Back in June of this year I had just come on board as the ICT Director at YSA. Everyone was gearing up for the National Conference on Volunteering and Service at the end of the month.
hree days the majority of my coworkers were in New York City, learning, sharing, and building relationships with more than 5,000 other service leaders from around the country. They were getting social in real life, but I was able to share some of the fun while holding down the fort in DC thanks to a host of social media channels.Twitter was the big one for me. My new coworkers were quick to tweet about the great workshops and panel discussions they were attending. If a panelist seemed especially interesting, I’d just click on their Twitter handle and see what other stuff they had going on at the conference. It was a great way for me to get a broad yet detailed introduction to the service field and keep abreast of any interesting conversations my colleagues were having. NCVS was definitely a connected conference.
Whether you’re attending YSI or not, here are five social media tips to help you make the most of this year’s event:
1. Use Twitter hashtags: The hashtag for YSI is #YSI2010. Keep a column for our hashtag in your favorite Twitter client and you’ll always know what the Twitter community has to say YSI.
2. Follow friends and colleagues who are going to YSI: The YSI hastag will give you a filtered list about any tweets related to the event. But following anyone whose opinion and insight you value adds a personal touch. When your favorite people share anything from a webinar link to a wine recommendation you’ll know about it. It’s easy to make planning more transparent so others can join in, but you can always send somebody a direct message if a private conversation works better.
YSA on Twitter: @YouthService
YSA Staff on Twitter:
Steven Culbertson (@culbs)
Brandon Gryde (@bgryde)
Matt Henry (@bozekitty)
Amanda McDonald (@akmcdonald)
Mike Man (@michaelman)
Portia Obeng (@portiao)
Chetan Shenoy (@cshenoy)
Staff Twitter list: http://twitter.com/#!/youthservice/team-ysa
YSI 2010 Attendees: http://twitter.com/#!/list/youthservice/ysi2010attendees
3. Check out photos and videos from the event: Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube will all have YSI updates from staff here at Youth Service America as well as folks attending the institute.
4. Share links with your friends: When you see something that interests you, like a great question from a panel discussion or a success story from a workshop, share it with your Facebook friends or Twitter followers. When you share a link to an article, blog post, or online resource, you’re spreading the word about the value of youth service and helping a friend or colleague make a new connection with someone via social networking platforms.
5. Read blogs: Done and done. We’ll be blogging from YSI, so continue to check back and read more about our YSI experience over the next few weeks.
Learn what you need and share what you love. See you at YSI!
