Web 2.0 brings the LMA conference to our members.

• Author: Manton, Jennifer
• Position: PRESIDENT'S PODIUM - Legal Marketing Association - Conference notes

EVEN THOUGH THE 23RD ANNUAL LMA CONFERENCE OFFICIALLY CONCLUDED APRIL 4, what was shared among all those who attended in person continues to resonate throughout the legal marketing community. By embracing Web 2.0, LMA brought the Annual Conference to our members who weren't able to be there. Whether through continuous, up-to-the-minute updates about our keynote speaker remarks via Twitter or the live broadcast of the association's annual meeting and LMA Hall of Fame ceremony via www.legalmarketing.org, we worked hard to extend the reach of this year's annual conference.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

While about 650 legal marketing professionals, industry service providers and speakers were in attendance, the conference theme, Change ... Now What?, was perhaps embodied most in the LMA's efforts to bring the content to so many of our members who couldn't join us in person. It was our goal to not only embrace Web 2.0, but to ensure that our members could benefit from the annual conference, even if they couldn't attend in person.

Social media took center stage this year. Through Facebook and specifically Twitter--the biggest, fastest rising star among the many tools available in the social networking universe--we were able to give our members real-time updates on what was going on ... in 140-character (or fewer) increments.

This year's conference participants were quick to embrace social media. The buzz began weeks prior to conference-goers arriving in our nation's capital. Attendees, speakers and exhibitors introduced themselves and reached out to colleagues to find out more about travel plans and schedules.

Through hundreds of "tweets" sent over the course of the four days, attendees were able to share what they were hearing and seeing. As we hoped, our sessions were extremely lively right from the onset. Sitting on opposite sides of the political aisle, power couple Mary Matalin and James Carville, our keynote speakers, generated a flurry of tweets off the bat, and they continued through the closing session with social media maverick Arianna Huffington. The key points made by our breakout session presenters and panelists were also posted and available to Twitter users who followed the #LMA activity.

Thanks to LMA members and conference attendees Nancy Myrland and Lindsay Griffiths, who tweeted their way through the conference, the collection of tweets from various programs is available on LMA Connect. Go to the previous annual conference archive in...