their beta and I’ve been putting it to use as conference blogging tool. 

The Storify web-based interface divides your screen in two columns. On the left (screenshot – to the left) are a variety of social media feeds – Twitter, FaceBook, Flickr, YouTube, RSS feeds, Google searches, SlideShare as well as any URL you select. It also has built in search tools that allow you explore your sources using hashtags. My favorite feature is that the Twitter search allows you to exclude RTs. As you find your content,  you drag it to the right side of your screen where you also have options to add text, delete or re-order content. When your Storify finished it can be embedded in your blog. To help you get the word out Storify sends out a Tweet to anyone you have quoted. 

Here’s how I used Storify to cover the recent 2011 ASCD conference in San Francisco. I received many positive comments from viewers who thought I gathered some of the best social media being posted from the conference. I saved them the time of wading through all the RTs, side comments, and promotional tweets. BTW – I did not attend the conference. 

Stay tuned for may ongoing conference coverage – I’m sure there’s a new tool being created that I’ll get to take for a spin!

 

Isabella’s Story: Working to Sustain Her Sugpiaq Fishing Heritage. Now She’s Fighting for Her Life

A sad update: Bella passed away on January 10, 2012. Her courage will always be an inspiration. Thank you to everyone who sustained and supported her over the last year. As a tribute to her, the rest of this post remains in it’s original form.

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Regular readers of my blog will recognize how unique this post is. It’s far from what I normally write about. But I feel compelled to tell a story in the hopes that I can help spread the word for a friend in need. Isabella, my next door neighbor, is fighting for her life against cancer. You can help with a donation, tweet or status update. Here’s Bella’s story.

Isabella Blatchford, a native Alaskan Sugpiaq Indian, was well on her way to creating a sustainable seafood business. (She had already sold to Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse!) She saw it not only as a viable business, but a means to support her Sugpiaq heritage and honor her tribal elders – the last handful of Sugpiaq  speakers. In February 2009, she discovered she had Stage 4 cancer. Using a blend of standard and alternative medical treatments, she was able to beat the odds for the last few years. 

However in February 2011 her cancer tumor markers went back up rapidly, and her doctors are have told her that it is time for a quick change in her method of treatment. She has the opportunity to travel to Mexico for treatment. She is in need of $7,000 by April 20th, 2011 in order to obtain treatment. 

Isabella Update: Here’s a story and powerful video from the Oregonian An Alaska native who lives in Portland battles cancer while working to save a tribe’s language (April 13, 2011)

Isabella needs your help. Even a small donation will be appreciated. And you can help her get the word out – contribute a Twitter link or a Facebook status update.

Thank you for anything you can do.

Photo: Torsten Kjellstrand/The Oregonian

ITSC 11 Conference Prezi Cast (Day 2)

Prezi cast 2 This post wraps up my work as guest blogger at the Instructional Technology Strategies Conference 2/20-22, 2011 in Portland, Oregon. It was my first ITSC conference, but it won't be my last. A very impressive line up of facilitators and knowledgeable participants. I'll be back next year! Enjoy the Prezi.

See more of my ITSC11 posts

More of my Prezis. 

 

ITSC 11 Conference Prezi Cast

Itsc11-mad-men

 

I'm pleased to be invited as a guest blogger to the Instructional Technology Strategies Conference 2/20-22 in Portland, Oregon. Here's the first installment.

 

 

Big hat tip to Mike Gwaltney who helped gather content. Be sure to stop by his blog  "Democratizing Knowledge" for more ITSC 11 coverage.

Stay tuned for more of my ITSC11 posts
Don't forget to conference tweet use hashtag #ITSC11
More of my Prezis 

 

 

2 Twitter Visualizers: Follow the Backchannel at ITSC 2011 Conference

Nametag_logo_itsc11 I’m pleased to be invited as a guest blogger to the Instructional Technology Strategies Conference 2/20-22 in Portland, Oregon. To help live and virtual attendees follow the backchannel here’s two Twitter visualizers based on the the conference hashtag #ITSC11.      

Also – here’s my Prezi intro to Portland.

Wiffiti Screen
(2/27/11 Note) Since this visualization is time sensitive, I have posted a short video screen shot. 

Twitter StreamGraph 

Flowing graph of the words most frequently used in the latest 1000 tweets marked with the hashtag #itsc11
View full screen

(2/27/11 Note) Since this visualization is time sensitive, I have posted a screen shot. For the next few weeks you can click on link to live versions.

Itsc11