Twitter is a friendly personable way to communicate in short concise messages, and that is exactly what Jeff Pulver has done with 140 characters conference, or #140conf. #140conf is a fast paced social media conference that cuts out all of the filler and encourages hugs over handshakes. Speakers only have 10 or 15 minutes and no power-point which forces them to get straight to the point.

I attended #140conf small town in Hutchinson, KS. I went prepared to take rigorous notes but it turned out I was not at all prepared. The presentations are so fast that if you take notes you will miss something. However, this isn’t a bad thing. Even though it’s only a 10 minute speech you still retain the important information, you just don’t waste time trying to remember the “other” stuff.

This is a conceptual conference. Rather than leaving with a bunch of tips, tools, and systems, I left with a bunch of ideas, concepts, and connections. These resources are more valuable because they inspire thoughts that lead to comprehension and understanding. There were topics ranging from networking on the farm to reconnecting with long lost family. Through the wide range of speakers I was able to see the same networks and technology I use every day from many different perspectives.

The hands down show stealer was Kevin Honeycutt. His presentation Educators and the Real Time Web was electric and inspiring. I can’t explain it so I recommended watching it:

There were about 250 people attending the conference and even more than that watching the live stream online. As I was giving my presentation on creating micro communities on Twitter I had individuals from those micro-communities cheering me on from their homes and offices. I’m grateful that 140 conference small town gave me the opportunity to share my voice. I’m even more grateful that they gave so many other wonderful people an opportunity to share their voice with me.