Jeff Pulver, the curator of 140conf has made this conference exploring the State of Now a national and international platform. Many of the talks are as inspirational as something you might hear at TED. Twitter and other social media tools play into the conversation however, they are only tools. You will be inspired to use these tools for your cause, for your business for managing your own reputation on-line. But this is not a "how-to" conference.

It is more about being inspired and creating relationships that will last well beyond your time at the conference.

140conf Los Angeles has grown into a Family. There are meet-ups and parties in between the annual conferences that allow the Family to gather together.  Family Members come from all over Southern California. They come from outside our region as well. There is that much value in hanging out with us.

What did I get out of the 140conf LA I participated in at the Kodak Theatre last year? Because of the spirit of camaraderie, it was very easy to meet people. Not just to exchange business cards, but to spark the beginning of a lasting relationship. The Los Angeles digerati are definitely here but so are people from out of town that I have not met yet.

As a social media marketing consultant, I advise my clients to attend because, being followed on Twitter by people of high influence raises their Twitter influence metrics.  As you may know, it is not the quantity of people that follow you on Twitter, it is the quality. I have been on Twitter since Dec 2007 so I benefit from the types of relationships formed easily "back in the day". For Twitter newbies, making these types of contacts IRL (in real life) is a great opportunity.

I also enjoyed some great presentations. You can see those on the 140conf site. Find #140conf on Twitter at the hashtag.

I go to every 140conf party I can when I am in Southern California. I regretted missing one Sept 15th but sent this video message from Kauai:

I plan to attend 140conf LA Oct 4-5 as well as 140conf NYC in April. 

Twitter can foster some great relationships and a sense of shared community - combining that spirit on and off line increases the value for you exponentially.