We live in a digital age. I can sit at my computer all day and talk to people on the other side of the world, by email, chat or Skype. Online webinars make it possible to share training or ideas with larger groups of people without anyone leaving the comfort of their own office. Given that this is so, why do I need to get on a plane and fly 5,189 miles to San Diego, with all the jet lag, expense and inconvenience, in order to spend 4 days live with a group of people who are all as excited about LiveCode as I am?
Of course you know that I’m not going to conclude that conferences are a waste of time. The clue is in that sentence “spend time with a group of people who are all as excited about LiveCode as I am”. But why not? How can we justify the huge investment of time, trouble and expense that live conferences represent? Besides the obvious opportunities for training and learning in formal sessions at these events, I think there are three areas where live conferences just cannot be replaced by digital events.
1) Personal interaction.
Accept no substitutes. You will always learn more in a face to face conversation with someone than you will over the phone/Skype. You can read their body language, pick up subtle nuances you would otherwise miss, not to mention that the conversation is going to flow far more smoothly that it does when you have to ask them to repeat every other sentence or reconnect three times when your Skype connection dies… As a moderator of several email lists I can tell you that an interaction via email can go pear shaped at the touch of an ill judged key. You just know that the group of people now engaged in a blazing flame war would get on like a house on fire if they were all sitting together in a bar, talking, instead of typing things at each other they will later regret.
 2) Networking.
There is a saying, “It’s not what you know but who”. You don’t know who you don’t know. You may find interesting people to interact with on forums, or during an online course, but there is just no better way to connect with the right people for you, your work, your educational needs or your business than attending a conference focussed on your area of interest. Unless you stay in your room and hide for the entire 4 days, you will meet interesting people who can help you at RunRevLive.14!
3) Inspiration.
Life is not all about 1’s and 0’s. Yes, the mundane day to day tasks have to be done, plans need to be carried out, code must get written and so on and so forth. But where is your next big idea going to come from? A change of scene, a change of pace, and a new group of inspiring people to talk to might result in something you currently haven’t even begun to dream up. Technically, we could hold a conference in Dundee, in the rain, in a concrete/tin shed on an industrial estate somewhere. I suspect that a) not many people would come and b) it would not have the same inspiring atmosphere and potential as a conference held in beautiful surroundings with good weather, good food and plenty to see and do.
Personally, I’m hugely looking forward to seeing you all again, catching up on the gossip, meeting old friends and making new ones, and adding San Diego 2014 to my bag of happy memories. As far as whether it is worth it to attend goes, I’ll let an attendee from last year sum it up. He told me:
“That one to one meeting I just had with your developer was worth the entire cost of the conference to me! Thank you so much.” Have you been to one of our conferences? Or another conference? How did you find the experience, was it worth it to you?
5 comments
Join the conversationSimon Smith - August 20, 2014
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JoJo Hernandez - August 20, 2014
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Mitchell Duncan - September 13, 2014
Jet Lag ! Try flying from Sydney to London (24 hours @ $3,000) or Sydney to San Diego (15 hours @2300) before complaining about jetlag and the expense. Accommodation costs pale before these considerable obstacles.
Can we have a LiveCode conference in Australia? Then I might be able to afford to attend.
Heather Laine - October 14, 2014
Given our growing Australian userbase, I’m hopeful that someday in the not too distant future we will have an Australian conference.
Scott Morrow - September 14, 2014
For me, one of the “unexpected” bonuses of attending a LiveCode conference is discovering workflow habits used by the conference presenters or RunRev team members at one-on-one sessions. Many of us LiveCoders work by ourselves or as part of a very small team, which makes it difficult to pick up workflow tips from our peers. At every RunRev conference I’ve “accidentally” learned a new (and better) way of doing something simply because the presenter was doing their normal bit of work with LiveCode while we all watched. I’m sure this can sometimes be picked up from the simulcast but since it generally has nothing to do with the content, the audio/video crew may not always be focused in on a way that shows it.