There was a lull in the action at PingWi-Fi, so I slipped over to Dallas (actually Richardson) for some networking and a presentation on social media.

The speakers had HP and Dell Computers in their pedigrees, so I thought it was worth the petrol.

Man … I had not attended a Metroplex Technology Business Council meeting since about 2001 … back in the days when tech networking events in Dallas drew a couple of thousand geeks …

This gathering was a luncheon for more like 150 — and perhaps a little more senior management in pay grade, fashion and the hair color.

Not to worry … it was worth the drive for a little social media experiment of my own, along with new perspectives from the speakers. It didn’t matter if some members of the audience had checked out of the technology scene right after fax machines. There were also a few more who admittedly dabbled in LinkedIn … and yes, some of the younger fringe were Twitterites.

But … here’s the best thing. Not to be outdone by any high-tech group anywhere, the Metroplex Technology Business Council event featured two screens on either side of the podium. One displayed the speakers’ PowerPoint presentations and the other was for tweets to scroll on Twitter.com and Tweetdeck.

So, to acquaint the rest of the audience with Twitter, the emcee announced the designated hashtag for this event — so that everyone could label their tweets appropriately and participate in discussion. Instant interaction.

As for me … I smelled opportunity. Could I commandeer this presentation? Ooh-la-la!

Yes … I started posting off-the-wall comments on Twitter, and tagging them so they popped up on the screen during the presentation.

It was great fun, posting and looking around the room to see the bewildered looks …

And of course, no one could tell from whom the messages were coming. (My mug has sunglasses … incognito.) And no one really knew if someone should put a stop to tomfoolery.

It’s not that I posted anything too wild, but my messages were decidedly more guerilla than the other tweets that simply quoted the speakers verbatim.

So, picture an older audience — captive audience — taking notes furiously to learn about this new-fangled Twitter technology … and up pops my mug shot on the screen with this: “If you guessed chicken would be on menu today, you’re quite the clairvoyant.”

What the …?

The cliché chicken joke message on the screen for all to see was followed closely by my personal favorite: “Bring on the desert!”

And when a few more people tested the water, sending hash tag messages from their cell phones, I encouraged them: “Raise yo hand if you are tweeting.” Ha … no takers.

Don’t get me wrong. I was having fun but listening too. One of the speakers was raving about technology creating so many new ways to reach customers … I concurred, and up popped my message “YOU are my customers …”

And defending technology as a communications tool, one of the speakers encouraged everyone to try the new stuff and experiment.

“Ha … I am experimenting right now!” (I think I got a snicker on that one …)

Soon we reached the question-and-answer end to all presentations … and I couldn’t resist commenting on how so many people use the opportunity to ask a question, just to try to sell something to the rest of the audience. You’ve seen this. “That’s right buddy, go ahead ask a question just to build your brand!”

One question was about marketing messages that miss the mark, resulting in nothing but “silence” … quickly I assured the group “I am no stranger to silence” … I don’t think anyone but me was amused. But I would not give up.

In my defense, I was pecking out tweets with my iPhone … I must try this little exercise again with my trusty Dell or yes my HP laptops so the inner smart ass can flow more freely.

Last — Ha! — someone asked “… with fax machines, e-mail, LinkedIn, work, Twitter, FaceBook … how do you manage your time and balance it with a personal life?”.

Like any self-depreciating geek, I confessed to the group … on the big screen “What’s a personal life?”

Try this at your next convention … take the laptop and let the attitude flow. Soon I predict Twitter feeds at conferences will have a time delay and a traffic cop to weed out wiseacres — but not yet.

Know what I sayin?