Live Tweets at Events – Tool or Distraction?
I published a series on using social media to market your events a few weeks ago and it has stirred up a few questions. One of them being the debate over whether Twitter should be used at live events.
Now, you probably all know that I am a big proponent of Twitter and using it as a tool for not only event promotion but also to promote yourself using the event itself. When I hear someone say that Twitter is a distraction it puzzles me. So, I’m asking you for your opinions.
When you attend live events, do you use Twitter to send out updates to your followers?
I do and they love it. I usually add a few followers because they know I will give them valuable information from the event. Could I possibly miss some wise tidbit that the speaker says during the 3 seconds it takes me to tweet the update? Possibly, but chances are that someone else picked it up and sent out an update which I can then pick up and retweet…giving the credit to the source.
What if the Twitterfeed is displayed behind the Presenter on stage, is that a distraction?
Hmm…I guess this could be a distraction. Personally, I’m a single mom of four and have learned to tune out much more noise and distracting occurrences on a daily basis just to get my work done! But, I can see how displaying the Twitter feed behind the Presenter could steal a bit of attention and if there are unprofessional tweets going on it could become uncomfortable, fast.
There have been times where the Speaker was presenting and the Twitter feed behind them had negative remarks about their presentation or their appearance. Nasty little snickers filled the room and it was very unprofessional. In this case, it would definitely be a distraction. Hopefully, we would not be subject to these high school antics often, but it is possible.
For me, Twitter is a tool that can be used very effectively at events for self promotion, taking notes, staying current with where the crowds are gathering at the event, getting to know the speakers better (Twitter is the best for reaching those you thought you’d never talk to in person), and I can not support the marketing strategy of using Twitter for event promotion enough.
Amy Gahran, of Contentious.com, posted an excellent article on live-tweeting an event that went over the benefits of using hashtags and had this to say about the importance of using Twitter to gauge community reaction:
People live-tweeting your event will do more than report on what’s happening — they’ll comment on it. They may even praise it, or criticize it, or raise questions. And other Twitter users may react to those tweets. If all or most of that discourse includes the event hashtag, it’s easy to follow later and get a sense of what people thought and felt about the event. This is often important after the event as well as during, since people tend to mull things over and debate.
Your opinions on live Tweeting at events?
How do you feel? Do you see Twitter as a tool or a distraction? How do you use social media while attending events? Where do you see the trends heading as far as using social media for event marketing?
Please leave your comments below. If you tweet your comments this post will seem incomplete without your opinions, so please leave your comments here before tweeting. Thanks mucho!!
To Your Success,
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Tagged as: Event Marketing · Marketing With Social Media · Twitter
29 Responses to “Live Tweets at Events – Tool or Distraction?”
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- advancingwomen (Gretchen Glasscock)
- TwitterDispatch (News, Status & T)
- Tweets that mention Live Tweets at Events - Tool or Distraction? | Market Like A Chick -- Topsy.com
- cynthiahellen (Cynthia Hellen)
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- Ban Twitter: How To Stop Free Speech At Conferences | Market Like A Chick
Twitter: thejimgaudet
(4 comments) says:
I think it is essential to any event. Allowing people into the event without having to be there. If there is a person who is managing the hashtag for the event, they can help make the internet users a part of the show by allowing the “hot topic” on twitter to be discussed live.
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Live Tweets at Events – Tool or Distraction?: When you attend live events, do you use Twitter to send out updat.. [link to post]
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Live Tweets at Events – Tool or Distraction?: When you attend live events, do you use Twitter to send out updat.. [link to post]
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Twitter: DennisEdell
(11 comments) says:
I have yet to attend a live marketing type event, but I have heard many a story of people ticking off others with it at events such as kids school things.
When you formally announce the job board, will you include things like how you set it up/hooked up with many other similar sites, etc?
I like the “hot topic” idea! It could go both ways…a hot topic already on Twitter could be brought up at the event for the Speakers to discuss (on purpose) then have the event community manager send the comments out on Twitter. The event would be cross referenced in a trending topic.
Or, the hot topic at the event itself could be taken to Twitter and become a trending topic of itself! Nice…
Dennis I can't believe you haven't been to a live event yet. We have to meet up at an event one day! I can say this…when I went to Blogworld it really changed my perspective on what these “big guys” in blogging/marketing are really like. (well at least most of them). I expected the standoff-ish, I'm cool and you're not response, but they were so genuinely appreciative and helpful in person. It's so different face to face.
