ONA08, the Online News Association’s national conference, has launched several sites online, where you can connect with others who will be in Washington, in person or in avatar, next week.

There’s:

• A Twitter feed that’s the “control tower” for all things ONA08 online

• An embeddable Twitter widget that collects all tweets tagged @ONA08 and #ONA08
• A pre-conference podcast series (RSS feed | iTunes subscription)
• A public bulletin board for discussing panels and workshops, arranging meetings, and making last-minute announcements
• A conference-focused Facebook group
• And the ONA08 conference homepage, where you’ll find on-the-scene reports about ONA08 produced by the very talented student newsroom.

My team, the ONA08 Social Media Subcommittee, wants to make ONA08 as much about community as it is about industry. I hope you’ll join the conference online and in person. And if you want to get a hold of me, send me a message or reach me on Twitter.

The Subcommittee members are Mary Ann Chick Whiteside, who will be among those liveblogging the conference; Paul Hyland, who’s been a creative sounding board and instrumental in gathering volunteers for on-site help; and Steven Lubetkin, who’s putting in a tremendous effort producing the podcasts. This conference is made possible in no small part because of them.