I was listening to another entertaining podcast from Boagworld. It was recorded in Austin, Texas at this year's SXSW (South By South West is a show for web designers and developers. Everyone Paul and Marcus interviewed was having a good time. Plied with beer and free t-shirts, interviewees plugged their presentations or enthused about meeting barely famous people, learning from other experts, networking and handing out their business cards, blah blah hic.

I can see the fun involved with such a gathering, but it made me realise, I have never seen the business appeal or the benefits of such conferences. It did, however, give me an outline for an idea on how conferences should be run in the 21st century!

btw, I have organised a few events in my time, so I sort of know what I am talking about.

The old-fashioned way

Back in the day of phone calls and hand-written letters, I could see why conferences would have helped to get industry people face to face to exchange and disseminate information. But even then, I never understood the business sense in paying vast sums to get your work force pissed up, over fed, and occasionally laid on company time. Crazy thinking.

The old ways are still the best?

Conventional conferences are an even crazier notion in this day and age of ultimate communication. Why do I need to haul my ass half way across the world to listen to someone who is going to upload a full stereo audio recording (minus the coughs and erms) hours after the talk has been delivered? Or worse, pay for someone else to have a good time while I am sat at home listening to the recording. Or even worse than that, listen while sat at my desk, toiling away to earn the money to pay an employee/co-worker's damned expenses bill!

If it is all about a holiday for the boyz and gurlz, hmmmm, Austin, a holiday destination? If it is all about the atmosphere and excitement of real life presentations, fair point, but at such expense? There is a far better way of giving web businesses what they want, I think.

What is so bad about video conferencing?

Technically there is nothing wrong with videos. Afterall, any decent sized audience at a popular event will have a big screen to help them see better what is going on on-stage.

Conference organisers are probably going to scream at this preposterous idea of using technology wisely. Afterall, they make a living, getting thousands of displaced professionals under one roof to consume as much as possible for as long as possible. Whilst good for the economy of Austin, SXSW is a lost opportunity for the bosses of the speakers and staff sent out to prowl. And a lost opportunity to boost the local economies from where the speakers and visitors partying out in Texas, come from.

The conference content

Web designers and developers want access to cutting edge and entertaining info before the masses get a hold of it? Well, our cost effective approach to providing content would be to contract professional videotapers local to each of the guest speakers. (Money for local media firms, little or no travel to worry about / minimal time off work for the talkers.)

The gurus would record their speech/discussion, and field questions sent in ahead of time by interested parties. That is the content sorted out!

Conference income creation

We'd distribute the whole "conference" in the form of pay per download. The exclusivity / scoop factor for the conference participants would be assured with a registration process, just like a ticket deal for conventional conferences. Then at a later date, the material, maybe slightly hobbled would be put on the internet for free for the public.

We would pay the speakers for their time and travel expenses to their office by way of a cut of download revenues. If you are a boring speaker, noone will pay to view, and you only lose your time and a bit of pride. Scintillate and you will attract plenty of dough!

Business owners would incur a fraction of the expenses of a traditional conference, and with some imagination (provided below) would in fact win brownie points with the workforce and create work within their local economy.

Ding ding, clear up time for everyone concerned, except for unemployed conventional conference organisers, out-of-state hotel chains, airlines and caterers.

Pay per download, I don't think so!

Detractors may say that noone will pay decent bucks for downloaded video conferences. But let's face it, knowledge is power and if you can be ahead of the game for the sake of a few bucks, wouldn't you prefer to pay for a download, rather than a mile long tab of business expenses, lost workforce... Anyway, if your judgement is clouded by dreams of foreign travel, the beancounters will surely advise you to move money dedicated to travel, accomodation, food and booze bills into payments for downloaded conferences.

Afterall, some of the speakers could be your own employees, so let them reap the rewards with a cut of download monies. Keep the money in the local economy.

Virtual conferences are boring!

Only if you have no imagination! Make a day of it, locally. Hire a room and big screen, let ALL your employees benefit, not just the chosen few. We'll go mad and include a barrel of beer with each Platinim package download if you want to recreate a party atmosphere. Hell, even a bucket of chilli, if you insist. It is still cheaper than flying a couple of your folks half way around the world.

What about the lost networking angle?

Yes, networking is oh so important, but, if tags and email and social bookmarking are really as useful as the people attending web related conferences claim - do I have to continue?

Whichever way you cut it, real life conferences are sooooo early Web 2.0.

Not wishing to put the virtual cat among the pigeons, but personally, I think that traditional conferences are an exercise in making money for conference organisers and associated suppliers off the back of deluded businesses. Conference organisers had all better re-think their employment prospects, because Pisstakers All Points North virtual conferences are going to be the next marketing paradigm of the 21st century - and everyone involved is going to clear up!

If you are interested in All Points North 2009, rather than All Heading SXSW 2009, drop us a line.