Anyway, as far as the live tweeting at kids school events….grrr! One tweet with your child's picture live from the event is cool, but if you're tweeting away about business or something that has nothing to do with your kids…that's just rude. A marketing event is a whole other story & really what I'm focusing on.
I will announce the how-to's and such on the job board post. What do you think? Good resource to have on my blog? I'm looking for companies to post jobs there & keep the resources flowing, so if anyone knows someone….
Hey Dennis, one more thing…if you verify your blog & info on Disqus when we click on your name/avatar it will take directly to your blog. I want everyone to be able to find you!
I'm usually distracted by the attractive geek media girls that sometime come out and play, they are kinda like unicorns, very very rare to see, and even more rare to meet one and talk to.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by News, Status & T and Patty Farmer, Gretchen Glasscock. Gretchen Glasscock said: Live Tweets at Events – Tool or Distraction?: When you attend live events, do you use Twitter to send out updat.. http://bit.ly/5STZnu [...]
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Live Tweets at Events – Tool or Distraction? Weigh in here: [link to post] (via @MarketLikeAChik)
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Twitter: DennisEdell
(11 comments) says:
I think my response to another recent post explains some at least.
I've heard horror stories from day one of the slimy salesyness of “marketing events” and have stayed far clear (I hear some bring vomit bags just in case); not to mention my lack of $235,467 to listen to a product pitch, LOL! but I digress…..
Now the somewhat exclusive BLOGGING meet-ups/events, such as blog world expo and such, are a different story; one of those I would love to attend…and I will in fact be able to afford it soon I think.
Where are you from?
Job Board – an excellent resource! As long as you have the time for the proper moderation/deletion of the scammy/fishy “jobs” some may try to slip through.
I also hear rumor that Mr. Rowse does OK with his. LOL
Twitter: DennisEdell
(11 comments) says:
I can see plain as day the green rectangular “Verified” thingy right here when I'm writing my comments, do I need to do something else?
Well ok then. Did you create your profile on Disqus to include your blog URL & such? I know you and I both are used to Comment Luv where it shows the latest blog post when you leave a comment, but I kept having issues with it so I switched.
I do miss that though. Wish Disqus would add that, but until then I want to make sure those who leave comments can be found. Grrr
Well, I understand those types of events where it's all about a pitch. Been to a few myself & they are a waste of time. I'm thinking more of Blogworld, SXSW (which I am planning on attending & 99% sure I have a sponsor for), or the event that Chris Pirillo puts on…can't remember the name of it, up in Seattle. Real speakers, not some slime ball selling his snake oil.
The job board allows me to decide what types of jobs and delete those I don't like. I'm pretty particular. I'm one of those people that flags BS scams on Craigslist posted under legitimate job opps.
I hadn't heard how Darren Rowse was doing w/his job board. Is it really that well?? He's got the huge audience so I imagine he would do good at just about anything he launched.
Twitter: DennisEdell
(63 comments) says:
I just entered some stuff in my profile, dunno if it's what you're looking for though.
Commentluv is up to andy to make it Disqus compatible.
Twitter: DennisEdell
(63 comments) says:
LOL I really don't know how well he is or isn't doing with it, just raggin a bit on his gigantic list.
Sponsor? I don't know what you mean…you have someone paying for the trip?
Twitter: DennisEdell
(63 comments) says:
Actually I see now my name is linked to my site, thanks!
Here's where I stand:
As An Attendee:
I tweet information as I get it from speakers and as I find it resourceful. I use the conference hashtag and ultimately, find that my followers like it and find it resourceful too. I also get the chance to meet fellow conference attendees whom I've never met before by the simple fact that we're following the hashtag and we like one another's tweets. Often times, we tweet each other to meet in the lobby at some point.
As A Speaker:
If it's a panel on the other-hand well then it's fair game because the focus isn't on me 24/7.
