Considering all the wasted paper and materials generated by many conferences, it was inspiring to hear about last month's BlogPhiladelphia event, an “unconference” that went out of its way to be as “green” as possible.

The gathering of more than 200 bloggers, consumer-generated media gurus and novices did the obvious, like provide recycling bins around the main ballroom. But it also took extra steps, like collecting food waste to compost; offering participants tap water and glasses instead of bottles; laying out reusable china and cloth napkins; using materials left over from other events for giveaway bags made of recycled paper; and loading press materials on reusable USB jump drives instead of giving out paper press kits.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp., which co-sponsored the event, is no stranger to social media. The GPTMC offers free podcast tours of the city (SoundAboutPhilly.com); a citizen journalist blog with social bookmarking links (uwishunu.com); a Web TV series (“Cheap Dates”); a social networking Web page (myspace.com/uwishunu); interactive Google maps with text technology (gophila.com/byobmap); and other tools, such as RSS feeds and customizable itineraries on gophila.com.