FASDlive 2012: 4 Reasons to Embrace Social Media during this Conference
The countdown to FASDlive 2012 begins! With only a week left until the live event, we would like to encourage you to participate on social media whether or not you can attend in person. Twitter is a tool we are using before, during, and after the conference to help share and expand upon the knowledge this event will provide. Here are 4 ways you can participate and learn about using Twitter for FASDlive 2012:
1. Join the Pre-Event Conversation
We are using the Twitter hashtag #FASDlive2012 to tag any tweets that are about this conference. We also have an official Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/FASDlive that will include interesting information before the event (and, of course, during and afterwards as well). There will be conversations happening around both the hashtag and official feed over the next week that will pique your interest and give you an idea about what to expect. You can also “meet” people before the conference who are participating in this way.
2. A Chance to Learn about Twitter
New to Twitter? Find it overwhelming and think it’s not for you? Well, here’s a chance to learn about and use this major social network that seems, at times, to have its own language. Sign up for Twitter at https://twitter.com/ and just give it a try. Go to the conference feed above and click follow. Check out the Followers and Following (including the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute’s own Bev Drew https://twitter.com/FASDprevention and Marlene Dray https://twitter.com/MarleneLD) for more feeds to follow. And if you need more hands-on help, think about attending the Concurrent Session on Wednesday, September 12: A5 – Social Media & FASD Prevention: Opportunity for Impact that will include an overview of how the Prevention Institute is currently using social media as part of our FASD program as well as an applied Twitter workshop to help you get tweeting during the conference.
3. Share Your Notes & Learn from Others
Social media and Twitter represent opportunities to take real time notes (in 140 characters or less) and easily share them. The more people who Tweet during the conference, the more knowledge we will share. FASDlive has many concurrent sessions running in parallel over the first two days. If there are enough participants on Twitter, you will learn from the sessions you cannot attend in person. And if you haven’t been able to attend the conference at all, Twitter will be a great opportunity for you to follow along and present your own thoughts on the #FASDlive2012 hashtag.
4. Grow Trusted Connections & Resources
By participating in the Twitter conversation before, during, and after the conference, you have a chance to meet people from all over the country (and the world) who are interested in FASD. This gives you an opportunity to gain valuable new information and resources and easily maintain these connections, virtually, through Twitter. Even if these connections were only made online, social media allows you to maintain contact and stay on top of trends they're following.
Join Us at FASDlive 2012
FASDlive 2012: Expanding our Vision will be held at the Saskatoon Inn in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from September 12 - 14, 2012 and will address critical areas in FASD. The two-day conference is followed by a one-day post conference symposium.
Registration has been extended until September 6th for this world-class conference. You can participate and join us through Twitter and other social media. We hope to see you at #FASDlive2012 in person and on Twitter!