Not going to the National SHRM Conference in New Orleans this year?  Kind of bitter about it? Yeah, me too.

But rest assured, there are still ways to get involved in this years conference from the desks at which we sit.  Here are five ways for you to socialize at SHRM with the help of social media tools.

1)   Follow the #SHRM09 hashtag on Twitter.  Close your eyes.  Picture yourself on the expo floor in New Orleans and being able to hear and participate in every conversation around you.  That's what you can do by following this hashtag.  #SHRM09 will capture all the conversation about the national conference.  Simply go to http://search.twitter.com and you'll be able to see these SHRM '09 comments in real time.

2)  Watch the HR Bloggers concurrent session streamed live on Wednesday, July 1 at 11:30 a.m. CDT.  You can find these sessions at:

               * www.punkrockhr.com

               * www.yourhrguy.com

               *www.fistfuloftalent.com

               * www.hrcapitalist.com

3) Get on Twitter. A lot of the conversation happening out in New Orleans will be around the notion of social recruiting.  Use this time at the office to get on Twitter and learn about what all the hype is about.  If you need help getting started, I'm sitting at the office and would love to answer any questions.  You can find our Meebo chat on our brand new Jobing.com Social Media Solutions page at http://phoenix.jobing.com/socialmedia.  Or you can check out some Twitter tutorials done by Michael Long (aka @theredrecruiter) http://www.redrecruiting.com/work-with-red/twitter-training/

4) Watch the full Jack Welch opening keynote speech starting on Monday, June 29 at www.shrm.org (For SHRM Members only)

5) Check in daily to SHRM Online at www.shrm.org and to the Annual Conference blog at http://blogs.shrm.org/annual-conference-2009/

SHRM has never streamed anything live before and they've never made one of their keynote speeches available online before.  In the words of SHRM COO China Gorman, "These are challenging times for our members and we know that if they could be here they would!  We're thrilled to provide a little "taste" of New Orleans for our members who won't be joining us."

Brett Farmiloe loves New Orleans and wishes he could be at the SHRM conference this year.  Instead, he'll pass the time consulting with small and medium sized businesses on how to strengthen recruitment strategies with Jobing.com Social Media Solutions.