For me, one of the most interesting things about Media140 was seeing the effect of the Twitter Wall; the web page of tweets with the hashtag #media140 projected behind the speaker or panel in real time. A stream of consciousness about the event, at the event.

Many conferences these days (IT conferences in particular) have a Twitter back-channel; a conversation among Twitterers about the conference during the conference, but the idea that you show that stream in real time to the audience is, I think, a significant shift in conferencing.

I noticed that the ABC-influenced Media140 event in Sydney took a policy decision not to show the Wall in its video of the event. Apart from the obvious potential for people to spam, tweet profanities and send libellous messages, the Wall allows for a diverse commentary and some genuinely funny commentary. My co-blogger @grum was particularly sharp. And we saw the odd situation where panellist @richardgiles was dissing the audience for not asking incisive enough questions. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Wall adds significantly to the entertainment value of the event for those who attend. And it’s far more interesting than watching on-line because you have the tension of the speaker’s reaction to the comment about their bad hair or the fact that they’re droning on.

While experienced Twitterers on stage apparently had no issue with the Wall, Andrew Pascoe, the lawyer from Allens Arthur Robinson who knew little of Twitter was clearly rattled by the idea that he was for a time (1) not the centre of attention and (2) not able to follow the in-jokes. Some of my friends to whom I described the scene afterwards were sympathetic, describing the channelling of attention away from the speaker as rude.

I think most older people would take that line and I don’t think experienced speakers will countenance it in a normal conferencing situation. To me, it’s giving away some reverence for the speaker in return for a higher level of engagement among the audience. Price worth paying. Furthermore, I believe it is an important differentiator for Media140, which could evolve in the direction of Twitter-powered events, rather than events on how to deal with social media.

@brettreasure

Fascinating presentation from Andrew Pascoe (@AllensLegal) - lots of
self deprecating humour and some very telling points about the
challenges for senior lawyers and younger lawyers using social media.

The tensions between personal, business and private are being played
out in law firms just like in many other businesses.

Next up was Sunili Govinnage (@sunili) - she noted that her Twitter
account has notice that they are not official business. Sunili also
talked about the problems of trying to participate in social media and
retain privacy. She also noted the challenges of managing the balance
between confidentiality and sharing using social media.

The issues of social media still need to be about the dialogue between
employers and employees. Allens have a committee to manage this.
Sounds like a sensible approach.

Both of these speakers were engaging, authentic and human.

Was talking to Pamela Peelen who asked an interesting question about
the Twitter culture during the morning session. She asked why it seems
full of cynical commentary. “Taking the piss” she said. She asked
about the lack of authenticity. Ouch!

Richard Giles responded that the medium is just reflecting the
culture; “that’s what Australians do; they take the piss”, he said.

I spoke to Pamela afterwards and she described communication ‘clouded
in humour’. Pamela struck a note with a lot of audience members;
established Twitter users are often smart-arsed and unapproachable. I
know I am :)

Another person I spoke to suggested that authenticity does not come
until you have done the small talk. And even then it’s surrounded by
small talk.

I think I’d add that it’s hard to be authentic in 140 characters. But
not impossible. Nonetheless, authentic conversations work better in
person and in very long, hand-written letters. Probably not a strength
of the Real Time Web.

Pamela and I also discussed the immersion factor. When the panel was
asked how they control the amount of time they spend on Twitter most
were unabashedly happy that they were virtually full time.

From Pamela’s viewpoint, and from the position of the majority of
attendees who are trying to work out whether to invest time in this
medium, it sent the wrong message.

For people actively involved in a business, people whose lives are
already very full, the question of whether involvement in social media
is a good use of your time is very much an open question.

@brettreasure

A great talk from Markus Hafner of Happener (a.k.a. @eskimo_sparky) about how Twitter has actually helped his business make money.  He shared some tips & showed us a rude picture of his Twitter reach (check the size of your e-penis here).  Markus also noted how some staff could not get their head around how the business was using Twitter as a revenue tool.

Editor Brett McCarthy spoke today about the possibility of a Twitter
edition of The West Australian.

He said the paper could use Twitter and social media as a way of
influencing what stories are covered. And he’s keen for the Twitter
community to make suggestions on how that might work. Got a hashtag
for us Brett?

He acknowledged that The West was late to the digital party but he
clearly believes they have made substantial progress. Speaking after
his keynote, he said the old distinction between “I write for the
newspaper” versus “I write for the online paper” has been broken down.
Ironic. Years of autonomy and local control with Internet avoidance
and now, controlled by the Seven Network, a sniff of innovation in the
space. There is hope.

@brettmccarthy

@brettreasure

A great session by Brett McCarthy from The West, along with some photos from the panel session before lunch.

Paul Pichugin
@paulmp
http://blaquestudios.com.au

Session: Crisis management and maintaining brand reputation

Gareth Parker (@g_parker)
Shared some insights on the importance of using social media for listening, especially in crisis.  Genuine engagement is important - listening and having a conversation.  People having ideas and asking questions is where most stories come from.  "There's a reason it's called social media".

Dena Vassallo (@PPRAdelaide)
Talked about the need to plan in advance for crisis management and the importance of including online channels in the plan.  Used examples of Haiti disaster and Domino's Pizza crises.  Noted importance of monitoring online to find out what is going on with your brand.

Richard Giles (@RichardGiles)
Presented some case studies starting with Toyota, who are dealing with a longstanding crisis that is coming to light now.  He also touched on the recent Google Buzz launch, with its privacy issues, that had to be dealt with almost overnight. He also mentioned the recent Westpac Twitter trauma - Richard argued that this Twitter slip actually humanized the company.

Overall the speaker's common themes were about being genuine, keeping up with what's being said about brands, listening.  I wish they'd given some more practical advice about what to actually do in the face of a crisis using social media.

Question time saw some debate about sources of media - blurring of boundaries between sources.

First panel of the day with representatives from Nova, Microsoft, Chatterblock & SKM. Some great thoughts put forward from monitoring feedback and what is being said about your company through to personal brand management.

Paul Pichugin
@paulmp
http://blaquestudios.com.au