Live Events = Real-Time Social Networks, Open Space = MySpace?

When I was first drawn to the meetings and event industry, it was the conversation that pulled me in. Which conversation? The the one whispered during presentations, the one in the hallways, and, of course, the one screamed out during the cocktail parties.

From the beginning, I saw events as a living, breathing social network that lacked any of the topology that we are used to in the online world and, well, I wanted to fix that problem. I'm often amazed when I speak with people from the business and it seems like the first time they've heard this, though, I know they know it inherently. Sometimes it just takes someone trying to sell you something for you to realized just what it is you already have.

Today, Sue Pelletier, of Face2Face Blog, has a nice reminder of why I went into this business in the first place. As she observes:

While Kathy Sierra is talking about why the teens today are so hooked on the social networking site myspace, what are meetings if not social networking sites in real time and real space? And if you want to meet the needs of your next generation of attendees (who, by the way, sound like they will insist on being participants, not attendees), think about what they like about myspace.

[...]

That's setting a pretty high bar for live meetings, if they can get all this in cyberspace. Can you imagine a convention where events can turn on a dime, based on constant monitoring of feedback and somehow psychically being able to intuit what they'll want next? If not, just wait a few years and you'll see it start to happen. Because if it doesn't, they most likely will give the whole meeting scene a pass, mentally if not physically.

Source: Face2Face, "Is your meeting ready for the next generation?"

That psychic ability that Sue mentions, well, it's not that far off. In fact, it's been there all along despite our lack of sensitivity to the data. The surge of interest in unconferences and Open Space Technology are finally blowing the doors off the building. Seemingly, these new formats provide the "edginess" of myspace for real world events.

Indeed, we want to be participants. Perhaps more interesting to consider, though, is this: Did we ever say we wanted to just be "attendees" or did someone designate us that role?