The ICA conference was held in Phoenix – and this was the first time I have attended the conference. I was very impressed with the organization with the social media and mobile communication platforms for the conference. They had a great app that was very useful – you were able to create your own schedule, follow social media conversations among the attendees, and even had maps of the Sheraton facility so you knew where you needed to go for your presentation. Very cool!. 🙂
Plus, each division had their own hashtag, so the PR Division was #ica_pr and for the main conference #ica12. This really was great to be able to follow what teach division was discussing during their sessions and receptions.
I had two presentations at ICA – one was looking at some of the emerging specializations within crisis communications we need to be aware of with mobile technology like augmented reality, gamification,and crowd sourcing. This pre conference was very cool – I was the only person from PR and it was fascinating to hear insights about mobile communication from sociology, anthropology, and developers / practitioners in the area.
The other presentation was based off of my dissertation work at the University of Tennessee (aka “Bruce Lee” as my friends know my dissertation as – yes, I did name it! :)). This was presented in the PR Division. Both papers got good reception and it was exciting to hear everyone’s comments about the role of new emerging technologies being used in crisis communications.
I had a great time talking with not only fellow professors and colleagues, but also meeting some talented and rising stars among the graduate students. I had a chance to talk with a few graduate students from Oklahoma who are interested in new media within fundraising/damage repair (John) and the ELM implemented in Twitter (Adam). Geah (PhD student at University of South Carolina) presented her great research looking at how non-profits are using social media platforms with their work and how they are engaging their audiences virtually.
It was wonderful to catch up with friends and colleagues from across the US and world at the conference. For my first time at the conference, I really enjoyed my time and took away a lot in the process. The conference will be in London for 2013, so I am sure I will make sure to submit a research piece for the conference again. 🙂
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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