Definitely. However it is a very small group compared to the whole. One of the number one blog posts, and Tweets we see every year during BlogWorld is “I wish I was there”.

As others have said people are social and we want to get together face to face. I know you addressed this by suggesting more networking and social structure and less formal presentations are the future of events. I couldn't disagree more.

Good events have a mix of social / networking opportunities, formal presentations and other elements like a trade show floor, or speed dating type sessions, etc. It all comes down to quality. If an event offers great speakers, those speakers spark many of the conversations in the hallways, at the lunch table and online.

Others have mentioned the dynamic of face to face events and that cannot be ignored. It just feels different when you are talking to or even just listening to a speaker face to face than it does online. Every other person in the room adds to that energy. This is why the goal of online dating is to meet a real person in real life.

This is not going to go away anytime soon and I hope ever. Because when it does we will have lost an important part of our humanity.

Rick Calvert
CEO & Co-founder
BlogWorld & New Media Expo

Definitely. However it is a very small group compared to the whole. One of the number one blog posts, and Tweets we see every year during BlogWorld is “I wish I was there”.

As others have said people are social and we want to get together face to face. I know you addressed this by suggesting more networking and social structure and less formal presentations are the future of events. I couldn't disagree more.

Good events have a mix of social / networking opportunities, formal presentations and other elements like a trade show floor, or speed dating type sessions, etc. It all comes down to quality. If an event offers great speakers, those speakers spark many of the conversations in the hallways, at the lunch table and online.

Others have mentioned the dynamic of face to face events and that cannot be ignored. It just feels different when you are talking to or even just listening to a speaker face to face than it does online. Every other person in the room adds to that energy. This is why the goal of online dating is to meet a real person in real life.

This is not going to go away anytime soon and I hope ever. Because when it does we will have lost an important part of our humanity.

Rick Calvert
CEO & Co-founder
BlogWorld & New Media Expo

great post. As a guy who's A) been in the conference industry for 10yrs and B) runs Defrag (http://www.defragcon.com) and Glue (http://www.gluecon.com), I'd say that social media MUST be embraced by conference organizers. When “the internet” hit, conference organizers tried to shut that down as well – and, of course, failed miserably.

Conference organizers should NEVER prevent any attendee from blogging, tweeting, broadcasting (via video, audio, whatever) the event.

The bottom line is that events must prove their worth based on the community that gathers around them, the “brainshare”/interactive spaces they provide, and the value that all parties (attendees, speakers, sponsors) get from them. Social media is yet another way to add value.

Doing so is what allowed Defrag to have attendees say things like

“There are two big things that make a conference a winner: (1) the quality of people, and (2) the energy they bring. Defrag hits it out of the park on both. Will definitely be back!”

“I've lost count of how many people I met at Defrag have helped make Mailana a reality!”

“I made amazing relationships at defrag and ignited existing ones. I'm indebted to you for that.”

http://defragcon.com/2009/DEFRAG09-Why.htm

again – great stuff….maybe we'll see you at Defrag
ejn

http://www.defragcon.com

great post. As a guy who's A) been in the conference industry for 10yrs and B) runs Defrag (http://www.defragcon.com) and Glue (http://www.gluecon.com), I'd say that social media MUST be embraced by conference organizers. When “the internet” hit, conference organizers tried to shut that down as well – and, of course, failed miserably.

Conference organizers should NEVER prevent any attendee from blogging, tweeting, broadcasting (via video, audio, whatever) the event.

The bottom line is that events must prove their worth based on the community that gathers around them, the “brainshare”/interactive spaces they provide, and the value that all parties (attendees, speakers, sponsors) get from them. Social media is yet another way to add value.

Doing so is what allowed Defrag to have attendees say things like

“There are two big things that make a conference a winner: (1) the quality of people, and (2) the energy they bring. Defrag hits it out of the park on both. Will definitely be back!”

“I've lost count of how many people I met at Defrag have helped make Mailana a reality!”

“I made amazing relationships at defrag and ignited existing ones. I'm indebted to you for that.”

http://defragcon.com/2009/DEFRAG09-Why.htm

again – great stuff….maybe we'll see you at Defrag
ejn

http://www.defragcon.com

Definitely. However it is a very small group compared to the whole. One of the number one blog posts, and Tweets we see every year during BlogWorld is “I wish I was there”.

As others have said people are social and we want to get together face to face. I know you addressed this by suggesting more networking and social structure and less formal presentations are the future of events. I couldn't disagree more.

Good events have a mix of social / networking opportunities, formal presentations and other elements like a trade show floor, or speed dating type sessions, etc. It all comes down to quality. If an event offers great speakers, those speakers spark many of the conversations in the hallways, at the lunch table and online.

Others have mentioned the dynamic of face to face events and that cannot be ignored. It just feels different when you are talking to or even just listening to a speaker face to face than it does online. Every other person in the room adds to that energy. This is why the goal of online dating is to meet a real person in real life.

This is not going to go away anytime soon and I hope ever. Because when it does we will have lost an important part of our humanity.

Rick Calvert
CEO & Co-founder
BlogWorld & New Media Expo

great post. As a guy who's A) been in the conference industry for 10yrs and B) runs Defrag (http://www.defragcon.com) and Glue (http://www.gluecon.com), I'd say that social media MUST be embraced by conference organizers. When “the internet” hit, conference organizers tried to shut that down as well – and, of course, failed miserably.

Conference organizers should NEVER prevent any attendee from blogging, tweeting, broadcasting (via video, audio, whatever) the event.

The bottom line is that events must prove their worth based on the community that gathers around them, the “brainshare”/interactive spaces they provide, and the value that all parties (attendees, speakers, sponsors) get from them. Social media is yet another way to add value.

Doing so is what allowed Defrag to have attendees say things like

“There are two big things that make a conference a winner: (1) the quality of people, and (2) the energy they bring. Defrag hits it out of the park on both. Will definitely be back!”

“I've lost count of how many people I met at Defrag have helped make Mailana a reality!”

“I made amazing relationships at defrag and ignited existing ones. I'm indebted to you for that.”

http://defragcon.com/2009/DEFRAG09-Why.htm

again – great stuff….maybe we'll see you at Defrag
ejn

http://www.defragcon.com