I don't look at the Twitter stream unless we're talking about Twitter. Only then do I stop to look at tweets. I do ask folks to DM me or text me their questions (in the event someone's embarrassed to speak up). This works, and I look to take questions as I receive them. Otherwise, I avoid looking at the twitter stream as I find that my audience finds it distracting at times and well, it just doesn't look good on camera
Like you, using the event hashtag has introduced me to several people I would have never met otherwise, or helped me find friends I'd talked to on Twitter but we hadn't realized we would both be at the event until we saw each others tweets.
For the Speaker side of the equation, if someone is constantly reading Tweets and loses their place during a session I would be pretty irritated. This is where a conference blogger or community manager would come in handy to monitor the tweets, comments and feedback…don't ya think?
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Live Tweets at Events – Tool or Distraction? via @MarketLikeAChik [link to post]
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[...] by Coree on December 23rd, 2009 ShareWhen should Twitter be banned at conferences? That’s like asking when does your right to free speech stop. There seems to be some controversy over whether Twitter use is appropriate at live events and conferences with strong stances from both sides of the camp. Some see Twitter as a tool and others as a distraction. [...]
Interested post Coree. Twitter is a tool AND a distraction at events and otherwise. The beauty of live feeds is that you get honest and forthright comments from people in the room. That can sometimes be a negative though, as can distracting post like “great salad”. Spoken as a meeting planner, I can say that if you choose to show feeds on the screen, having someone (other than the speaker) moderate the feed is essential in case things get out of control.
I find one of your comments interesting “I can not support the marketing strategy of using Twitter for event promotion.” Just wondering – why not?
Hi Jen, thanks for your input. It's especially valued as an experienced event planner that's seen the trends change first hand.
The comment you mentioned is my mistake. It was supposed to read “can not support the marketing strategy of using Twitter for event promotion ENOUGH”! I am a big supporter of using Twitter fore event marketing. (editing right after this) Thanks for pointing it out. I wonder how many other people read that and never said anything…
There are a couple choices for moderating Twitter feeds at live events. ParaTweet and Twubs are both applications that allow a user to filter profanity, pause the Twitter stream, or even approve/deny specific updates before they hit the screen. However, there may be some that consider this censorship and could have a negative impact, too.
Time will tell what is the most effective I suppose.
Interested post Coree. Twitter is a tool AND a distraction at events and otherwise. The beauty of live feeds is that you get honest and forthright comments from people in the room. That can sometimes be a negative though, as can distracting post like “great salad”. Spoken as a meeting planner, I can say that if you choose to show feeds on the screen, having someone (other than the speaker) moderate the feed is essential in case things get out of control.
I find one of your comments interesting “I can not support the marketing strategy of using Twitter for event promotion.” Just wondering – why not?
Hi Jen, thanks for your input. It's especially valued as an experienced event planner that's seen the trends change first hand.
The comment you mentioned is my mistake. It was supposed to read “can not support the marketing strategy of using Twitter for event promotion ENOUGH”! I am a big supporter of using Twitter fore event marketing. (editing right after this) Thanks for pointing it out. I wonder how many other people read that and never said anything…
There are a couple choices for moderating Twitter feeds at live events. ParaTweet and Twubs are both applications that allow a user to filter profanity, pause the Twitter stream, or even approve/deny specific updates before they hit the screen. However, there may be some that consider this censorship and could have a negative impact, too.
Time will tell what is the most effective I suppose.
Twitter: mombizcoach
(1 comments) says:
Coree,
I’m heading out to Utah for EVO ’10: The Evolution of Women in Social Media in a couple of weeks. I’ll be speaking on the Small Business Success panel, and I can’t tell you how excited I am to get out!
Since my kids are so young and we live far away from all our family, traveling to live events just hasn’t been an option for me in the past. EVO will be the first conference I get to attend since I’ve had my business, and the thought that I finally get to meet so many people in real life that I’ve come to admire and respect via twitter and the online world is just thrilling!
I really appreciate this blog post since I’ve been looking around the web for recommendations like yours about how to make the most out of live events. I’ve printed out this post and am doing my “homework” now so I can be fully intentional at EVO.
I also want to tell you how awesome you are for pointing out the difference between “attention” and “intention.” I know that by following your suggestions and by being intentional about who I want to meet, what I want to accomplish, and what I want to learn, I’ll come away very happy and pleased with the whole experience.
Thanks again for such a great blog!
Lara Galloway
The Mom Biz Coach
http://www.mombizcoach.com