AHRD 2007 is the first conference I ever blogged.
Before I went to the conference, I asked my new colleague Lee LeFever about what he would suggest for blogging a conference. He made some helpful suggestions for me, and now that I have attended a conference as a presenter and participant and blogger, I have learned a few things:
- Bring the laptop with me EVERYWHERE and to every session.
- Do not leave the laptop in the room and then blog later. Too much running back and forth. This should be easier once I get a new (and smaller) laptop.
- Bring the camera everywhere as well.
- Same as the laptop. Now at least I have a Flickr account all set up and have nearly figured out how to use it and upload the photos quickly. Of course, don't forget to pack the camera cord!
- Tell people what I am doing.
- I attend some very academic conferences, and many of my colleagues there do not seem to know much about blogging or social media. I decided to bring the same blog business cards I created for Northern Voice 2007, where it was a bit more understood.
I also learned something very interesting about using a card like this. After being asked several times what my website is, I realized that many (very bright) people do not immediately recognize a website address without seeing the www at the beginning. I have since added that to my card above. A number of people got interested in what I was doing when they either heard more about it or visited my blog themselves to have a look. This also allows my colleagues to see more about what I do!
- Use tags for everything
- How else will people eventually stumble upon my work?
I am sure there is more learning, but this is enough for now to help me prepare for the next conference I am attending and presenting at, AERC, which is coming up in June.
