Exploding the confab
Blogebrity and Vin Crosbie wonder why, even with sponsors, the American Press Institute, Media Center, and the AP had to charge $695 for a confab on the future of journalism and all that. I was signed on to join a panel (before I knew the economics) but finked out so I can go to Web 2.0 (which is even more expensive, though I’m on panels there). I’ll let them explain the costs, because I don’t fully understand them, especially since the content — the panelists — are not paid. Besides, the people in the room are usually at least as smart and experirenced as the people on the panels.
I do think that someone (read: Dave Winer) will come along and blow up the economics of confabs (though even Dave had to charge for the first Bloggercon to cover costs). With the internet as a means to bring people together for discussion and debate, I have to think there is a new way to get them together in person. Should we hold a meeting in New York’s Bryant Park, with its free wi-fi, byob (bring your own bagel)?
September 24th, 2005 at 7:20 pm
Seriously. By June I’ll be in either NYC or Toronto, and either way, anyone willing to stand on a stool in a park is invited to my conference.
September 24th, 2005 at 8:57 pm
http://2005.convergesouth.com
Free is doable if you really care to try.
September 24th, 2005 at 10:34 pm
The $700 covers the speaker fee for Al Gore. That’s my guess. And actually, that’s the most useless part of the shindig.
September 25th, 2005 at 12:38 am
Vloggercon and Vlog Europe conferences were free. OK, they were small, but they were free. The major cost is space…If that can be donated, then there are few costs. But even if you are paying for space, 695$ per person is crazy, unless they want to keep an exclusive vibe going.
September 25th, 2005 at 8:43 am
Science Fiction conventions have faced the cost/no-cost issue for a long time, since many fans are not wealthy. What DW did is known as a “Relaxcon” in that convention parlance. But the economics don’t really seem to be in conflict. There’s always a luxury market, and a value market.
After all, if it’s about “community”, high admission price is a form of “snob zoning”.
September 25th, 2005 at 12:01 pm
Citizen Journalism
At a presentation on blogging and citizen journalism I gave last week at a media relations conference,…
September 25th, 2005 at 12:51 pm
It’s about manufactured credibility. Speakers pad their resumes with “award-winning” and “speaker engagements” and as long as that derived credibility trend persists, their will be a premium built into the margin(ticket price). It’s simple reciprocity.
Conferences are about awakening synapses and not profit margins. Design Conferences (Awards, etc.) are a good example where it’s not worth paying $1200 for a 2-3 day event. I’ll pass, oh the company will cover it, let’s go. Yeah, it’s lame.
Advertising awards are an egregious example of this. Do we really need to applaud someone for selling more Pepsi and Diapers: that’s why I got out of advertising. As you get older, the intellectual rigor that consumes you can’t be satisfied in advertising. It’s as cushy a job as you can imagine, but then some people were born to live sleeping on a hard concrete floor: you get the idea.
Conferences should be break even endeavour or done at at a loss for organizers as publicity. Doing conferences for profit is a racket. As the snowboarder Jake Burton has adopted as a company saying: “Keep the focus pure”. I grew up in Colorado: lot of boarding and getting high/getting green in the clear mountain air. It changes you long after you health nut.
September 27th, 2005 at 1:27 am
Setting a high price insures that the attendees will be either (1) really interested or (2) on expense account (that is, gainfully employed by an organization that’s willing to send them). Either way, it keeps the riffraff out.
September 28th, 2005 at 11:19 am
Event organizer here -
Space is not free.
Time to create the event is not free.
Creating the platform for the exchange has logistical costs:costs for creative thinking (who speaks? on what theme? who’s invited to attend? how do we organize the exchange to the audience, between the speakers, in an interesting way…)
If the event works, it’s because some good thought & planning went into it, with a good technical support team on the ground. Let’s not let our joy at free content & (nearly free) communications pipelines get the better of our good sense. Not everything can be free, or even should be.