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Vicarious Blogging

I couldn’t go to BlogIndiana, so I sent someone in my place. In between academic research, I used Twitter to follow the action in Indianapolis.

There were many reasons to go to BlogIndiana, taking place yesterday and today on the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis, but one really great reason not to—I’m swamped. With various writing projects coinciding with the start of a new academic semester, my weekends have merged into my weekdays to form one long all-nighter.

Thanks to a tweet from organizer Noah Coffey that led to a winning contest entry on Indy.com, I won a free $49 ticket to the two-day event. When I couldn’t swing the time to head north, I recruited fellow IU School of Informatics student Jenny Brown Hertel to be a proxy by tweeting and blogging about the experience.

Tracking BlogIndiana on Twitscoop
Tracking BlogIndiana on TwitScoop

Besides Jenny, a few other Bloomington techies made the trip, too. Max Beatty and Sarah “Intellagirl” Robbins were both tweeting about the sessions they attended (or presented). I expect their blogs to have some analysis of BlogIndiana at some point in the near future.

Jenny posted two reports yesterday. The first was on the Blog Indiana Census, which I completed earlier this summer. If you are a local blogger, please fill it out. It is a great way to get a sense of the online activity in the region. Pictures are also available on Phototrade.

I have enjoyed following the action through the microblogging channel on Twitter. In addition to using Twitter search and Twitscoop, a feed Noah set up was displayed on site, prompting more Twitter activity from those in attendance. Mostly, I just watched my personal information stream.

From the perspective of our local Bloomington tweeters, here is how the day went:

Saturday at BlogIndiana 2008
Saturday at BlogIndiana 2008

Have a great second day of the conference. I hope to see some of you in a few weeks at Indianapolis Startup Weekend.

By Kevin Makice

A Ph.D student in informatics at Indiana University, Kevin is rich in spirit. He wrestles and reads with his kids, does a hilarious Christian Slater imitation and lights up his wife's days. He thinks deeply about many things, including but not limited to basketball, politics, microblogging, parenting, online communities, complex systems and design theory. He didn't, however, think up this profile.

1 reply on “Vicarious Blogging”

I agree a fun weekend, and great time to meet other Indiana bloggers. I was amazed at the diversity in this group, from developers to journalists, from graphics to humor and critique. Who says you have to be on a coast to find cutting edge?

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