Future of the Revolution: UnTech11 Plotting Begins
Tom McClintock
In "Present at the Revolution" Don Baker gave behind-the-scenes details about the unique opportunity afforded NSI in February to co-host UnTech10 (the replacement to the American Society of Association Executives’ canceled Technical conference). Since then, some exciting developments around future “unconference” opportunities led us to look deeper into the growing convergence of social media platforms and conference technologies.
In working closely at UnTech10 with top experts in the conference-planning industry, we realized that technology progress has lowered the price of conference-production to a fraction of the traditional expenses. With costs now so low, and the technology that connected us in February ever-present, what is there to stop the conversation? Why not hold a follow-up “unconference?”
Unconferences On the Rise
The term "unconference" refers to gatherings that seek to avoid one or more aspects of traditional conferences. The unconference traces itself back to Harrison Owen’s 1985 Organizational Transformation Symposium, which used Open Space Technology to foster participant-generated agenda. The label is being applied with increasing frequency, especially since 2006, coinciding with the genesis of social networking and consumer-generated media. While it is now most prevalent within the high-technology industry, as of 2009 it has also begun to appear in the travel industry. [1]
While the art and science has been around for a while, the methodology for producing unconferences is now greatly facilitated by the inclusion of social platforms. At UnTech10, for instance, Omnipress’ Conference 2.0 technology was a major factor in the meeting’s success. Omnipress simplified and enhanced the entire process of organizing and running the conference, including several vital tasks:
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collecting profile information
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organizing the speaking schedule
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posting presentations and collateral
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gathering social-media feeds
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launching threaded discussions.
Other online platforms, such as Higher Logic’s Connected Community, Groupsite.com’s Groupsite, and CZ Marketing’s CommunityBuilder, can support some or all of this functionality, although there are differences in features and cost. Free third-party platforms, like Ning and Facebook, also can replicate some, but not all, of these features for little or no cost. However, proprietary, paid platforms ensure the smoothest conference logistics, and form the centerpiece amid the complementary free platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn Groups, as well as Twitter.
Traditional Conferences Taking Note
Innovative software, streaming video and the growing popularity of online social-networking are lowering costs and redefining the meaning of business conferences. Conference planners who still charge high registration fees and restrict access may soon resemble newspaper publishers struggling against low- or no-cost online competition. On the other hand, live conferences that incorporate an online component will likely benefit from embracing the new paradigm.
Instead of fearing cannibalization, forward-thinking organizations are embracing online conference elements. The advantages include maintaining community across all constituents (and budgets), while extending sponsorship and branding opportunities into the new medium. Noting the success of UnTech 10, which it attended and helped support, the American Society of Society Executives (ASAE) is considering adding a substantial online component to future conferences.
The Next UnTech?
Since UnTech10, NSI has attended two virtual conferences: a virtual show on Data Security by UBM’s Everything Channel, and a client-strategy conference on Groupsite. These meetings’ unique content was made more attractive and affordable by their online presentation, and we used the experiences to learn more about conference planning in the era of social networks.
We’ve also participated in a series of teleconferences with other UnTech10 leaders, and are identifying goals and gauging interest in an UnTech11 – which could possibly occur as early as this Fall. The ideas under consideration include:
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repurposing content from blog posts as threaded discussion launch points
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setting up Knowledge Cafes (featuring participants seated in a concentric circles of chairs while a facilitator leads)
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lightning talks (short, fast-moving presentations to introduce new ideas)
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dotmocracy (in which each participant votes with a colored dot on ideas previously presented)
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tweetups (short for Twitter meet-ups) at a real-world gathering point that might be the center of the virtual broadcast.
Attendance could well surpass the 425 individuals who attended UnTech10, although it will be interesting to see if UnTech could be the same without snowstorms and the accompanying weather-related drama.
- The 1st Hostel Management Unconference, December 2009, http://www.hostelmanagement.com/unconference/2009/grunau cited by “Unconference” in Wikipedia, May 10, 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconference.