If I see a video of Chris Brogan, for instance, on your Pixelated conference, Mitch, how about adding a link to his email address and maybe his Twitter feed, too? Whether or not I click those links is up to me, but at least I don't have to browse the web to figure out who this Brogan character is and how I can follow-up with him on something he said 15:03 minutes into the seminar.

At least that makes it “somewhat” more collaborative.

If I see a video of Chris Brogan, for instance, on your Pixelated conference, Mitch, how about adding a link to his email address and maybe his Twitter feed, too? Whether or not I click those links is up to me, but at least I don't have to browse the web to figure out who this Brogan character is and how I can follow-up with him on something he said 15:03 minutes into the seminar.

At least that makes it “somewhat” more collaborative.

BUT… hey, nice content. ; )

BUT… hey, nice content. ; )

If I see a video of Chris Brogan, for instance, on your Pixelated conference, Mitch, how about adding a link to his email address and maybe his Twitter feed, too? Whether or not I click those links is up to me, but at least I don't have to browse the web to figure out who this Brogan character is and how I can follow-up with him on something he said 15:03 minutes into the seminar.

At least that makes it “somewhat” more collaborative.

I don't disagree. I don't think Pixelated replaces a conference, it's just something else. I like saying it's more of “mixed tape” of great speakers. Clearly, you know I believe in the power of real-life events.

It's not to replace that. If anything, Pixelated adds by bringing together the same great speakers in one great place

BUT… hey, nice content. ; )

While it's not a “traditional” conference, I do think it has the potential to achieve many of the same things. This basically gives us a conference without the interaction. Certainly loses some of the benefit of a normal conference/unconference but it also gives us a lot of content we may not otherwise get to see.

When you say, “Conferences are about interaction, collaboration, and meeting people,” I agree with you that this is a nice benefit, but that definition could apply to a bar as well. I don't think that most people pay thousands of dollars to go somewhere and meet people. That may rank a high second on their list, but I think the content is what draws them there. I don't think I could put up a website that says, “There's no speakers or anything, we're just getting together to interact and meet people,” and have people pay thousands to come. (As an aside, if people WOULD, let me know!)

I think what makes a conference a conference is people gathering, interacting, etc around common interests…and this is driven by the speakers and content at the conference.

I think the real question is, if these Pixelated “events” aren't conferences due to the lack of collaboration/interaction, what can we do to MAKE them into a conference – or as close as possible to one? How can we build that interaction into them so that people who may not normally attend such an event (due to location, cost, etc) can get the same (or similar) benefit from these events?

I think if we can find a good way to do it, the interaction and collaboration from such an event could be far more beneficial than a traditional conference.

Kevin

I just hate traditional conferences and since you are part of podCamp if think we agree on that but would really love to see your take on that as I am sure it could add a lot!

Julius

I don't disagree. I don't think Pixelated replaces a conference, it's just something else. I like saying it's more of “mixed tape” of great speakers. Clearly, you know I believe in the power of real-life events.

It's not to replace that. If anything, Pixelated adds by bringing together the same great speakers in one great place