Comments on: How Do We Improve the Conference Model?

By: Kathleen Enright

Kathleen Enright — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 15:40:17 +0000

Kevin, David and Barbara,
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments! Of course we’re always looking for the next big upgrade to the GEO conference experience. We’ll certainly circle back to get your input as we start the 2012 planning in motion. . .

By: David La Piana

David La Piana — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:15:09 +0000

Awesome, I think we are on the same page. Anywhere in that mix would be terrific. So how do we move this conversation forward?

By: Barbara Kibbe

Barbara Kibbe — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:11:28 +0000

David, I think Open Space is a great process for dialogue and problem solving. I think it would be great for some parts of any conference but I actually think there’s even more variety that could be fun. We could do facilitated rapid prototyping exercises, run some focus groups and capture insights to build content around troublesome questions. We could host After Action Reviews as a fishbowl exercise to demonstrate the benefits of the process. And we could use the TED talks format to get intriguing new content over without the too-familiar panel discussion format. We could do peer consults too. And we could use live webinars to bring people into the conference dialogue who can’t physically be there. I’m getting all geared up to design an “un-conference.”

By: David La Piana

David La Piana — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:59:26 +0000

I agree Barbara. How about next time we do the whole 3 days as Open Space. I have done it with groups this large and it is always a great experience, way better than talking head panels.

By: Kevin Rafter

Kevin Rafter — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:53:05 +0000

I whole-heartedly agree with both Barbara’s points here – people really do appreciate the GEO conference, but the time is also ripe to experiment with new formats!