Amen on Conference Crafting
Source: andyabramson.blogs.com
Amen….We Break Stuff has a riveting post that is DEAD ON.
We need more crafting, art in conferences. I am so, so tired of hearing from people that the conference business is doing badly. That trade shows don’t work any more. Horsehockey. They do. If you have the right people.
The key is to not be greedy, which unfortunately many operators are. The MuniWireless Conference, organized by my friend Esme Vos, is a very focused, niche market event that happens three to four times a year across the USA. She and the folks at her partners, Microcast, focus on getting government CIO’s and City Managers out to events, and bring the technology folks to them. Is the conference "exciting" like Les Web or Web 2.0 are? No. Is it beneficial to the industry? Yes. Is it a giant schmoozefest. No.
That said, I have fun organizing my panel there, which is usually on gadgets and applications that can work in a WiFi world. I’ve made some good contacts, and established some great personal relationships. I always walk away from that event feeling I met someone informative and insightful, and gained knowledge and perspective.
I had the same feeling at Telco 2.0, put on by STL, with pal Martin Geddes playing a pivotal role.
Conferences like these generate interactivity and are engaging. For me they are both socially stimulating and intellectually challenging. Growing up in the sports business I learned I never got to be better competing against those I was as good as. To get better I had to play up (in my case as a business person working with those MUCH older than I) Now I go to to conferences to learn from those who understand things more deeply, and from experience, so I can apply my skills of communicating what they mean to society, industry and humanity to others. To be in the know, means learning and evolving.
For me, these events are like CEU’s are to my physician wife. To stay qualified you have to keep learning. Crafted conferences make for a great learning framework.
