The most vocal critics of traditional conferences claim that
formats must change because the world has changed since conferences became an
established communications tool.
This is like saying that the structure of the
novel must change because today’s world is totally different to that of Charles
Dickens’ day.
That is clearly a nonsensical argument: the structure of a
story is still the same and, in the right hands, is still compelling. It may be
delivered on an e-reader, but the process of telling the story has been
unchanged since Chaucer’s time.
Obviously authors have tried to come up with variations to
the linear story just as planners have tried to come up with new styles of
conference.
Some authors also experiment with the format by omitting punctuation
or chapter breaks but their stories still use age-old techniques. As a result
the traditional novel still holds sway.
It’s the same with conferences: there are many technologies
being promoted as the latest game-changer but what the promoters overlook is
that they’re just tools.
At the heart of any conference has to be a clearly
defined purpose. Only when that has been established should anybody begin to
think about what technology (if any) is going to be used.
Originally published in Conference News
