At Edelman’s Third Annual New Media Academic Summit, I spent the first day listening and taking notes, and I spent the second day live tweeting. Some of my colleagues and students expressed interest in following the twitter coverage, and I wanted to deliver insight to people who did not attend. I also wanted to see what it was like to live tweet an event to help me decide whether to have my large lecture class live tweet during some of my class sessions.
I found that I missed information by live tweeting. Thankfully, I could watch the second day sessions to see what I missed.
Why was Listening Interrupted?
While listening to the speakers, I
1. followed other conference attendees’ live tweets on our conference hashtag
2. responded to other attendees’ live tweets
3. tweeted and proofed my tweets
4. engaged in discussion with non-conference attendees who commented on my tweets
It is no wonder that I did not hear everything the speakers said. Les Potter identified someone with similar problems at an exclusive session of the IABC conference. His discussion of this detached live tweeter is worth reading.
Is Live Tweeting Bad Manners?
I also felt uncomfortable looking at my computer screen while speakers were talking. I think that talking to someone who is not looking at you can be difficult, and I felt like it was bad manners to be looking at my computer screen. Perhaps it would not have been so bad if I had sat in the back of the room, but I generally find this area to be noisy, making it difficult to listen to the speakers. I prefer to sit toward the front. In a comment to Les Potter’s post, Robert Holland referred to live tweeting as an “obnoxious distraction.” His comment resonated with my experience.
I like the idea of being able to discuss what speakers are saying via Twitter; I did not like doing it while our speakers were giving presentations.
I think it would be great for meeting planners to designate staff members to live tweet a conference for those not able to attend. This way, conference attendees would not even need to consider live tweeting so that others could follow the conference from a distance. Discussion via Twitter could be appropriate during designated break times.
I don’t plan to live tweet again. Instead, I will be fully present and listen. I can post updates to twitter during a break and write a substantive blog post at night.
What Do You Think About Live Tweeting?
Conference Notes
Videos from conference sessions
Slides from Richard Edelman’s presentation
Bill Sledzik’s discussion of the conference
Karen Miller Russell’s discussions of Richard Edelman’s address, a panel from the first day, and a panel from the second day.
Christine Smith’s discussion of the conference
Thank you, Edelman, for a wonderful conference! The sessions were engaging, and it was a treat getting to spend time with the participants.
Interesting post, Tiffany. I’ve live blog/tweeted several conferences before and have had a different experience than you. Basically I pick a few sessions that I’m especially interested in, and choose in advance if I’m going to blog/tweet them (or just listen).
When I’m blogging, I pay really close attention and try to get the highlights saved as a draft. Then I clean it up during the break (or sometimes during the Q&A) and post. Twitter I tend to use more as a back channel to converse with other audience members. I know that not everyone likes this, but it seems to *increase* my engagement with the information/ opinions being presented. Maybe it’s just that I’m on Twitter so much it doesn’t take my full attention anymore!
That also means there are a few sessions left over, where I’m not paying much attention at all. I can’t concentrate that hard for that long. And some sessions are frankly less interesting to me, although I definitely recognize their value to others and the profession, so I prioritize. For example, I wouldn’t normally try to blog two sessions in a row, even though they might both interest me. I figure someone else at the conference will cover sessions that I’ve skipped. Of course, with something like AEJMC there’s more flexibility in what to attend at all, so a plan is even more important.
My plans don’t always work — I intended to blog the Edelman international session, but the technical glitches threw it off and I ended up not doing it. But for me it helps to decide in advance if I’m going to cover a session and how.
Karen,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with live tweeting and blogging, as well as your tips for success!
I’m afraid that I’m terrible at doing more than one thing at once, but I’m glad to hear that you’ve found a way that works well for you.
I have to conclude that although live tweeting and live blogging does not come naturally to me, it works well for others. I just hope I won’t look like a “cave woman” with my paper and pen!
Warm regards,
Tiffany