I conferred recently with a couple of knowledgeable and accomplished scientists about a conference at which they hoped to reach a key audience. They had a wealth of information and details they hoped communicate with other decision-making professionals - literally reams of valuable information and science-based recommendations.

One of the first questions I asked was "what do you hope to achieve and, specifically, what do you want people to do as a result of attending your meeting."

The answer - "our goal is to deliver a substantive presentation."

In a live broadcast from The White House, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack discussed the America's Great Outdoors Initiative, specifically mentioning a DJ Case-produced web site - YouthGo.gov

I sat on the edge of my seat during a keynote address by Clay Shirky, NYU professor and author of Here Comes Everybody and Cognitive Surplus, at DrupalCon Chicago last week.

His talk centered largely on a theme from a quote by Mark Smith, Research Sociologist at Microsoft, who said that the history of civilization could be summed up in seven words: "More people pooling resources in new ways."

This fascinating and stunning video explores the importance of photography in conservation through contributions of 40 professional photographers.

As conservation professionals, we have the access to tremendous sights that few others have. We can connect our work - our heart-felt mission - to people through the things we see each day through photography. Consider the stunning, shocking, interesting and even mundane sights you encounter in your work. Capture them and use them to further your conservation programs.

I have seen otherwise spectacular projects get quickly filed away in our collective conservation minds because they were not well illustrated.