@AngieWow, that's great question: What are my sutgnsgioes for improving conferences for learning & experience.? Here are a few ideas:1. Cut the amount of content being delivered in half. Don't provide a smorgasboard buffet of topics. Provide breakouts that are all connected in some way by theme or thread. This will lead to retention and learning.2. Always provide a Continue the Conversation or Discuss Deeper breakout following a general session. Secure a facilitator to help lead attendees through peer-discussions of the main points and how they can apply them.3. Provide longer breaks 30 minutes is good that allows people time to check their business email, return calls etc.4. Keep one night of the conference completely open and free.5. Provide more informal seating options in pre-convene areas for informal learning and networking.6. Encourage speakers to follow a 20-20 rule. For every twenty mintues of content covered, allow twenty minutes of audience small group discussion.7. Ask speakers to end with an action plan or strategies for implementation. Have attendees fill them out after each presenter so that they have ways to implement what was discussed.8. Start the conference content weeks in advance of the event via webinars, blog posts, radio interviews, etc. Those are just a few of my sutgnsgioes. Thanks for reading and asking too!@JohnHow much are non-traditinoal workshop sets? Depends. If you use a place like Chicago's Catalyst Ranch, the venue lends itself to a variety of non-traditional layouts. It's part of their package. For traditional hotels and convention centers, you should not have to pay extra to have the room set in Fishbowl, Chevron with pods or Crescent Rounds. If you are going to bring in nontraditional furniture like couches, love seats, ottomans and large exercise balls, then you will have to rent them and pay labor to unload, setup and tear-down.Thanks for reading and commenting John. I greatly appreciate it.

Wow! That's a raelly neat answer!

@Eric I totally agree with you that the hahsatg has become a great asset for a conference or event. @Michael great way to think about Twitter and adding value to your followers.@Dave I agree with Mike McAllen that the RT is an important part of networking. Many Twitter grading systems rank Tweeps based on their responses to people using their name, RTs and engagement. Just because someone RTs me does not mean they follow me so I can't always DM someone. As for Thank Yous in Twitter, I give people a lot more grace in this area. If someone is being grateful to others and thanking them in public, I respect it. I think we could all use a little more appreciation and thanks.@Mike McAllenVery well put that there are no rules in Twitter and people can do what they want. We need to have a talk with Dave about being the social media police! grin@GregI see RT'g differently than Dave does. Not everyone wants to be a thought leader and not everyone has the same followers. I think it's fine to show respect, appreciation and gratitude by tweeting friends posts. We could all use some helping getting a hand up from time to time. As for DMs, many people will not respond to DMs and they see it as spam. I personally believe that thanks should be public. If Dave sees gratitude as junk in his stream, we should hang him out to dry for a while. Just kidding .well sort of.

This is getting a bit more sutijcbeve, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like Mixview' that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you're listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of neighbors will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune Social is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.

Thanks for a great post on tweeting.Interesting thouhgt came to my mind related to the privacy of the content. Think about the case that you sit in the workshop where you solve issues or brainstorm opportunities related to companies, which are present. It might not be good idea to publish the information talked about or you might lose trust. How should organizers instruct the participants and what possible back channels there could be for participants to discuss?Regarding the tips, I have used Ping.fm trough MMS in my smart phone. Works well, and you can post the same photo and text with tags to many social mediums.As conference organizer, I have also seen as very useful to tweet about questions from audience and answers to them. That way, outer world can be involved more.