The #Convio09 Summit has come and passed, and one thing was for sure - this year's nonprofit technology conference was bigger and better than ever!

And now that the dust has settled and the turkey has had time to digest, I've had time to sit down and reflect on some of my top favorite highlights from this year's event.

1. Nonprofit Live TV. This year, the conference featured videos live from the floor of the event highlighting the experts and thought leaders in attendance. If you haven't checked out the videos, there's something there for everyone. From fundraising and volunteering, to donor management and website redesigns. My personal fave? Well, Social Media for Social Good of course with Carie Lewis from the Humane Society and Matthew Mahan from Facebook Causes (recently reposted to spell Matthew's name correctly : )

2. Hands-on Workshops for attendees. Conference sessions are always great and full of tons of information. But taking what you learned in an hour and using it for real world application is a challenge. With 3-hour workshops this year, attendees were able to not only hear speakers present on useful applications, but were able to work hand-in-hand with other attendees to brainstorm, write plans, fill out personal worksheets to help their organization and walk away with a real source of help when they return to the office.

3. A heart-felt and truly amazing keynote speaker. If you didn't have the chance to hear Gilbert Tuhabonye speak firsthand, here's a short interview with him on Nonprofit Live TV, as well as a link to his organization's site - Gilbert's Gazelles.

4. The rise in the use of social media at the conference. While many questions remain around social media by nonprofits, the personal use of these tools at the conference was leaps and bounds ahead of where it was last year. Just take a look at a Twemes search for the #convio09 hashtag to get a feel for the all social media fun happening from the floor of the event.

5. The incredible learning and education at the event. Three days of workshops, sessions, networking events and yes, BBQ from the Salt Lick (shout out to NTEN's Brett Meyer and his mad eating skills), left attendees ready to put their new learnings to action. Our friends at See3 took amazing video from the event to chronicle what folks learned, what they were excited about and what they were taking away from the conference. Day two of had an Introduction video and covered attendees reactions from the floor. And the final day's reflection video (below) highlights some of the keys takeaways from people who attended.

 Thanks everyone for another amazing Summit!