Comments on: Raise a Glass to/at the Paperless Conference

By: Geoffrey Long

Geoffrey Long — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:57:53 +0000

I think this is also a practice adopted by people once they’ve attended a given conference a certain number of times. I know my friends at South by Southwest and the Game Developers’ Conference all attend a small handful of panels and then disappear the rest of the time to reconnect with old friends, bounce ideas back and forth and take the temperature of the rest of the industry. Folks who are attending the conference for the first time hit panel after panel, meeting people afterwards and making some connections, but I think that first year or two are panel-centric as a form of orientation.

Still, sounds like a heck of a lot of fun. I should try to attend Flow and/or ICA next time.

By: creativity/machine » ICA Montreal: Quick Wrap-Up

creativity/machine » ICA Montreal: Quick Wrap-Up — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:47:08 +0000

[...] the city instantly, and the week I spent there was very productive — although similarly to Jon Gray’s experience, the most productive and inspiring moments occurred in between everything else — chats in the [...]

By: Jonathan Gray

Jonathan Gray — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:07:11 +0000

All good points, Elana. My post should definitely be read as something written by someone at the end of a long academic year, who is having problems focusing So maybe Flow and ICA should swap their place in the calendar? I also wonder whether my own preferences are influenced by having 2-3h worth of commute daily, thereby allowing me time to read quite a bit, and thus, in turn, meaning that I’d rather read a person’s paper on the subway, but talk to them when face to face.

And Aswin, the hypotheses are great. The demographers I’ll be joining in Malawi are all really excited by the ideas you proposed. Thanks again

By: Elana Levine

Elana Levine — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:11:33 +0000

ITA that the kind of less papery conference you describe can be quite rewarding, but I would also argue that it has its limits, especially when the topics for the panels are very broad (as they have been at the conferences of this type that I have attended). My concern with this model is that a lot of talking in circles goes on. This can be fun and productive on occasion, but I really do like to hear people’s work, especially when it is good! So I’d hate to see the more traditional research presentation fully disappear, as it can be quite intellectually invigorating, too. Plus, even when the entire room is involved in the conversation, the truth is that some voices are much louder and more prominent than others and thus there is never a fully interactive exchange. In my experience, it’s an exchange between a few more than an exchange amongst all.

By: aswin

aswin — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:43:12 +0000

Jonathan – glad to hear the “hypotheses” don’t seem to crazy, given that I know next to nothing about everyday life in Malawi!

And I agree wholeheartedly about panels with 5-6 people and conducted in a way that quickly involves others in the room. More Unboxing!