Okay, so I said I’d try and blog from Thinking Digital…
I’m here. Just eaten my provided lunch and I’m hiding around the corner writing this.
So. It’s been an education. It’s my first techie conference. Except I’m not a techie. Not really.
I certainly don’t think I’m a geek. Everyone here is a geek. Or at least they claim to be.
Almost without exception every speaker that has taken to the stage has announced…
Okay, so I am an economist but I’m really a geek..
Or…
I run (insert high profile company here) but, at heart, I’m a geek…
Then at the end of the day, we’re invited to “geek dinners” and “geek parties”. There’s even a geek get together at the weekend.
Okay, so geek is now cool. They reclaimed the word. Very old news. That’s not what I don’t get. It’s the old dudes in the blazers and jeans saying THEY are geeks. Then is it really still cool? Really? It’s the me-tooness of it all that irks me.
I am slowly getting the rest of the culture. The first two days I didn’t bring my laptop. Worse still I tutted inwardly at all those people who did. How could they be taking it all in? Now here I am. Laptopped-up. Also, Twittering, flickering and blogging.
And those laptops are essential after all. It’s a techie thing. The real networking is not going to be done over lunch.
But what of the content? Honestly. Well, it’s been good. Very interesting and absolutely beneficial to me and my job. Okay so it started badly. I attended a very average workshop and was bored daft. Then the very same content was then turned into a speech and I had to listen to it all again the very next morning.
But from there on it was fabulous. I started to feel at home. I started to think that I was well informed enough to have a valid opinion. I even started realising that I knew more than some.
I’ve just listened to uber blogger the Fake Steve Jobs. I’d previously moaned about his inclusion but, hey, guess what, he turned out to be funny and somewhat inspirational. Finally, too, someone talking about the content, not just the applications.
I liked him. He even took the piss out the idiots who actually queue to buy Apple products. Yesssss.
As for the success of the event, I wonder. I certainly think it can be a success in the future and I hope it is repeated. As a starting point this is impressive.
I am curious about the numbers though.
I mentioned that my ticket had been paid for in full but I wonder how many others paid full whack. I noticed several names on the delegate list which I recognised and I haven’t seen one of them. Where are they?
Meanwhile on reception there are still tens of unpicked-up delegate packs. Who didn’t show? The people given the freebies perhaps. Let’s face it, if you’ve paid £600 then you turn up.
Other teething problems are a little odd. Today’s Twitterfeed has been dominated by people questioning the lack of power points in the hall. Okay so that’s an error. But whose putting it right? Get some sockets and a length of wire from Woolworths and you’re away.
Or maybe they don’t even know there is a problem yet. Could it be that no one is monitoring the Twitterfeed? Surely you would. Surely you’d want that immediate feedback. Wouldn’t you?
The delegate goodie bag? Not good. Nice bag – unfortunately filled with reams and reams of paper. Did no one think of a better way to sell to techies that this? We’re promoting this region to people who use laptops and we’re putting it all on paper. Maaan, too many dead trees.
A local law firm included a mouse mat with their logo on it. Really. 2008. Mouse mat.
Small moan: lunch was good today but yesterday it felt like someone was economising. Veggie wraps, it was. With pasta in a plain sauce and a vat of coleslaw.
Today is fine. In the meantime apparently (I didn’t go), there was a stack of free booze at the geek party. Why pay a fortune on one and cut back so heavily on another? Odd. Different sponsors for different events perhaps.
Today they have bottled water – but only after earlier complaints. Another ill-advised economy perhaps. Is this because delegate receipts were not as much as hoped?
This is, of course, excusable and if it is the case, then no one really cares. I write them here to show they have been noticed in the hope that it’ll help in the lesson-learning process.
Because this should be the first of many such events and it reflects well on Codeworks that they had the bottle to do it. One thing is for sure, people are knocked out by NewcastleGateshead and the Sage. I’m a proud Geordie.
I’ve learnt a lot. And I can almost start to see why people are falling over themselves to show off their inner geekdom.
It will certainly feel tougher going back into environment where new ideas are not so widely welcomed.
Thinking Digital has genuinely made me want to return to work as a innovator, with new desire and an enthusiasm to push for change.
I can’t be the only one feeling this. For that, again, Codeworks deserve congratulations.
11 comments
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May 23, 2008 at 1:49 pm
L.
Hey, I’m an old guy in jeans and I really am a geek!
BTW I think that this is the second conference.
Why am I typing this when you are sitting 10ft away from me? See, I am a geek :-)
May 23, 2008 at 1:54 pm
ourmanwhere
ha – same reason as I am typing the reply. The second? Really? Ah well as long as it progresses.
The jeans and fine – is that Clarkson look that gets me – and no I don’t mean you.
May 23, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Abby
I was waiting to hear how you’d got on at this conference (she says not even trying to disguise her inner geek/librarianship). I know what you mean about laptops, but then I barely take notes as I can’t write and listen properly at the same time.
I went to a one day e-books conference a couple of weeks ago, there was no water – none at all, and no special persons (vegan) lunch for me, despite me telling them about it weeks in advance. There were also no freebie pens, which I know sounds petty, but I’d forgotten to pick one up before I left home (for the few notes I did make!). I know from attending many and running a few of these things that you have to get the little things right, otherwise no matter how fabulous and relevant the content the lack of water or bad lunch will be the first thing people think about, and tell their friends and colleagues about.
