Earthquake Demonstrates Twitter's Power

I wrote about Twitter a few months ago in my CJOnline Blog. Yesterday, we saw how effective Twitter can be when communicating information quickly. According to various reports, cell phone coverage went down during the Los Angeles earthquake, but Twitter did not.

You see, Twitter has fought for legitimacy since its inception. The concept of microblogging is still relatively new. Those of us who use it probably use it more than any other web 2.0 service and there is a great reason. The idea is quick information as it happens, which just happens to be suited perfectly for breaking news.

Immediate posts during the earthquake notified people across the world of the event, creating citizen journalists, minutes before the news media broke in and announced it on the traditional news outlets. In the breaking news world, especially if life might be at stake, minutes are huge. It was reported as it happened, by those who were there.

No longer are we a world that waits for the traditional media outlets to report to us. Technology gives us the chance to report information that needs to be told and told quickly. 

Twitter is an excellent tool for for putting the power of the media in our hands. Yesterday in Los Angeles, Twitter proved that.

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ASAE & The Center Engaging Associations in twopoint0 World

Greg Hill, Assistant Executive Director of the Kansas Dental Association, presented a session at the American Dental Association’s annual Management Conference on Association Communications Using Web twopoint0. The presentation, which highlighted many of the different Web 2.0 applications the KDA has incorporated into its website (blogging, social networking, video productions, etc.) was broadcast live over the internet and aired on the Kansas Dental Association website. That presentation was recorded through the UStream.tv service and is available to be viewed by other association staff members who were unable to be at the conference or those who may simply wish to watch it again.

More importantly, the presentation demonstrated many ways in which associations can reach out to their members in ways never before imagined. One of the true purposes of professional associations is to organize like-minded individuals around their profession. This new concept of social networking is built upon this premise and the ASAE and the Center is engaged in leading associations toward this exciting new medium of social networking.

The presentation highlighted many of the individual social media applications the Kansas Dental Association has been using, including an in-house video news feature titled the KDA Video Minute, our public blog, videos from annual not-for-profit charitable event at KMOM TV, our MySpace page, and our use of Google Maps to create innovate views of our membership data (visit http://www.twopoint0media.com/powerpoint/aP%20Lite%20Flash/index.swf, items 44-46).

The KDA is further exploring a self-contained social network of KDA members to replace its existing member’s only section, allowing members to create their own social identity and interact virtually within a controlled environment. Members would be able to post their blogs, photos, videos and create their own networks of KDA members. This concept is currently in the development phase, but is discussed in the presentation.

Thank You to the ADA Management Conference

I want to thank all of you who were in attendance yesterday, both at the American Dental Association and online, for my presentation on Web 2.0. I hope the presentation was informative and you were able to take some very interesting and future looking ideas not only from my presentation, but from all the presenters yesterday. If you wish to share some of your ideas either with me or the group, you can leave a comment here or post in the discussion room in the twopoint0media network or email me at greg@twopoint0media.com.

JJ Abrams Mystery Box Presentation

This is the full presentation by JJ Abrams at TED I referenced in my presentation to the American Dental Association.

ADA Presentation Replay

Looking to watch my presentation at the American Dental Association? You can view that here directly or visit this link.

Live streaming video by Ustream

New York Times looks at Virtual Meetings

The New York Times published an article on Tuesday talking about how companies are going with virtual meetings and saving money over the cost of transportation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/technology/22meet.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin

Back to the Future

One of my favorite movies is Back to the Future, or more specifically, the Back to the Future trilogy. I particularly enjoy the parallel scenes that take place in each of the movies, each in the time in which Marty McFly has travelled.

There are several of these scenes, for example, the skateboard scene in which Marty McFly uses a soapbox scooter in 1955 and a hoverboard in 2015 to escape the chase of the high school bully Biff Tanner and his grandson Griff. The two scenes take place in the same place on the town square, but different only in the year in which the scene takes place.

As I watched this scene one day, I realized that these parallel scenes reflect the history of associations, in particular, their functions over time. I researched the history of the Kansas Dental Association and found that in 1871, when the organization was in its infancy, that the core functions of the association were to provide a means of communication with its members, to educate its members, to promote the profession and to protect the public.

The difference was the means that were used to communicate these functions. In 1871, it may have been by the Pony Express and train or horse drawn carriage. As time has moved from the Old West, through the industrial revolution and now to the digital age, the means of communication has added the telephone, the post office, desktop publishing, the fax machine, and now the internet with its limitless means of communicating these functions.

I believe that now, with Web 2.0, the functions have not changed, but there is an amazing opportunity to dramatically increase the availability of this interaction with your members and the public. As leaders of your association, I believe you have an obligation to your members to continue to use the tools the internet offers to provide the best information to your members.

Web Design Trends

Web Designer Wall has compiled a very good resource of web design trends. Personally, I think that whether or not it is a web design, PowerPoint design or a design for a newsletter, these themes can really make your publication or presentation stand out. I opted for the vintage style, but there is plenty more to look at http://www.webdesignerwall.com/trends/2008-design-trends/

Logo Design

Your logo is important. It's how people will remember you and recognize you. It should reflect your product. Learn some of the new logo design trend http://www.logoorange.com/logo-design-08.php