Continuing the conference conversation from here…
“Something has been bothering me about the format of the [Etech] conference. Each session is so rushed that there is little room for Q&A following each presentation. As a result, you don’t often get a chance to hear the audience’s point of view. The only way to get at this is if you force yourself on strangers in the hallway but, depending upon how you strike up a conversation, it can be hit or miss.” – Ian Kennedy
More:
“I’d be willing to bet that, if polled, 90% of etech attendees would tell you that they hear the most interesting and compelling ideas and thoughts in the hallways, around the coffee pots, and out on the deck… not in the presentations. This year’s etech is big, much bigger even than last year (my first time here), and there are a lot of first-timers. You can usually identify them pretty easily– they’re the ones standing awkwardly alone, sometimes on the peripheries of conversations.” – Chris Lott
One more, also from Chris Lott, on “The Name Badge Assessment”
Lott: “…you try to talk to one of the Conference All-Stars– perhaps someone you’ve interacted pleasantly with via email or IRC just minutes before– and they stare at your badge for a moment (you can almost hear the mental checklist preceding the shutdown: Google? Nope. Yahoo? Nope. Press? Nope. A-List blogger? Nope.) before their eyes glaze over. It doesn’t happen every time, but often enough to discourage input from just the people from whom interaction should be encouraged.”