One of the latest developments to our events was the Big Screen. This web-based application allows us to update event information on our projectors and other devices around the building quickly as well as allowing for the display of dynamic information such as game server live queries.

After listening to feedback from previous events, participants have been looking for ways to communicate their messages to others such as free slots in a game (what happened to old fashioned LAN shouting?). So we've added a new feature to the Big Screen app which allows people to post messages to slides via Twitter using a set hashtag for each event. The application will then monitor those hashtags and display the messages (with some filtering options to limit abuse).

Anybody can view the messages using either the Big Screens, or because the system is web based, you can open your own local copy of the screen on your PC, laptop, phone, netbook etc. You will need a registered Twitter account to post messages to the screen, and avid Twitter users can of course use tools such as TweetDeck to monitor the hashtags locally too.