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Scott, I didn't attend the tech conference this year, nor do I use Twitter. But let me take this in a slightly different direction. Let me respond to your question with a question:

Put on an objective hat and pretend you weren't there. Then go read your blog post that collected random Twitter tweets from a 30-minute period. Then go read Maddie Grant's blog post that gathered her total tweets from the technology conference.

So the question is, at what point in reading these random statements did you say to yourself, "Man, I really want to attend this conference next year"? (The answer for me was, at no point.)

Look, there's no doubt that a lot of people who use Twitter really love it. They get something out of it. So more power to them. They connect, they chat, they whatever.

But does that mean the association itself should be making Twitter some sort of prioritized part of its experience for everyone? Just because some people like it, does it really matter that much to the meeting organizer? Be glad that people are conversing and using your event as a reason to hold that conversation. But to what extent should the association make some sort of effort (requiring time and time is money) to bring Twitter into the experience for everyone even if they don't know or like Twitter?

I'll use an example: it's like hospitality suites or supplier-sponsored parties at some association events. These happen at a lot of conferences. In a lot of cases, they are invitation only. So a minority of people at the conference are either invited or choose to go to any particular party. To the people who go, the party becomes an integral part of their conference experience -- even though the association had little or nothing to do with it. (Trust me, some of my most memorable experiences at ASAE meetings were not produced or sponsored or in any way connected to ASAE.)

I would suggest that Twitter and stuff like that are similar sorts of things. The fact that some attendees really like it and "get it" really has little to do with the event itself, or the association that sponsors it, and won't ultimately play much of a sustainable role in the future growth of the event or the association. It's just one more channel for people to connect, so it's not a bad thing -- but let's not make it a bigger deal than it really is.

The disappointing thing is that blog posts had, in my opinion, a better chance of promoting future attendance and engagement than 140-character Twitter messages. But, as you point out, the tech conference is a good example of the fact that blog posts may have gone past their prime and been replaced by much-easier-to-write (though less interesting to read) twits.

But, oh well. I don't think associations should really care one way or the other -- since generally speaking our job is neither to write blog posts nor text Twitter tweets. Let's not get too enamored of any specific tools. They will all come and go.

my blog is quite connected to my twitter - twitter saves trivia from my blog and my blog lets me blog the bigger picture for posterity.

Kevin,

Was the point of Twittering at the conference to get people to come to the next conference, or to maximize the value of attendance while you were there?

Personally, I think it was the latter. Having never twittered(?) before, I signed up mostly out of curiosity... and what I found was a significantly better conference experience!

From my perspective, I got to gather nuggets from other sessions in real-time, network with new contacts, learn what people were thinking about during sessions, and have a personal resource to return to after the conference. Granted, to the outsider it may have been gibberish... but for the insider, it was heaven. Even logistical notes, like when the session was delayed due to weather, meant I had 10 more minutes to network instead of go and sit down. Yes, it's just another tool to connect... but this implementation of this tool was for me, highly effective.

Scott - back to your question, the reason I'm drawn to twitter over blogs and other technology is that the time required to participate is so much lower. During the conference, it was so easy to write one sentence, quote a speaker, respond to someone else's thoughts - it was like a conversation... where blogs, wikis, and other communication tools feel like they have a higher bar of knowledge sharing to aspire to, twittering makes it possible to informally share thoughts on the fly.

I believe it goes back to understanding your users, but also opening up and being creative in your use of the communication tools available to you. I think you have everything to gain by trying it.

I tweeted during the conference (and enjoyed following others), but then I did my analysis in a blog post after the conference. So I think it's a both/and. I've never seen Twitter as competition for blogs. They serve different purposes in my opinion. Then again, I was never a fan of live-blogging anyway. I needed the time to digest, so twitter works fine for me in staying in tune with the pulse of other attendees.