Wow. The 24th annual Technology, Colleges and Community (TCC) conference was really fun. I’m very glad that I was able to attend and present at this year’s conference because there were so many great projects and information. I think my expectations were correct; there were plenty of technical issues, networking was a little difficult, and my presentation went well.
For this class, we were assigned to use Twitter during the conference as participation. We were to include #tcc24th and #647e in our tweets in order to connect it to a particular feed/thread. It was my first experience using social media during a conference and I can definitely the benefits of using social media to connect with people professionally, especially at online conferences. I do think that TCC could have used social media a little bit better. Here are a few suggestions that I would throw out there:
- Emphasizing the use of a particular social media application. I think most conferences use Twitter, which makes the most sense IMO. Instagram is a little too young and Facebook is usually used to connect family and friends.
- Promote the hashtag on the Home page, About page, and especially at the time of registration. I think this is huge and unfortunately, it was lacking. The use of Twitter and the #tcc24th wasn’t a constant reminder. Promoting the hashtag at the time of registration increases the hype of the conference, which spurs dialogue and conversation. Then, you can expect audience/attendee participation during the conference to increase as well.
- Include social media in your Introductions. This is something I realized I should have done. Darn it. One of my concerns that I mentioned in my expectations was about networking. I think it’s hard to network without a presence so when networking at an online conference, the Introduction page gives you a perfect opportunity to put yourself out there. This is also the great way to spread your professional social media presence (hint: this might be my master’s project topic.)
- Presenters should give direction too. Presenters have a lot more power over their audience than they think they do and if they want to promote their work, it’s in their best interest to provide direction and emphasis on their professional digital profiles, be it a social media platform or a website. They can say, “Provide feedback on Twitter @ellenakamura,” / “You can find me on LinkedIn!” / “Follow me on Instagram @honeylovingbeez“
As far as our presentation, there was a technical issue; our video walkthrough didn’t play on my slideshow presentation however, it worked when one of the other group members played it. Argh. Lessons learned:
- Rehearse your s***
- Make sure the presentation works on YOUR own computer
- Open videos in another window or have it queued up in the background
- Have two monitors so you can view the chat box and your presenter notes
- Don’t read a paper script because the audience can hear the papers flipping and it’s obvious that you’re reading
- Tell the audience how you expect them to be during the presentation. Some people said they aren’t looking at the chat, to refrain from asking question at the end, or didn’t say anything at all. For me, I’d prefer if people use the chat box to comment throughout my presentation such as, “Oh, that’s cool!” However, at the end when I open it up for question, I would like to have the audience turn on their microphone and SPEAK their question(s) instead of typing it in the chat box.
- Have your ‘critical friends’ from your cohort support you by having a few questions ready if no one in the audience asks any questions at the end of your presentation. Awkward silences are awkward turtles.
All in all, this online conference was a great first experience. I can’t wait for next year’s TCC conference where some of my cohort classmates will be presenting. Then two years from now, I will be presenting 
