I attended executive education provider and event organizer HSM’s World Innovation Forum 2009 (WIF09) as a virtual attendee and followed a minimum of 20 leading innovation bloggers sharing real-time thoughts, insights and opinions from the event through their blogs and Twitter accounts. Pitney Bowes sponsored a WIF Bloggers Hub for pre-registered bloggers and Tweeps and Twitter Kiosks.

I questioned several of the bloggers about the logistics and physical setup of the Bloggers Hub, and was impressed with their insight.

Here are eight meeting planning tips I learned from WIF09 on how to make your next event blog and Twitter friendly.

1. Identify your goals for a bloggers’ hub. Is your goal to have bloggers and Tweeps interacting with virtual attendees? Is it to provide journalists with a place to take notes and create new blog posts? Is it to get your conference topic or hashtag in Twitter Trends? Is it to provide leading bloggers and Tweeps the ability to share their insights, thoughts and opinions in real time?

2. Decide how you’ll measure the success of your blogger hub. Will it be based on the number of blog posts about your conference? Will it be the number of times your conference hashtag is mentioned in Twitter?

3. Designate a separate seating area in the main general session room for bloggers and Tweeps that’s close to the stage yet isn’t an obstruction for other attendees. WIF09 provided a second level in the main theatre for their Bloggers Hub. It was visible to all, yet provided some nice amenities for those tweeting and blogging about the conference.

4. Provide plenty of electrical outlets for the bloggers’ laptops.With the rise of laptops at conventions and events, wall outlets aren’t usually enough. If you have 10 bloggers, they’ll each need their own electrical connection.

5. In addition to electrical outlets, provide small cocktail tables, seats and light. Often meeting planners dim the lights during general sessions, but your bloggers and Tweeps need the extra light to see their keyboards.

6. Ensure that your bloggers’ hub has ample WiFi access. You may need to purchase additional WiFi access so that your bloggers can easily access the Internet. You’ll want to provide as much dedicated wireless signal as possible to ensure adequate bandwidth.

7. Set-up a Twitter kiosk in the pre-convene and trade show areas. Using LCD projectors, laptops connected to the Internet and Twitter and large screens, project the Twitter stream showing your hashtag for all to see. You can also have staff stationed at the kiosk to teach others how to use Twitter.

8. Provide a remote participation guide.Here’s an example that WIF09 blogger Stuart Miniman put together for virtual attendees like me (http://www.slideshare.net/stuminiman/remote-participation-guide-for-world-innovation-forum-09?type=powerpoint).

I was amazed at the content coming from the conference and the willingness of these bloggers to engage in conversation with me during the presentations. I could ask questions, ask for clarification and engage in differences of opinion. My experience at WIF09 was very different from those who were on-site and enriched in a very unique way.

Jeff Hurt is Director of Education & Engagement at Velvet Chainsaw Consulting. Visit his blog at http://jeffhurtblog.com/.