If you haven’t seen it yet, check out this great article by Jeff Hurt, 8 ways to make your event blog/twitter friendly. I’m a blogger, so I thought it might be useful to revisit Jeff’s article, switching the point of view to focus on my basic needs as a blogger. 8 seems to be a popular number.
- Free wifi that actually works–Unless you want me tweeting that the wifi is too slow, you better make sure your facility has the wifi capacity to handle me and my blogging pals. We’re going to push most networks to capacity. Also, don’t make me hunt for the network name and password. Publish it everywhere!
- Strong AT&T data network coverage–We iPhone junkies are dependent on AT&T coverage (for now). If you’re planning the general session in the basement, we’ll have to switch to wifi. Just because your Verizon Blackberry works down there, doesn’t mean we’ll have any luck. Also, the phone coverage is different from the data network…keep that in mind when you’re testing.
- Plenty of outlets–I tend to bring my own power strip. I use it to make new friends. But not everyone remembers that trick, so anything you can do to make power easily accessible will be greatly appreciated.
- Tags and hashtags–So, I can choose my own tags and hashtags, or you can tell me in lots of places what tag you and others are using so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. And tell me where you’re using them. Twitter? Flickr? YouTube? Delicious? Slideshare? I want to know all the cool places.
- Access to photos/videos you create–Sometimes I watch the official photographer take a great shot, or I see a video from the general session, and I want to blog it right then…except I don’t have access to it. I would love your event forever if you made all that stuff easily and instantly accessible on a centralized website.
- Access to speakers–We bloggers have questions. Lots of them. How fabulous would it be if you gave us an extra chance to get our questions answered in a more informal setting? Even if it’s just giving us the speaker’s Twitter username…
- Access to each other–Blogging is about building relationships with other bloggers. Help us meet each other. Post a directory of those of us who are blogging. Give us a lounge to hang out in. Hold a special meet-n-greet for us. You’ll think of something good, I’m sure.
- Boundaries–I’m gonna tell it like it is. But I don’t want to embarrass anyone (or myself). If there’s a place where blogging/tweeting is off-limits, tell me, and explain why.
Yes–we’re a needy crew. But show us a little love, and we’ll love you right back. Let me know if you find this list useful, or if you have questions about what I mean.
