With four wide screens continuously broadcasting clips from the daily NECA Newscast from San Diego, ElectricTV stories, Chuck Fazio’s incredible photos of events and people from around the trade show and convention on Flickr, plus everyone who uses Twitter with the hashtag #NECA11, the Social Media Wall has been a gathering place to get the latest information about events, 140-character Tweets on sessions, and special deals from NECA Show exhibitors.

I live-tweeted some of my favorite quotes from Closing General Session keynote speaker Steve Farber from this morning’s session, and within a hour, the extreme leadership guru himself was following my Twitter account. He has multiple bestselling books. I … don’t (yet). But in the world of social media, we were able to connect and follow each other’s 140-character musings. That’s the power of social media. And I hope everyone who’s tagged a Facebook photo, added a wall post, or watched the San Diego Newscasts on YouTube enjoys the same sense of connection to their industry as I have this year.

Let us know how you’ve used social media at NECA 2011 San Diego in the comments below!

Today was NECA first-ever Energy Forum, and it was non-stop action.

If you’re using social media (and who isn’t these days?) and you want to connect with fellow attendees and vendors – follow all the action by becoming and fan, liking wall posts and tagging photos at facebook.com/necaconvention. People who prefer to communicate in 140 characters can get short updated on Twitter - @necanet and @necaconvention. Mark your tweets from San Diego with the hastag #NECA11 and watch them scroll on the Social Media Wall on the NECA Show floor. You can also catch up on event recaps and photos from our blog on the Social Media Wall, too.

And of course, feel free to leave your comments and links on this blog, too. Thanks so much to everyone who’s joined us here in San Diego. Your support of this event means a lot to our industry and NECA, and I hope you’re looking forward to everything we have planned. You can tune into our daily NECA Newscast from San Diego broadcast of events on your hotel television, but nothing beats getting out there yourself.  So, enjoy the San Diego sunshine, and I’ll see you at the convention center! To those who couldn’t make it here, we’ll try to bring as much of the action to you right here!

The easiest way to connect with your fellow NECA contractors and convention-goers fits right in the palm of your hand. Use your smartphone, iPad, Android, or tablet device and keep the conversation going!

Use #NECA11 to tweet your San Diego experiences! Win prizes – 2011 San Diego exhibitors tweet exclusive offers, don’t miss out!

@necanet

@necaconvention

Become a fan — stay up-to-date with your interests in NECA:

Association news and Industry Updates /NECAnet

Women of the Industry Exclusive — Network with peers and plan for the 2012 Summit in Chicago, IL! /NECAWPG

Charlie Trout’s CQD, NEC® updates and more! /NECANEIS

Get a jump on NECA 2012 Las Vegas! /NECAConvention

New emerging markets, technology, and project success stories /NECAEnergySolutions

Student exclusive! Network with classmates, and prepare for the 2012 Green Energy Challenge! /NECAStudentChapters

Want to see photos from San Diego and year’s past? View NECA’s Flickr feed at Flickr.com/necanet

Watch a daily digest of video recaps, live from San Diego on YouTube!

Missed a session, technical workshop or just can’t get enough of NECA 2011 San Diego? Read daily posts and exclusive interviews right here on the exclusive blog!

Here is a helpful step-by-step guide on Social Media, how to get started and what to do – download it now!

For more information on NECA in Social Media, visit our website.

NECA 2009 Seattle closed out on Tuesday with an awesome performance by Cirque Dreams at McCaw Hall. There were lots of “ooo’s and ahhh’s” and spontaneous applause during their gravity-defying feats and high-energy performance.

Thanks to all the NECA members and chapters who joined us in Seattle and on the NECA Convention blog this year. But don’t take us off your RSS or Twitter feed just yet! We’ll have more video and photos from Seattle, along with copies of presentations for downloading. Don’t forget to retrieve your CEU certificate either!

If you have any questions about anything we covered in the NECA 2009 Seattle blog, you can always reach me by email. And check out the new site we’ve already launched for NECA 2010 Boston, Oct. 2-5, 2010.

[To answer the question, “what is that group of words thing over there in the right column?” That’s called a “tag cloud” and it’s generated by the “tags” or keywords we assign to each post. As more posts with certain tags are written, that tag shows up as bigger within the cloud, so you can tell at a glance what we’ve written about the most.]

Please click on “Share your thoughts” and tell us your favorite part of NECA 2009 Seattle! Thanks for helping us make it a great event!

Couldn’t make it to Seattle? Check out over 100 products in the virtual New and Featured Product Room online. Ginger Wilson is also tweeting some of the exhibitors that catch her eye on twitter.com/NECAConvention. Subscribe to her tweets today — she gets the first scope on cool prize giveaways at the booths, but you need to be on Twitter first!