Vanessa LaClair, CMP

Meeting professional in upstate New York, with a passion for travel, shoes and meeting new people! I’m the membership services and events coordinator for a trade association in Albany, NY. I have 10 years of experience in the meetings industry and currently serve as President-Elect for the Northeastern New York MPI Chapter (@mpineny). My background includes a degree in Criminal Justice, experience as an Ophthalmologist Assistant, and for a short time working for a Hypnotist! [More about me]

August 9, 2010

A Social Media Guru Farewell for WEC 2010 (Part 5)

By Vanessa LaClair, CMP

The 2010 World Education Congress is over. I’m a bit sad about this and if you’ve been following the Twitter conversation, several of us have been going through Social Media and WEC withdrawal. There’s even a Facebook page support group!

July 27, 2010

Guru on Deck at Vancouver – Scrolling on a Trackwheel (part 4)

By Vanessa LaClair, CMP

It’s Tuesday morning (pacific time) and I’m exhausted. I’m also a day late (hopefully not a dollar short) on my Engage365 blog series. Forgive me, but I arrived in Vancouver a day later than expected due to a flight cancellation Saturday morning. So I gave myself an extra day to finish this entry. Thankfully, my other fellow Gurus picked up the slack, and the conversation continued.

What’s It Been Like On The Scene as a Guru You Might Ask?

It’s been positive, but again, not without it’s challenges. MPI loves social media, that want to be hip, they want to keep up with technology, they want to engage those members both attending the congress and watching the stream from the comfort of their home (or office). But is it technology overload?

July 19, 2010

Being an MPI Social Media Guru Isn’t Without Its Challenges (part 3)

By Vanessa LaClair, CMP

Although it has been great promoting MPI’s event on Twitter via the hashtag #WEC10 and all that will be happening throughout the Congress, there is still a sense of “what am I supposed to be doing?”

Should MPI Provide Social Media Direction?

July 13, 2010

The Power of Social Media: Making it Work for WEC Attendees (part 2)

By Vanessa LaClair, CMP

“Act as a spokesperson for social media to the members attending WEC.” This short directive from MPI on our “jobs” as Social Media Gurus can really be interpreted in so many different ways. I’m currently having trouble focusing on what it expected of me. I am all for promoting MPI and WEC— I do so on a daily basis. But is that really all there is to it? As the week progresses, I will be working with MPI to flesh out the details and see which direction they need me to face. Here are few examples of our upcoming social media promotions. Continue Reading »

July 7, 2010

Harnessing the Power of Social Media Leaders: MPI’s Social Media Guru Program (part 1)

By Vanessa LaClair, CMP

MPI recently came to the conclusion that traditional media and social media had some significant similarities: both groups attended events and covered important issues for attending and non-attending public alike – and social media representatives even became a part of the event. This revelation led MPI Public Relations Specialist Kristen Kouk to create a Social Media Guru program to empower members of the industry to lead their social media efforts and help engage members around the World Education Congress (WEC) in Vancouver this year.