Geo Events Embrace Social Media

I know that’s not news but there were two posts on the matter that help me confirm that users and organizations are stepping solidly into the world of new and social media. They also highlight different approaches.

First off, this post from Justin C. Houk highlights how he didn’t attend the ESRI Dev Summit, but it didn’t matter because he could follow it in real time and slightly delayed fashion. Now, he’s on a mission to hook others up with great things the new tools can do for geospatial technology users.

Second, a press release from GITA highlighted how a social networking site has been set up for the event. The “Solutions Conference Social Event Networking Site, powered by Zerista, ... [allows]... attendees to network before, during, and after the conference. The site is an exclusive benefit for attendees of the 2009 Geospatial Infrastructure Solutions Conference, set for April 19-22, 2009, in Tampa, FL.”

Now, from what I saw, ESRI didn’t set up any special tools for the event, but rather attendees and non-attendees used existing tools (Twitter, Slideshare, etc.) to share and communicate. Frankly, I loved that as someone who didn’t attend, I could read posts from those who did, follow links, make contacts, just as Justin did.

GITA has a hosted solution accessible only to attendees. I fully understand that participation in the network is a benefit of registering. I’ll be curious to see how the site is used by attendees. I also wonder how much of what goes on at GITA will appear via existing, open social media channels.