UPDATE : I managed to get both of the wonderful EAA Glasgow social teams’ names wrong – I apologise profusely. Thank you to everyone for your interest!
The return journey from Glasgow to Fife was a lonely, empty one; I tried to keep up on twitter but the hastag #EAAGla was all but silent. The same hashtag that had been alive and well for the last four days was now showing the last few dribbles of conversations –the thank yous and see you agains. It felt very much as if the energy had been sapped away; but how did Twitter become so all-encompassing, how did it gain so much energy in the first place?
The first interactions with the social media team for EAA Glagsow 2015 primed the entire conference, from the start, there was a sense of authentic, earnest communication, often considered a rarity among “official accounts” of large organizations. Instead the amazing team of Kimm Curran and Christina Gilfedder set the cogs in motion for an engaged audience. I blame their insistence on my session having cake on the fact I went out to buy cake instead of preparing for my session (let me preface this, I did promise cake). On my first night in Glasgow I felt myself being led away by archaeologists for a pint, walking and chatting, I didn’t notice two figures across the road looking at me going into ‘the wrong pub’. After securing a drink I turn around and there stand before me are two women kitted out with social media hoodies, saying “Mr. Boyle, there you are” – oh dear, I’ve been in Glasgow 2 hours, how can I already be infamous? It soon came to light who stood before me – I was amazed that they had found and recognized me, that was something special.