e-Festival of Ideas

First, let’s think about why we attend meetings and conferences at all – more often than not, we seek to exchange information and to network with others in our field. Sure, social networking has made it easier for people to communicate with one another and share ideas across a room and across the globe, but as far as I’m concerned social networking will never be a substitute for face to face meetings. But, they are enhancing our participation in a great way.

 

Gone are the days of the traditional conference where a speaker or panel drones on to a seemingly passive audience. In nearly every conference I’ve been to this past year, there is significant use of either onsite or web based technology. And it’s driving better peer-to-peer, audience-to-presenter, and audience-to-public conversations as we’ve seen through real time report outs via twitter and blogs during conferences. As a side note, my colleagues are having an interesting exchange on the Case Foundation blog about conference Twitter etiquette.

 

There are a few convenings that have seen success establishing themselves as strictly online forums – for example, next week’s second annual Women Who Tech Conference will bring together hundreds of tech savvy women from across the US and abroad in the nonprofit, political and business world for an open platform to share their talents, experiences and insights.

 

Alex Steed, who you may remember from his Millennials Changing America Tour, is an online panelist for Vibewire’s e-Festival of Ideas. In its sixth year, the completely online exchange is based in Australia and is being used to bring together young minds to converse with experts and create new innovative ideas. Both Women Who Tech and the e-Festival are creating opportunity for a global dialogue -- which is of course one of the benefits of leveraging the online platform.

 

But it’s also worth taking a look at a more traditional conference like the Council on Foundations meeting that's taking place in Atlanta this week. Attendance is down, but the use of onsite blogging, and twitter feeds is running strong. CoF has even created a blog specifically for this convening where they have a cadre of foundation staff members guest blogging and sharing their reflections from both in session and “in the hallway” conversations.   I’m encouraged by the creativity that some of the more traditional organizations like CoF are deploying to reach broader audiences and give participants an opportunity to exchange with their peers.

 

The convenience and cost savings of hosting virtual events is certainly worth noting, but being there in person delivers the rich experiences that virtual meetings oftentimes cannot replace.  What are some of the most creative ways that you've seen technology used in convenings - either in person or virtual? Do you see a day when we'll be able to ditch the heels at conferences and opt for the cozy bunny slippers from the comfort of home?