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“Ask yourself: Why are you having a conference?”
By Adam Hardiman | August 20, 2008
Last week’s Meeting Professionals International (MPI) World Education Congress in Las Vegas was filled with great experiences, intriguing conversations, and engaging sessions. None was better than the panel presentation entitled “What if the next generation had planned this conference?” led by Kansas State University professor Dr. Michael Wesch.
I’m biased, of course. A member of the millennial generation, I am a little more in tune with the use of social media tools than the average conference attendee. On top of that, I feel the backbone of any conference lies in the information and knowledge transfer that happens when like-minded people get together for a few days to discuss issues of importance.
The great thing about social media tools is they give you the ability to extend the life of your conference far beyond the final plenary session. In fact, there’s no reason that the conference has to even be the starting point—a well-tailored online community can foster discourse and the networking of ideas months or years in advance of the event.
The possibilities are endless.
Of course, endless possibilities make it hard to decide where to direct your resources—and for whom. That’s why I was so pleased when a member of the panel, Kevin Champion, said that as organizations decide how to maximize their conferences, they should ask themselves why they’re holding the event in the first place. It’s the same chorus we here at The Conference Publishers have echoed for over 20 years, and the idea that attracted me to the company when I was lucky enough to come on board this past spring.
If the conference is centered on networking, you should foster a community reflecting that for your members and stakeholders. If the conference is centered on the transfer and dissemination of key ideas and information, the community you build should focus on maximizing that opportunity.
Conferences have the ability to achieve both those objectives. But why stop at achieving those objectives for a few days, when you can keep the momentum going all year long and right in to the next conference? That’s what an online approach to content capture and community-building can deliver to your organization.
Topics: Conference Content, Meeting Professionals International, Social Media |