Ooh, a mouse mat. Lucky you. They are just so hard to come by :) My fave delegate goodie bag give away ever – a stick of rock to promote the next years conference which was being held by the sea!
You have to go back to work and pass on your knowledge and enthusiasm – it’s infectious and people listen more if you enthuse about something.
May 23, 2008 at 2:15 pm
ourmanwhere
Abby – it has certainly felt a worthwhile event to attend. The whole conversation around the conference has been superb. I do find it incredible that Codeworks are not taking part in that though – save the occasional blog post.
L. I nearly forgot – I’m wearing jeans too. I gave up on the suit after the first day.
May 24, 2008 at 11:36 am
diehard geordie
What’s with the ‘bottled water’ – are there no taps to fill jugs and glasses?
Green it geeks – think of the plastic, transport etc and get into the ‘tap’ habit.
May 25, 2008 at 8:59 am
Vikki
Hello,
Just wanted to let you know we were monitoring the tweets and blogs – it is a great source of feedback and we know we have to be much more involved in the conversations next year!
We tried to get the power sorted in Hall 2 once we realised it was an issue – but due to regs and paperwork of the event being in a public building could not get this in time for the second day. Next year there will be a dedicated area within the hall for powering up laptops etc.
We’re already working to make sure that all the learning points mentioned above and elsewhere are included in Thinking Digital 2009.
Thanks for the feedback.
V
May 25, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Lewis
Hey Ourman… thought I’d better check in here and say hi.
Glad to hear you got something out of the conference. In between running around after the various journos there, I managed to catch a good few of the sessions and echo your thoughts. Didn’t get to say hello to you tho’, despite keeping my eyes peeled!
Personally I thought Richard St John, Jonathan Harris and Dan Lyons all gave incredible talks, for very different reasons. In fact, I found all the others v good… but then I am biased (I work for organisers Codeworks, in case your readers wonder who the hell I am).
If you want a little help passing on your enthusiasm to others at your organisation, check out the vids at BBC Backstage’s blog at http://tinyurl.com/46j7f5 We’ll also have a bunch of the videos up soon at http://www.thinkingdigital.co.uk, shot by Twenty First Century Media, so that delegates can point others towards their favourite talks.
Sky News also filmed their entire ‘Technofile’ show from the conference, which will be online from tomorrow at http://news.sky.com/skynews/technology
Really glad to hear that you’re keen to spread your ideas. As I wrote at the end of the programme (printed… sorry!), ‘If you’ve formed new ideas, do your utmost to let them flourish’. Cheesy, I know, but heartfelt at least!
Lewis
P.S. Please keep the feedback coming. We’ve done plenty of events in the past, but this was by far the biggest in terms of scope and ambition. We expected to have lots to learn for next time… and we do! But, by the same token, we got plenty right as well.
May 25, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Brian Haworth
Sorry OMW,
Must be a freak interruption of the wifi around here… not in JFK or the Sage, of course, … but for a nano – ( sooooo 80’s) – sec there, my prompter suggested you had used the word `suit’.
(Yes, most people give up on the `suits’, sooner or later. Such a total drain on Agency resources.)
Glad you actually enjoyed and took learning from the gig – and credit to you for sharing a balanced mini-report – and I do hope that the team who `geeked’ this one from scratch, might just be emboldened by your and similar comments to repeat the exercise in such a vibrant and exciting region.
How did it compare – let your imagination play here – with the TED kinda format, in your ho?
Really glad that you came out of the event so constructively critical, yet simultaneously enthused.
Share more?
May 26, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Lewis
Think I might pitch a tent on your blog, OMW, I’m here so often lately.
Anyway – just stopping by to let your readers know they can see some of Thinking Digital’s speakers the Sky News website at http://tinyurl.com/4abmw9
If you look closely at the audience shot, you can make me out on row two. I’m the one in the suit. DOH!!
May 27, 2008 at 10:08 am
ourmanwhere
Ms Geordie – you are of course, quite right. However..glasses are not a good thing to juggle with laptops when you’re headed in and out of presentations. Personally I’d have handed out refillable bottles and provided a large barrel of water.
Now that is something cool that someone could sponsor next year. Stick your logo on a refillable bottle and people will be flashing your brand around all conference.
Viki – thanks for stopping by. I’m glad my feedback helped and hopefully have been taken in the positive spirit they were offered.
You and the team deserve a great amount of credit and Lewis you appear to have done a fine job with the wider post event publicity.
Going along with the conversation thing I’d love to see organisers involved and from what you say it appears they will be. I reckon if the pre-event conversation had been hyped up even a little bit and if there had been more blog/twitter/flickr activity then the conference could have had even more of an impact.
As I have said before I reckon events should have a full time blogger in the run up to an event, during it and for a short while afterwards.
If there is anything I have learnt about blogging its that it takes hard work and effort. You not only have to post regularly – you also have to post on other’s people’s blogs.
Anyway, just my thoughts. Congrats again. Being back to work today feels a little like coming down to earth with a bump. I’d rather be back at the Sage.
June 3, 2008 at 12:26 pm
L.
I never did hear what happened to the relaxation session that was scheduled – I turned up but nobody else came so I played the piano for half an hour….(which was certainly relaxing)