The energy in the Orange County Convention Center has been building at a steady pace all morning. It is so great to be in the halls and see people greeting colleagues that they haven't seen since last year's conference! So far I've met people from the U.S., Korea, China, Denmark, Germany, England, Thailand, Taiwan, The Netherlands, Brazil, Portugal, Mongolia,... I think that's all, so far! The networking opportunities that the ASTD International Conference & Exposition provide are rich and rewarding.

And the learning is awesome!

As I type this I'm seeing a steady stream of tweets from people who are sharing what their learning in sessions with Marshall Goldsmith, the MilSpace community, and more. If you're on Twitter and are interested in the backchannel, be sure to search #ASTD2011 for conference related posts.

@BenjaminMcCall - the guy who is organizing the #ASTD Tweetup on Monday night was just in the Press Room (my home for the conference) to pick up his materials. It was like a little mini Tweetup - putting a real person to the Twitter Avatar!

Of course today is just a warm-up. Vendors are putting the finishing touches on their booths so they'll be ready when the EXPO doors open Monday morning.

A shout-out to my ASTD colleagues. One of the best parts of the conference, for us, is seeing how much a year's (or more) worth of hard work pays off in the faces of conference attendees. This is the time of year when it all comes together. The days are long, but the rewards are immeasurable!

So Kudos to the ASTD staff and volunteers that make it all possible and make it all happen.

And to our ASTD 2011 attendees -- Enjoy the learning!