As an executive director, I think critically about the new technologies available to associations and how I could apply them to our goals at Association Media & Publishing. At a recent conference, I had the opportunity to hear Peter Hirshberg, a Silicon Valley executive who serves on the board of directors of Technorati.com. Hirshberg spoke about the power the audience now has because of Web 2.0 tools. The audience is deciding what to look at when, creating their own content, learning from one another, and gaining power.

As I sat through the session, I asked myself: How can we further leverage the power of Association Media & Publishing’s members and enhance our association? The research was already underway and plans were in place to launch the online conference community, but how could push the envelope even more?

Knowing the conference would have a captive audience, who always wanted to learn more, Association Media & Publishing created a micro-website for the conference in 2009: http://live.snap09.com. The conference website enhanced the attendee experience, provided an extension to the conference community and gave those who were unable to attend in-person the scoop. In real-time and through multiple mediums, the attendees shared their conference experience, what they learned, and challenges they needed answers to. With a team of volunteers, support from an industry partner, and staff, the plans to launch the site were made. An editorial calendar was created to ensure every aspect of the conference was covered on the micro-website, digital cameras and flip video cameras were distributed and a marketing plan was put in place to ensure maximum visibility to the community. The micro-website capitalized on the use of social media tools:

• Attendees used the #snap09 hashtag to follow the conversation through the Twitterfeed.
• Through video, the expertise of attendees and speakers were recorded onsite and posted through YouTube.
• Since the conference was paperless, concurrent session handouts were shared through Slideshare.
• A blog shared the top tips and insights from the two days.
• Photos posted through Flickr provided a glimpse into the experience of the attendees.
• Additional exposure was given to the sponsors and exhibitors of the event through the Marketplace.

The association gained power through the creation of the conference website. Although the association developed the tool, it was the members who made this theirs.