Last week, a coworker, who also attended the conference, and I sat down with the president and presented our ideas. He seemed very receptive with them, but about halfway through my list, he stopped me and told us that we needed to take these great ideas and turn them into a formal plan. I knew that it would require more than just an outline, but I should of known that a plan would of made things happen now instead of in a few weeks.

So now I will sit down and turn my outline of awesome ideas into a more formal plan with overviews and job assignments. With any luck, my coworkers will readily accept some new writing tasks. I really want my museum’s online presence to be relevant and interesting, not just hours and directions. I will tell you how things go in a few weeks.

Later that evening, I met up with a college friend for some free beer at Rock Bottom Brewery (they really give away one type of beer for a half-an-hour on Thursday, I must check if they do this in San Diego). After I finished my beer, I walked over to Marco’s Coal-Fire Pizza and enjoyed a great meal with some fellow Balboa Park employees. I met two others who graduated from high school in San Diego in 2000 (Best class ever). We finished off the night with a post-dinner Limoncello and then back to the hotel and bed.

Friday was a free-for-all. I walked around the exhibitors and gave them my business card in hopes of free iPad (and I must admit, after seeing a few in use, I kind of want one). However, the fun began with Banjo Billy’s Bus Tour of Denver. Nothing like riding around in a modified, wood-paneled bus with couches, recliners, and a saddle for seats. I really enjoyed the irreverent nature of the tour covering the crime, ghosts, and adultery of Denver’s past. Should I start a tour like this in San Diego? Maybe.

To see the other pictures I took on Banjo Billy’s Bus Tour, click here. For the video of the Couch of Death, click here.

That evening I enjoyed the Denver Museum of Nature and Science during the conferences big reception. After arriving fashionably late, I enjoyed some food and drinks with my fellow attendees. Later, we watched Galileo teach us how to be a scientist (which you can watch here) and then enjoyed a planetarium show on black holes. Afterward, while chatting with a new friend from Chicago, I rode the bus back to the hotel to enjoy a few drink with some Balboa Park folks. I called it an early night at 1 am and headed to bed.

On Saturday morning I woke up and headed to one last session on how to organize a website for the user. Then after a much-needed lunch it was off to the Social Media Circus to learn how other museums utilized social media. There I learned of the newest historical society, the Spinny Bar Historical Society. They started it and had it up in running in under 24 hours. They continue to grow as an organization we speak.

Later that evening, I enjoyed a barbecue with Jon Paul, his wife Sarah, their friend Sammer, and some new folks. After a long drive back thanks to an accident, I pack up my belongings and rested for the travel home.

I enjoyed the conference and hope to return next year in Philadelphia. Now how can I convince my boss to pay for it?

Day one started with a bumpy ride into the airport thanks to the wind. Even felt a little nauseous. Then after checking into my hotel room (which is about the half the size of my condo), I walked over to Coors Field to watch the Rockies destroy the Mets. I am hoping the Padres might be able to do the same to both teams.

You can see the rest of my Coors Field pictures here.

I spent Wednesday learning how to write a survey, but unfortunately did not learn about evaluating the data because we ran out of time. After lunch, I thought long and hard about my Museum’s social media strategy as I tried to pinpoint what our followers got out of it besides links back to our web page. Sorry, but no pictures of the workshops (plus they would be of me sitting in a chair listening, not that exciting).

Once the workshops concluded, we all headed over to the Denver Art Museum for some drinks and tiny pizza bites. I avoided the oysters. I just could not bring my self to try one. After that, I met up with some friends and enjoy a lovely Thai dinner. I ate an entree and enjoyed 2 drinks, and it only cost me $13. My bedtime came soon after.

Today is when the rest of the conference begins. The opening speech felt much like a Valedictorian explaining how we should move forward with our lives after graduation. A good speech, but since I am not at the top of the decision-making chain there was not much I could apply to my Museum work. However, I am now off to learn about how others are using the web and how I can apply that to my job.

As part of my current employment, I get to create videos for some of our special events. Here is the group launch from the Paper Airplane Festival (which I also coordinated).