What we can learn from unconferences

Posted by writer | Event launches - whats your attention magnet? »

What are unconferences?

First a little brief background. Unconferences are facilitated discussions that are participant-driven and are centered around a specific theme. It is the opposite of typical conferences where speakers and audiences are separate. In unconferences, everyone is expected to speak and pitch in to move the discussions forward.

You can read more about unconferences here.

Whats the big deal?

Unconferences gained a lot of interest and momentum in the crowds because of the following reasons;

1- Its a leveled playing field for everyone who is present;

2- Everyone is a participant and not just there to sit and listen;

3- It ends up being highly intellectual discussions where everyone learns something;

4- It demonstrates the power of collective wisdom;

5- When moderated properly, it delivers good results.

What can we learn from it?

As event marketers there are a number of lessons in these gatherings. First of all, it shows the importance and power of community driven discussions. Just like people are more responsive and energetic in these unconferences, they have the exact same behavior in communities online.

Secondly, it proves the power of collective wisdom. So, if you’re planning your events what better way to do it than engaging your community online? You can allow them to have a direct input in the event’s flow or proceedings.

Thirdly, because of its up close nature, the relationship with the participants grows deeper. The participants will be more likely to remember you, to remember the event and to have a good after-taste about it. In the same way, in online communities you can build that level of relationships through different ways of interacting with your community to build relationships of trust.

You can read up a good post on unconferences here (although it is a relatively old article)


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