The energy was alive, pulsating, and electric. That's what happens when 50 like-minded people gather to discuss HR and blogging. We discussed how we learn to use social media to disseminate a message, open the streams of communication, and transform the way we blog and thus communicate with our colleagues, employees and friends.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to interview the conference planners, presenters and a few of the guests. What I want to offer you is a flavor of the different perspectives of how our colleagues are using blogging and social media to meet their goals. I will be announcing future posts on twitter, but in the meantime, Trish McFarlane, Maren Hogan, Laurie Ruettimann have agreed to be interviewed for this blog. I hope to bring you many other viewpoints as well.

Friday, I arrived to find my room-mates Tammy Colson, and Jessica Miller-Merrill in the lobby. I was thrilled to finally put faces behind the names and the many tweets we've shared. The event was kicked off with a reception. The room was a-buzz with the enthusiasm of greeting and networking. People were so delighted to meet one another.

The day was broken down as follows: the opening session, "HR: Not Dead Yet," was led by the lovely Trish McFarlane, and Ben Eubanks. It was tough to choose which breakout sessions to attend. I chose to attend, "Beginner Blogging" led by Paul Hebert of i2i. I hope to interview Paul to further describe what we learned in future posts.

We saw a wonderful video featuring Alicia Arenas of Sanera. Alicia advised us by offering to keep in mind as we learned and embraced our day:

1) Curiosity
2) Honesty
3) Commitment

Allow the spirit of curiosity to guide your open mind to be like a sponge and soak in new ideas. Be honest with yourself and other. She stressed the importance of commitment. I plan to deepen my relationships by engaging with fellow participants on a whole new level.
In the afternoon, I attended Steve Boese's session "Web 2.0 for HR." Steve and @HR_Minon broadcasted HR Happy Hour live during lunch. This was followed by "The Future of HR," facilitated by Mark Stelzner, who wrapped up our day. My tweet from that session :

"Is this is a grassroots HR uprising, asks @stelzner DO NOTHING is not an option-moving fwd HR is changing. R We obsessed w/change I wonder?"
3:31 PM Nov 7th from UberTwitter

After the session we dined, and danced the night away.
Louisville is such a gracious, classy town. The city welcomed us with web postings, and Stephan Johnson, a reporter from the local Fox affiliate did a story about our "unconference," that was discussed by their news anchors. Who knew what started one tweet from Trish McFarlane would blossom into an incredible meeting of the minds with thought leaders in our industry.

I cannot end this post without thanking the conference sponsors Monster,com @ewmonster, who is not only a great dancer, he's one of the funniest men I've ever met. Monster treated us to wonderful gifts, and goodies. One of my favorite Eric quotes came out in this tweet:
"I must exclaim @ewmonster/s passion, and love for his work inspires me #hrevolution he recommends "buck up-get a spreadsheet."
3:42 PM Nov 7th from UberTwitter

I loved meeting @LoisMelbourne, of Acquire, Inc. The tweetup was sponsored by Nobscot Corporation. I also met Crystal Peterson, unconference planner and sponsor from Doe Anderson. I also had the pleasure of meeting Lyn Hoyt of Fusion Frames who also a sponsor . While I did not meet Alicia Arenas from Sanera, I am grateful to her for making this a special experience for us all.