I went to the New Marketing Summit (#nms08) not so much to learn as to meet people. Officially, I was on the hunt for potential webcast speakers, though what I was really after were those random, fortuitous connections that inevitably happen when I attend conferences. I'm happy to say that I did meet a number of folks who may fit into Aquent's dastardly webcast plans, and my circle of acquaintances was gratefully widened, but I must admit that I came away with a certain nostalgia for the pre-"new media" conference days.
Specifically, I missed the old-fashioned "raise your hand and get called on" approach to public presentations. At most sessions, participants were encouraged to "tweet" questions to the podium. This may have meant that more questions got considered, but what if asking questions at conferences isn't the main point of asking questions at conferences?
I believe that an important part of asking a question in a public forum is to introduce oneself to the audience. I've often approached askers during breaks and used their questions as a way of initiating conversations, and I've certainly used questions to make my own presence known at a conference, especially when I didn't know too many people there.
I did raise my hand and ask a question at NMS08, but I actually felt kind of funny doing so. That's weird. Conferences should allow people to confer. When we're all in the same room, let's turn off Twitter for a second and, ya know, get together.
And another thing: Although it might seem annoying, running concurrent sessions can also have the same "facilitating interaction" effect. Aside from the physical respite offered by moving from one room to another at regular intervals, the act of choosing sessions, finding a new seat in a new room next to a new person, and comparing notes during the course of the day are added benefits of this conventional conference structure that are frequently overlooked or disregarded.
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