Do You Hear the Noise? One Year Later
One year ago, today, I pressed the publish button for the first time. My first post – “Do you hear the noise?” started a regular conversation on this blog about using technology to tap into the ideas, expertise and opinions of the many to build a powerful community at events.
Over the past year, your comments and retweets fueled me to write more than 57 posts. That is about twice as many as I thought that I would write. Thank you for your time, appreciation and dialogue. I appreciate it more than you know.
How attendees look to some people
In some ways, I think that we have come a long way since my first post. In other ways, I think that we are just getting started. There is still so much to do.
Too many event organizers are still stuffing attendees in chairs and forcing them to listen to boring speakers, uninspiring leaders and anyone else that they can find to fill a slot.
We have to work on this together.
Over the next several months, I will be working on some new initiatives that will help bring these discussions to life in new ways. If you would like to participate in one way or another, please let me know. I will appreciate your help.
Here is a brief overview of some of those initiatives.
> Event Camp Twin Cities. Ray Hansen and I are pushing the social, innovation and collaboration envelope with this event. We are throwing out the chairs, putting attendees in charge of an italian racing team, creating an innovation lab and conducting a social media barn raising. It’s ambitious. It will be collaborative, innovative and a blast! (Learn More)
> EIBTM World Wide Technology Watch. This year, I am joining Corbin Ball, Bruce MacMillan, Martin Sirk, Ruud Janssen, Paul Hussey and Lynn Wong on the judging panel. I hope that we uncover some great new tools this year. (Learn More)
> Going Digital Podcast. Mike McAllen and I are going to record new content for our Meetings Podcast Going Digital series next week at MPI’s World Education Conference next week. If you would like to be interviewed, please let us know.
Bottom Line
Thank you again for your support this past year. I look forward to additional discussions on how we can tap into the ideas, expertise and opinions of the many and continue to build powerful communities with events.
Written by Samuel J Smith
Samuel J. Smith is the Managing Director of Interactive Meeting Technology, LLC. He wakes up every morning to save the world from stuffing attendees in chairs for hours on end at events. Oh, and he has small children who usually want some breakfast.