DISQUS

Hi Dave:

It was great to see you again! Thanks so much for getting us all together.

Cheers,
Connie

I couldn't agree more, Bill. It seems an old way of thinking: "How can we make money off this?" I was in that same boat at a U.S. conference, and am dreading the big bill I may end up with. I would have much preferred not having to think about every moment I used my data plan or voice plan.

Cheers,
Connie

Seesmic video reply to Mathew Ingram

Well done, Dave!

That is so great, Mitch. Congratulations!

Thanks, Anna--I will have to look at the CIL presentation since I missed that one!

Did you notice they changed the interface on it last night? Would be interested to see if you found any new functionality. I haven't had a chance to use it too much yet. I because a delicious fan after including it as part of a course I was teaching and learned it for that purpose. Now I can't live without it for my bookmarking, and any additional functionality is a bonus!

On the way back from PAB Jay and I were having similar thoughts. Not so much to break up cliques but to get people even more engaged. I personally felt very challenged by the last minute Pecha Kucha that we organized and wondered how we might bring that sort of immediate involvement to others using the tools we had on hand. I would be all for shuffling people up as well. I do that in the one-day workshop I teach when I split people into groups, figure a way to shuffle them up to meet new people.

Dave:

Looks like we're on a similar trajectory (like you I have been online since 1986. And I left the law firm life in January to have more time to work in social media myself).

All the best! The future is starting to look interesting. :-)

Cheers,
Connie

Good to meet you at CIL and chat with you during the show, Anna! I use Skype to dial in. I use a paid version which costs a nominal amount for unlimited calls out anywhere in North America. It has worked pretty well for this purpose.

Hopefully you will join us again!

Cheers,
Connie

Hi Dave:
One thing you didn't mention was the use of a wiki to open up organization of the event to ALL participants. People posted sessions they would like to see, others posted sessions they wanted to present, and people posted into a schedule themselves. Sure, it took someone (Jay) taking the initiative to find a location and lead the way, but it was a lot lighter work than a traditional conference.

I worked on a traditional conference held last October that I spent 4 years working on. Compare that to Podcamp which we spent about 3 or 4 months working on. Comparable events, comparable size of groups attending. The difference is palpable.

To be honest, I think this "unconference" style will become more prominent. We just need our conference spaces to catch up since most don't yet have wifi capability for attendees, or not at reasonable rates at least.

Cheers!
Connie

Thank you for persevering!

Cheers,
Connie

Dave: Thank you for sharing your memories. I have been following the progress of this fire via the TV. It is very sad.

Cheers,
Connie

Thank you for your thoughtful review, Chris. I am waiting for my copy to arrive and will keep your insight in mind.

I am curious now about these four stages from Pirates! I expect I am probably at the Adventurer stage, and wonder how I can get to Swashbuckler. LOL!

Cheers,
Connie

Go, Dave, go!

I have a copy of Join the Conversation coming--can't wait. I'm thinking Avinash Kaushik's book might be a good idea for me, too. Thanks for point it out.

Best of luck in your reading. The most difficult part is finding time in your routine that works, and building it into a bit of a habit.

Cheers,
Connie