Seven Tips for Encouraging Bloggers to Write About A Conference

3 comments June 9th, 2008

Since I am at DAC this week I will use the DAC website as a representative example.

1. Add a blog that allows (moderated) comments and (moderated) trackbacks.
   DAC: Not yet.
2. Give every session and every event a permalink.
   DAC: This is actually true for the last seven and a half conferences (back to 37th post conference site). The URLs are a little funky but here is a pointer to session 1 of the 39th DAC
3. Give every session and every event trackbacks so that you can see who has blogged about them.
   DAC: Not Yet
4. Add RSS/Atom feeds for both events and announcements.
   DAC: Not Yet
5. Link every presenter’s name to their home page (blog, personal site, IEEE personal page, or other they supply) so that it’s easy to learn more about them. Add a link to their affiliated organization (college, university, firm, government entity, non-profit). I actually did this for the 1995 HDLCon (admittedly a smaller show than DAC) and it added a lot to your ability to do some quick background research.
   DAC: Not Yet
6. Realize that you are writing a website first, with content that may re-purposed into e-mail newsletters and print. This means using hyperlinks to provide pointers to relevant information.
   DAC: Not yet; while the DACeZine is a great addition it’s an on-line magazine that obeys all of the strictures of print.
7. Make Wifi available ubiquitously at the conference.
   DAC: Yes! (at least for the 45th at Anaheim Convention Center)