Key findings:

• Social media data offers a rich source of information to understand the effects of events on networking.
• Attending events is associated with a much higher rate of growth in Twitter connections among event participants than with people outside the event.
• Many of the connections formed at events are between people who already have a mutual connection on Twitter, indicating that they are more likely to have met in the longer-term.
• However, there are also connections between people that are further apart in the Twitter network before the event. This is particularly true for international connections.
• Within conferences one can see social networking behaviour consistent with commercial incentives e.g. consultants connecting with potential clients (but not with each other), or people connecting along language lines.