Conference using on-line networking

I've been an admirer of the Webheads group for many years because of how people from around the world share ideas with each other that further uses of distance learning and emerging technologies. Today I received an email telling about a conference in Glasgow:

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Hello all
In the flurry of emails building up to Glasgow, here are some ideas for linking the Glasgow Online forum/Social media and the f2f events. Dennis made some excellent suggestions which should increase our visibility and make connections (I hope I can remember all of them)

- Committee members drop in to say hello on the *Glasgow Iatefl online
forum*. Everybody can do this in 5 minutes and it's an opportunity to
introduce yourselves. Start here by registering
http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2012/ Then make your way to
"Forums" (Top menu on right) or go directly here
http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2012/forum . Scroll down the page to
YLTSIG area and say hello!


- PCE live streaming. Hopefully this is going ahead and it would be
great if we could tell folks where to go for the same reasons as above.
- photos ? Is there any chance of a roving reporter taking photos during
PCE and other events ? This can be fed into our flickr account and used to
illustrate articles/slideshows etc.
- Social media (twitter etc) this can be used at a distance effectively.
Example : Before events to talk about our program. After events, to thank
presenters and make appreciative comments (Shelley Terrell uses twitter
faster than Clint Eastwood pulls his gun out and would be pleased to have
thanks online). We are getting quite a following on our twitter account
now. The passwords/logins are available for committee members to go ahead -
or I can do it instead (you'll probably all be tooooo busy!). This means
one of the committee members in Glasgow giving us a quick update via email
- possible anyone ?

And please note that, when the conference gets underway members of the
forum will also be keep informed of all sessions from the main conference
that will be broadcast live and recorded and archived,

For full details go to:

http://www.iatefl.org/glasgow-2012/46th-annual-conference-and-exhibition
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I've written about many conferences that I've attended in Chicago and always wish the organizers were setting up on-line communities that would enable participants and speakers to interact with each other before, during and after the event. This demonstrates that it can be done.