The annual conference of the National Communication Association is typically a whirlwind of thought-provoking formal sessions and informal discussions. This year was no exception.

I began this conference with a 5.14 mile run, complete with a beautiful view of Sunday’s sunrise (at right). My run took me down Market Street to the bay, around the Embarcadero to Fisherman’s Wharf, and then up the famed Frisco hills through North Beach and Chinatown. As I made my way downhill, back to Union Square, my sprint took on a whole new pace.

I decided to blog in real time about the conference, a task which I truly enjoyed. I typically return from conferences a full legal pad of notes. This year, my virtual legal pad proved so much more effective both from an archival perspective and an information-sharing one.

On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, I attended numerous sessions, many of which are documented on this site. Some of the highlights included Dr. David Zarefsky’s keynote address, ‘The State of the Communication Discipline”; a lively session about the need for social media in public relations education; a panel of respected authors discussing potential theories for social media research; and GIFTS and Scholar-to-Scholar sessions about the scholarship of teaching and learning.

The culture of this conference is one of open communication. Each year, I informally meet (and sometimes dine with) talented scholars whose work I have read and encountered in my own research or on Twitter. I see old friends, former professors, and current mentors. And, I enjoy the company of my colleagues attending from my own school.

Thanks to all of you who made this conference an enjoyable one. Thanks also to those who read, commented, shared, and tweeted about my writing. I hope you continue to find this site a rich resource for your own work.

See you next year in New Orleans.