Comments on: The two best alternatives to Twitter as a presentation backchannel

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:16:39 +0000

Thank you Joe for your insights. The anonymity issue is a tricky one. I agree with you that Twitter does add a degree of accountability, and I think Ellen Finkelstein (in the comments above) also has some good points about how sometimes anonymity is useful.

Regarding the conference audience versus broader audience, both TodaysMeet and BackNoise now have Twitter integration, so it’s not so much of an issue. People who want their wider following to see their tweets can use Twitter and those tweets will be pulled into the TodaysMeet or BackNoise channel.

Olivia

By: Joe McCarthy

Joe McCarthy — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:43:21 +0000

These seem like interesting and potentially useful tools. Your point about Twitter haves and have-nots is an important one, but I think it cuts both ways. I have seen far less snarkiness on Twitter “backchannels” in a conference setting than I used to see with relatively more anonymous tools such as IRC (where you can choose a different ‘nick’ every time you login). I suppose people could use different Twitter accounts for snarky and non-snarky tweets, but believe that the way that many tweeters identify with (and through) their Twitter accounts adds a level of accountability that may not be present in lighter-weight tools.

The point about tweeting to / for other conference attendees vs. tweeting to a broader audience is a good one, too … but I do wonder whether those who have / care about a significant following would want to abandon their followers in the use of a tool in which their 140 (or 400) character insightful comments would only be available to a smaller, more local audience. I.e., audience cuts both ways …

By: Ellen Finkelstein

Ellen Finkelstein — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:48:03 +0000

Olivia,
Feedback is often anonymous. For example, at a conference, attendees fill out feedback forms after each session and they’re always anonymous. When a speaker hands out a feedback form, there’s always the option to keep it anonymous. And many people (like me) have difficulty giving any negative feedback to a person face to face.

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:13:24 +0000

That’s a great idea – thank you.
Olivia

By: Twitter_Tips

Twitter_Tips — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:17:00 +0000

To avoid overwhelm, set up a Twitter account that everyone writes to. That way only the followers of that account or the readers of the accumulated feed will see the conference tweets.

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:14:06 +0000

Hi Ellen
Thank you for your willingness to be open. It’s interesting that we’re more willing to give negative feedback when it’s anonymous. And I can see why that would be helpful in the situation you describe.

It does raise some questions about how we use these tools. A while back I suggested that we should only tweet what we would be willing to say face to face. But your comment suggests that it’s actually useful to have spaces where we can be anonymous to give feedback. I don’t have any answers to these conundrums – just asking the questions.
Olivia

By: Ellen Finkelstein

Ellen Finkelstein — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:03:24 +0000

I tried both ways (anonymous and via Twitter). But anonymity gave me the option of making a more negative comment in another session. Among people you know, that’s helpful. Even then I was gentle — I’m not a flamer and like to be constructive — but I probably wouldn’t have made the comment without the anonymity. Of course, it can be misused, as we’ve seen at some recent conferences.

By: Olivia Mitchell

Olivia Mitchell — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:05:18 +0000

Hi Ellen
I’d love to hear more about how it worked. What was it about the anonymity that you liked?

I’m very much looking forward to Cliff’s book coming out on 27 November – it’s at the top of my book list in the right sidebar .

Olivia

By: Ellen Finkelstein

Ellen Finkelstein — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:20:56 +0000

Olivia,
I’ve used BackNoise and really like the anonymous feature. Twitter integration made it much more useful. By the way, Cliff Atkinson is coming out with a book, called (I think) The Back Channel. He told us about BackNoise at PPTLive and I used it during his session.