[Web4lib] Attending/Presenting at conferences in difficult times

[Jon Knight]

On Wed, 10 Feb 2010, Jean Hewlett wrote:
> Robert, I'm going to assume you are playing devil's advocate here.

I don't know whether Robert was playing devil's advocate or not, but I 
have to say it was refreshing hearing someone say what I often feel.  In 
days of yore I attended various workshops/exhibitions/conferences.  Yes, I 
did learn things and I met some interesting folk (and watched some of them 
get drunk in expensive bars! ;-) ).  But often not as many, or as useful, 
as if I'd just carved the two or three days out of my schedule and sat 
researching trends and interesting topics on the web.

For one thing when you're at a conference with a couple of hundred people 
you're only going to be exposed to at most a couple of hundred sets of 
ideas or opinions - usually far far less as you rarely end up talking to 
everyone.  A decent search on the web and in the literature can cover a 
far wider range.  And some times the "face-to-face"-ness of a physical 
conference can get in the way of the communication: people who are 
obnoxious and overbearing in person can still have worthwhile ideas that 
are often better communicated in writing.

I've also "attended" meetings and conferences remotely using video 
conferencing technologies and I've found that a useful alternative on 
occasion.  If nothing else one can record the media streams, which can be 
useful to check back on what someone *really* said in their presentation. 
;-)

I now actively avoid going to remote meetings and events where I can.  I 
know that some folk here still think this is odd - and I'm happy to "hold 
the fort" whilst they go off - but for me personally this is a far more 
productive, cost effective and environmentally friendly use of my time.

I'm glad I'm not a lone voice anymore. :-)