This New Orleans update points out a big advantage of attending conferences in person, rather than relying on bloggers or reporters: you can get a richer perspective when many voices discuss together. That can happen on a blog over time, but we had so many experienced communicators in New Orleans that the odds were good that an exchange like the one surrounding the GM blog could occur.

Brian, IABC set up the In Session blog to offer commentary regarding the 2007 International Conference. Because I wasn’t one of the 12 volunteers set-up to blog the conference, I won’t even try to answer your question. I will say that I only posted a couple of times on my personal blog and podcast, because I wanted to enjoy the conference as a “regular attendee.” I will post on my blog, but since I leave Saturday for vacation, it may be a little while longer.

I’ll send you an email when I’ve posted anything based on the conference.

If you look on IABC’s homepage, you will see “In Session,” that includes the podcasts that Shel Holtz did from conference.

Maybe the reason that there was not a lot of communication coming from conference is that attendees were busy attending sessions, networking with other communicators, visiting exhibitors, working on Habitat for Humanity, and oh, yes, enjoying all that New Orleans has to offer. Sometimes in-person contacts are more compelling than online ones.

Today most people are recovering from a very full few days–including me. More news about what happened later.

Julie

I certainly can’t find any hints on the IABC web site directing me to anything else, except some podcasts. And podcasts require me to stick through to the end to find out if anything interesting in contained therein, whereas with print, you can skim down the page looking for value.

I was expecting IABC to embrace “social media” but it has not even posted any “election” results.

BAK

But the issue here is about the value of use another media, social media particularly podcasts. I think is a great opportunity to “set and map the terrain” of the courses. It give us the opportunity to enhance the “connecting the dots work” for students, particularly when our courses have numerous linkages with contextual subjects an / or some details that can difficult to the student to “follow us” during an “entire semester”.

So, I think it would be valuable, but not necessarily to use with particular presentation where copyright issues are to be acknowledged.

Hope to be clear enough!

Regards,

JA

I think Wilma is right. Unless something is geniunely ‘newsworthy’ and not just PR, then it’s unlikely to attract much attention.

Melcrum run regular research studies to take the pulse of the industry and address particular challenges such as the latest titled: How to engage employees using social media’.

Sometimes, the initial survey throws up a single finding so newsworthy that it gets discussed throughout the blogosphere. An example being that the survey of over 2,100 communicators showed that online video was proving more popular than blogs for corporate communication.

But other times, surveys just confirm what was already known. So it can be somewhat unpredictable.

And, you’re right, what can be surprising in one country can be positively common-place in another.

Robin.

You make a good point. All organizations are ignored equally if there is no news value to the event, the association or any other aspect of the organization.

While the definition of “news” may vary around the globe, we need to remember that it is the local definition that determines coverage.