At the next conference you attend, you’ll probably see the standard fixture – bloggers on computers at the back of the room. But look again – look for those folks entering text into their phone. A nowcasion™ has emerged – attendees are twittering the conference in 140 character segments on their phones. Through the twitter hashtag you can see who is commenting on the conference, learn their names, see their profiles, decide if you like their content, and follow them (or not). You’ve found like-minded colleagues in the room without saying a word.

At one conference in May, I asked the panel of speakers a question. One minute later I received a tweet from a complete stranger complimenting me, “Great question – way to go!” At the break I met her and now follow her on twitter. Truly a new way to meet a colleague!

Where’s the value for marketers? All keynote speakers, take note. Share your Twitter name and conference hashtag on the first page of your presentation. Ask your audience to follow you if they like your speech. Get in-room audience participation by asking a question and getting tweet replies. You can even ask your external audience (those watching the tweet stream) to send in questions or answers. With one presentation you could build awareness and gain many followers for your site.

(PS. if you like this content, please follow me on twitter @julieburrows!)