I have live-blogged a couple of events, including the first and second New Communications Forums this year and last. Live-blogging conferences has gotten to be a fairly routine thing these days, making it easy for those who can’t be there to get updates on who said what in pretty close to real time.

As live-blogging from conferences continues to spread in both application and popularity, it was only a matter of time before the practice spread to events other than conferences. Today, Wal-Mart is the focus of a live-blogging effort taking place from its annual shareholders meeting. Blogging Stocks, an AOL property, is live-blogging as the meeting unfolds via webcast.

The post begins, “What’s in store for today? We’ll be on it, so keep your finger poised over that “Refresh” button on your browser, as we’ll be updating this post in real-time as the webcast rolls on.”

Each update begins with a time code, as in this entry:

8:57am—the fourth resolution is now up, and this one involves the publication of a comprehensive sustainability report, which would include the stewardship of Wal-Mart across almost every area of the business: labor, suppliers, logistics, expansion, subsidies, political contributions, employee pay and injury rates, and corporate procedures…among others. Wow, that would be a full library of reports if you ask me.

The entries stop with an observation that the Q&A is about to begin: “but I’m not sure if that will be webcast or not. If it is, we’ll be here.”

Wal-Mart may have wanted to restrict the webcast to all the positive rah-rah that the company orchestrated, including (according to the blog report) a performance by American Idol winner Taylor Hicks and speeches from executives. And, in this instance, the webcast was probably the only way to live-blog the shareholders meeting, since it’s not likely that WiFi was available in the Bud Walton Arena on the University of Arkansas campus, where the meeting is being held. I suppose anyone with a high-speed PC card would be able to blog the meeting on-site. Even if computers weren’t permitted in the Arena (and I don’t know that they weren’t), a cell phone is all anyone would really need.

I’m also not sure if this is the first time a shareholder’s meeting has been blogged—it’s just the first one of which I’m aware. But since it’s likely to become more common, companies might as well accommodate it, provide WiFi, and invite live blogging of their shareholder meetings.