A New Type of Conference
So, Obie just showed us that he can re-invent the conference to his own formula and create something really quite special.
That's inspiring. So here's my formula. It's not necessarily something I'd like to do, not quite yet or quite like this, but it's something I'd like to talk about.
My focus here is energy and enthusiasm. I find conferences absolutely shattering, and that affects my retention. I also find that the most important take-away is the enthusiasm for new topics, not the data. So let's optimise for that:
Everything outside. Natural sunlight and oxygen do a lot to improve mental stamina.
Sessions in a variety of locations; the location and the travel to it provides another memory key, as well as a better 'hallway effect'.
No Powerpoint. Flipcharts and magic markers are allowed. Pre-prepared flipcharts are OK if you use only magic markers to prepare them.
No sessions longer than an hour. Hustle, people.
No laptops outside your room. No phones outside your pocket during a session. Pen and paper are OK.
Real coffee made by baristas with espresso machines, not brewed coffee in huge urns. I don't care what it costs.
Radio mics that Just Work with no faffing. I don't care what they cost either.
Sessions in a variety of formats. I want at least one called 'the arena': presentation in the round, without chairs, heckling encouraged.
Speakers selected for speaking ability first and subject-matter knowledge a close second (!). We could start the conference a half-day early with speaker training (and improv!) for the speakers, perhaps as a free thank-you for presenting.
Big breakfasts, light lunches, afternoon snacks. A window in the early afternoon to play casual sport - squash, soccer, tennis, ultimate frisbee. Specify your preference before the conference and your customised schedule will tell you where and when to play. This costs a lot of time but I'd rather have people fully alert for five sessions a day than half-alert for ten.
Scheduled gaps between presentations. At least ten minutes, to allow for presentation overrun and hallway effect.
Name badges that can be read comfortably from across a circle. Both name and company name prominent. Colour-coded by role.
Video all sessions, then hand the memory card to the speaker at the end of the talk. This is really for the speakers' benefit, and they'll want to review while it's fresh.
The actual location is largely unimportant. It seems that combining conferences with tourism is the exception, not the rule. But we will need somewhere that's reliably sunny.
Lightning pitches - elevator pitches or personal introductions (if you don't have a product) back-to-back. Everyone can do these, and speaking is a huge networking boost. I swear that I will time these using an actual model of an elevator.
Instant speaker feedback: "One thing I remember from this talk" on 3x5" cards, to be displayed on a Wall of Awesome that we'll build during the conference. That'll force people to reflect and remember, too.
Hey, maybe we can do a Wall of New Connections with a bunch of avatar magnets, a whiteboard, and some lines? I can't see it being useful but it might be fun.
A rails app that attempts to pair people who could get the same transport. If you're going to spend 24 hours getting here, you might as well be talking to someone interesting.
Online attendee list with full contact details (opt-in, of course). Introductions well in advance so that there's time to read them.
Have you ever seen anything like this? Would you like to?