Do you never miss the weekly #assnchat conversation on Twitter? Then you might be an association nerd. Don’t fight it; embrace it.

Learn some of the common characteristics of association nerds, and more, in today’s Social Media Roundup.

Keep Calm And Be A Nerd

Ever wondered if you were an association nerd? Here's the checklist to know for sure! http://t.co/HAE2VyMlxh #assnchat

— kikilitalien (@kikilitalien) July 2, 2013

The world of associations is a vibrant community of people who devote their professional lives to their organizations. In her latest blog post, Kiki L’Italien tells how, over the span of a decade, she grew to love associations and turned into an association nerd. She describes many characteristics of the type, but one that truly brings the community together are the weekly social media chats. (L’Italien hosts #assnchat each week.) Though, that said, the last one is pretty spot-on, too: “You still haven’t managed to explain to your family what you do for a living.” (ht @kikilitalien)

Less Control vs. More Freedom

Do conference participants want less control? #eventprofs #assnchat #mpi #pcma http://t.co/FIrHHathZB via @ASegar

— Executive Oasis International – Team Building (@executiveoasis) July 2, 2013

Try building your event around what the audience really wants. In this day and age, as content creation merges with audience engagement, more organizations might want to consider giving participants more freedom. Instead of taking control away, author Adrian Segar suggests, try giving attendees options: “In my experience most conference attendees, when given the power to determine what they wish to experience at an event, relish the opportunity. The tragedy is that still so few meetings these days allow attendees to make this choice.” Segar believes conferences that don’t take into account what attendees want are not maximizing the potential impact of audience engagement. (ht @executiveoasis)

What role do attendees play in your conference programming? Let us know in the comments.

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