Source: http://nuclearabolitionist.blogspot.com/2009/07/putting-genie-back-...

I was at a high profile networking event this past Wednesday here in San Diego. The speaker was a venture capitalist who was incredibly forthright about the state of his industry and the lack of liquidity within it. It became clear to anyone in the room that this man was wickedly smart.

I wish I could say the same for the moderator.

About halfway through the talk he announced to the room how much he appreciated his guest's candor and reasoned his willingness to do so in part because he told him that the audience would not blog or tweet about his statements nor could he expect any press coverage from it. He obviously didn't talk to me or anyone else in charge of securing such interest. For if he did, he would have known that there were four reporters in the room.

Furthermore, you can't expect 450 people NOT to keep the public information for themselves. What's more, any networking organization would want just the opposite, and instead encourage those in attendance tell their colleagues all about what they missed in the hope that they will come out for the next event.

This incident is a classic case of how futile it is to essentially "put the genie back in the bottle." The near ubiquitous state of bloggers and online media outlets makes any business forum and the information presented within just that - open for public consumption. What's more, social media platforms like Twitter have the power to make any public event accessible in near real time to interested individuals from all over the world.

So for anyone moderating an industry event in the near future, I would take this example to heart - be sure that you and your guests on stage treat their presentation at an official function the same was as they would be interested on a cable news channel - they have the distinct ability to have their comments broadcasted around the globe.