So far I have really enjoyed my time at the Web 2.0 Expo in Berlin. I have attended various presentations, some good, some not so good. I will document more of the good ones as I go, but I wanted to make one observation about the sessions I was a little disappointed in.
There are several reasons people like me attend conferences such as this. First and foremost without a doubt is networking. It is only through spending some quality time with people that you discover connections, friendships, information and possibilities. So far, the Web 2.0 Expo has been perfect for that. However, in my opinion, the second reason we attend is education. We take the time out of our working life and spend the money because we want to come away enriched, inspired and possessing more knowledge than we did before we came.
It is on the basis of this second fundamental requirement that I judge the speakers. And the big issue I have found is that being pitched at does not fulfill my educational requirements. Of course, many of the speakers are here representing their organisations. Many of them have fantastic products and great ideas which underpin those products. But rather than give me a demo of that product and try to ’sell’ it to me, educate me in your area of passion. I may be your target customer, but that isn’t my purpose for attending.
It has been a long time since I have been to a multi-day conference, and prior to this one, many of the conferences I attended were tech conferences which seemed to focus on innovation, new technology and learning. Unfortunately, I have found that the emphasis towards pitching during this conference has been greater than I would have expected. I am not feeling as edified as I could be.
I am generalising slightly, and this post certainly does not refer to every speaker I have seen, but I am here to learn, not to buy.
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