Geeky cool stuff to do at ASAE2007

This blog post is old news for “the regulars” but I sure would appreciate it if you would help spread the word about this stuff. Please e-mail this information to friends and colleagues coming to ASAE & The Center’s Annual Meeting, tell people about it on-site, or get BABY GOT BACKCHANNEL shaved into the back of your head. I’ll be posting this information to the Membership and Executive Management section listserves, as well as to Acronym.

You’ve heard a lot recently about Web 2.0 and social media and the way that they’re transforming human interaction. You’ve probably also heard the Chicken Littles of the world describing how Web 2.0 could spell the demise of associations. They say that associations are being disintermediated from the very constituents they claim to represent by the evolution of social structures and networks which can now be supported by the Internet. The best way to understand how the social web can transform the way you interact with an association, its members, and/or its programs is to actually participate in some Web 2.0 activities and experience it for yourself. So, if you’re attending ASAE & The Center’s 2007 Annual Meeting — or even if you’re not — here are three ways you can enhance your participation — or participate virtually — by tapping into social web things going on next week in Chicago:

1. Subscribe to the ASAE2007 mobile interactive backchannel. The backchannel is like a listserve for your mobile phone. Those who subscribe to the backchannel will be able to both send and receive short text messages about the Annual Meeting. What will the chatter on the backchannel be like? I’ll be posting my thoughts on sessions I’m attending. I hope to read the same, find out what special events my friends are attending and discover where the best food is at the receptions. Go to http://tinyurl.com/377qc3 for details on how to sign up for the backchannel.
2. Watch the following page throughout the annual meeting (http://www.technorati.com/tag/asae2007) or if you’re hip to RSS, subscribe to this feed: http://feeds.technorati.com/search/asae2007. Why? Watching this page or subscribing to that feed will let you follow blog posts, videos and/or pictures that are tagged with asae2007. Several people will be uploading content about the annual meeting and will be tagging their stuff with asae2007. If you care to upload your own content tagged with asae2007, use www.Flickr.com to host and tag your pictures, www.YouTube.com to host and tag your videos, and check out www.Technorati.com for details on how to tag your blog posts.
3. Attend Association Bloggercon 2007, Sunday, August 12 from 10:30 – Noon in McCormick Place room N230B. Maybe you’ve heard someone utter the word unconference. This informal gathering of association bloggers is like a miniature unconference. There is no set agenda, and may the conversation take us where ever it pleases. But you can be sure there will be plenty of talk about how to engage members and constituents through blogs, podcasts, wikis and other funny-sounding terms. No need to RSVP. Just show up and join at least 20 others who have said they’ll attend.

If you need more information, drop me a line! bkmcae at gmail dot com.

Tagged: ASAE2007 Association Management Associations bloggercon CAE Certified Association Executive Social Media Web 2.0