Yesterday morning, I asked my Twitter pals to drop me a line if they were planning to attend next week’s Enterprise 2.0 Conference in Boston.

Alicia Staley answered the call.

Alicia is the executive director of the nascent Staley Foundation, which raises money for Boston’s Tufts Medical Center. She’s also one of the countless business professionals who’s grappling with the critical challenges of implementing social media tools inside the enterprise.

Alicia agreed to share some of her thinking on that topic with me, as she prepares to attend Enterprise 2.0 and learn plenty more.

Bryan Person: I see by way of your Twitter profile that you have a new blog. Is this your first blog, or have you done others?

Alicia Staley: Yes, I just launched my first blog – AwesomeCancerSurvivor.com. It’s my first real effort to establish myself online and share my stories. My blog was created to establish a community of followers for my foundation, which will have its first official kickoff in October 2008. The blog will help track [the foundation's] progress on a personal level.

BP: Why are you attending the Enterprise 2.0 Conference? What are you hoping to get out of the event?

AS: I’m attending the conference to see if there’s any tools/ideas that we’re not leveraging within my foundation. I’m trying to develop a better understanding on how enterprise 2.0 might influence the development of strategies and use of tools within my foundation. I’m hoping to see some examples of how other organizations have structured themselves to incorporate social tools in the workplace.

BP: Any sessions, presentations, or keynotes that have caught your eye?

AS: I’m very interested in attending:

• “Social Media and the Enterprise”
• “Enterprise 2.0 Tools: A Critical Evaluation”
• “Power to the People: Driving Business Innovation Through Communities”
• “Realizing Business Value with Enterprise 2.0 Solutions”

[Editor's note: See session descriptions on the E2 conference schedule page.]

BP: You’re a regular Twitter user. Do you see applications for microblogging within the enterprise?

AS: I got started on Twitter about two months ago. I initially joined thinking it would be a fun way to keep in touch with some of my friends. After a few days, I saw an immediate benefit in building out my network for my cancer foundation. In a short period of time, I’ve connected with cancer survivors all over the US. It’s really amazing to me. Now I’m looking to see how Twitter might help out in an enterprise sense. I’m not quite sure how it would apply yet to my foundation, but I’m hoping the conference would clear that up.

BP: Do you have any best tips or tactics you can share on how to prepare oneself to attend a conference like Enterprise 2.0?

AS: I review all the conference tracks and sessions. For each session that sounds interesting, I research the background of the main speakers. I also try to research companies that I haven’t heard of before reading the conference materials. I like to have a good sense as to who will be there, who’s presenting, what companies have an interest in the conference topics.

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I’m planning to attend at least part of Enterprise 2.0 next week, and I’ll report back on what I’m seeing and hearing.

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