What’s on the docket for UnSummit3?
So, what are we going to talk about at the next UnSummit? I’ll bet you’d really like to know. Yeah, me too.
The first UnSummit was all about social media. Big surprise, eh? At the time, it we were all excited—breathless, actually—about how all these great social tools might fit together. The fact that UnSummit came together in the space of a week was itself a testimony to the power of these tools.
For the 2nd UnSummit, we tried to put forth a theme, “Hacking the Recession,” to see if that might spark some good conversation. And, for the most part, it worked.
(A quick aside: during the run-up to the last UnSummit, some unconference evangelists informed me that even having a theme was a heresy. True unconferences don’t even set an agenda, much less a theme, until the day of the event. The way it works is that you show up, propose sessions and start attending. I think the principle is that you shouldn’t try to impose order on the event. That’s what makes it so “un.”)
And indeed, as we saw, the conversations that happened just happened, regardless of any theme. People just wanted to connect, find common ground and get inspired.
So…back to the central question. What’s on the docket? What will be the frequency, Kenneth? Here are my thoughts. Please join in the conversation!
- Personally, I wouldn’t mind trying a theme again, but don’t think it’s a necessity. We’ll be fine and will have a great time without one.
- Some of the themes that have been proposed revolve around user experience and innovation. The innovation theme interesting because it’s universal. We all need to innovate and get out of our ruts and comfort zones, no?
- At the last UnSummit, Pete Barry and Keith Wolf presented their vision for what UnSummit could become. They proposed that UnSummit could be a conference of conferences, in which attendees nominate speakers from other events during the year to come and be conversational peers at UnSummit. So, it’s a way to loop back on the ideas that capture our attention and mix it up with our favorite speakers.
- I’m really interested in a variation on Pete and Keith’s idea: What if we let people nominate speakers and topics, but also bloggers and topics. For instance, I might nominate Phil Willson and his blog post “Is Keeping Up Holding You Back?”. I am in effect saying to Phil: “I like your ideas on this topic. Will you come to UnSummit and lead a discussion about it?” This approach woud allow us to mine the riches that sit quietly in many of the blogs that are produced by our community. What’s more, there are no limits on the potential subject matter. You can nominate someone who blogs about something different, like raising sheep or evolution.
- Speaking of different, is anyone else fatigued by all the discussion of marketing, branding and media, social or otherwise? It’s in our blogs, our tweets, our conferences. I know, I know. Marketing is what a good number of us actually do for a living. Granted. But I assume that you do have other interests. Do you drink wine? Are you writing a novel? Have you been to Romania? Have you struggled with chronic illness? Do you have dreams that can’t even begin to be captured by 140-character tweets? I don’t mean to be cheeky or iconoclastic, but in the spirit of the old saw about “all work and no play,” let’s see if we can’t introduce some play to the next UnSummit. What would be more “un” than that?
What are your ideas? Please leave a comment, register and post your thoughts on this blog…or post on your own blog (we’ll link to you).
Photo credit: Un ragazzo chiamato Bi
First let me say that the last two Unsummits have been two of the most valuable events for me over the course of the last two years.
If I can throw in my two cents about Unsummit 2009, I would argue that the value of Unsummit rests on the fact that it isn’t an “all-star” speaker event. It is a grass-roots, all ideas welcome, let’s meet local folks who are passionate about stuff event. For that reason, I am, at least viscerally, for maintaining the open feel of the event.
Even a grass-roots-type of voting system for session leaders will, by its very nature, make the event less inclusive of ideas than it has been in the past. (i.e. A wiki is more inclusive than a voting system.)
There are all sorts of venues locally for both “best of the best” and “open” types of formats. Unsummit happens to be one of the latter.
If I can add to the argument that we don’t need a formal nominating system, I believe that we have had a great range of speakers the last two years, and a formal nominating system seems not only duplicative but exclusive.
Finally, I LOVE your idea of opening up Unsummit to non-traditional and interesting topics (city gardens, evolution, etc.).
I realize that I am, perhaps on one end of the spectrum of the “openness of Unsummit” spectrum, but I also believe that we can come to some happy middle ground. We can host all-star speakers (we have the last two years) while keeping the event as inclusive as possible.
In closing, thanks for all the work you have done to put the last two events on! If you have a need for me in either an Unsummit strategy role or as a nose-to-the-grindstone volunteer, I would be happy to help in either capacity!