Twitter to Add Digital Engagement to the Exchange

The Emerson Global Users Exchange is built on the open exchange of information, facilitated by content-rich sessions and connection-rich networking. This year, Exchange organizers are excited to announce that they're leveraging social media tools, notably the Twitter microblogging platform, to add a layer of digital interactivity onto the already fertile interactions of the Exchange.

How might Twitter enhance your Emerson Exchange experience? Imagine, for example, you need to contact someone in attendance whose cell number you don't have. Or, you'd like to know what others in the audience think of a particular presentation. Or, you'd like to set up an impromptu meeting place for a particular group of Exchange attendees.

New to Twitter? Stop by the Twitter Station near Registration and the Cyber Café for help in setting up your Twitter account. The folks there can also assist you in making your mobile phone or PC "tweet-ready."Twitter can help with all of these scenarios. At its most basic, Twitter is sort of a group instant-messaging platform, with messages limited to 140 characters. People can choose to "follow" one another, meaning they get notified of the "tweets" of those they follow, either via an Internet-connected PC or, increasingly, their mobile phones. A number of known active twitterers, including Emerson folks and several of the trade media, are in attendance, and following them, as well as the Emerson Exchange Twitter "personality," @EmersonExchange, is a good place to start. Other active twitterers to try on for size: @JimCahill, @DebFranke, @MikeBoudreaux, @WaltBoyes, @GaryMintchell and @KeithLarson.

What makes Twitter particularly powerful in the context of the Exchange is the ability to not only follow people, but to follow topics via "hashtags" embedded within tweets. In short, the global stream of tweets around the world can be narrowed to only those containing, in this case, the series of characters #EMRex. So, even if you're not following all the twitterers at the Exchange, you can find others who are talking about Exchange, see what they're saying and perhaps choose to follow them directly. And in various locations around the conference, you'll see large displays that are tuned into this hashtag. What you'll see is a real-time display of tweets about the Exchange from conference attendees—and even comments from folks who aren't here, but following developments from afar.

Several presentations scheduled for this week even plan to use a dedicated hashtag and a large, real-time Twitter projection in the session room. The idea is that presenters and session participants can view what comments are being made via Twitter, and the presenters can even redirect the presentation based on the tweets being posted:

• Tune into hashtag #DebJim for Jim Cahill and Deb Franke's presentation: "Game Changers: How to Thrive in Chaos." Time and physical locations for this productivity-enhancing presentation are Tuesday, 10 a.m. in Sun 3; and Thursday, 11 a.m. in Miami 2.
• Follow hashtag #EMRexSIS for Mike Boudreaux's "DeltaV SIS Product Update," to be held Wednesday, 8 a.m. in Destin 2.
• To follow Rune Reppenhagen's presentation on how DeltaV InSight improves plant-performance and loop-monitoring capabilities at large process plants, follow hashtag #Rune. His physical presentation is scheduled for Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. in Sanibel 3.

Visit the Twitter Station to Get Started

All this may sound daunting, but it's really not that hard. And to help make things even easier, a Twitter Station has been set up by Registration and the Cyber Café. Stop by for help in setting up your PC or phone for Twitter access and get a more detailed guide on Twitter etiquette.

Twitter Station Hours

• Monday        11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Tuesday         7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Wednesday   7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Thursday       7 a.m. to 5 p.m.