From the comments in our usual post event video, you would have to believe that the recent Unsummit was an example of pure perfection in conference land. In reality, there very well may be some issues that founder Don Ball and organizers Mykl Roventine and Meg Canada should address…but damned if I know what they are.
OK, there is one comment I heard; “It’s not really an unconference.” True, the ‘un’ in ‘unconference’ might denote that there is no set agenda, that the space is provided and the topics are decided upon by those who show up. This style of meeting has spawned many a BarCamp like event, our own Minnebar to comes to mind.
However, as it pertains to UnSummit, the ‘un’ is a hold over from the inaugural event last year. Don Ball, not able to secure a ticket to the always popular MIMA Summit, decided to host a gathering of those interested in Interactive and Marketing who, like him, either couldn’t get a ticket or didn’t want to pay the relatively spendy ticket price. Hence, being held at the very same, the UnSummit was born.
It should be noted that, at it’s even loftier price, MIMA attracted 1000 folks to it’s recent 2009 Summit…and despite a few exceptions was well worth the price. It should also be noted that what little competition between the MIMA Summit and the UnSummit that might have existed in the very beginning, or perception of such, has long since disappeared. At least it should have. So while the UnSummit does borrow from the unconference concept in it’s presentation, it is really ‘un’ in name only.
OK, so next time perhaps there can be a few more open times and rooms to build some sessions on the fly.
No matter the format, the UnSummit was about bringing together close to 200 hundred interactive enthusiasts on a Saturday to learn from each other and discuss the future of the interactive and online world in a relaxed environment. From my standpoint, at the end of that day, that’s what everyone walked away with. But don’t just take my word for it…
October 15th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Nice post Mr. Wilson. It was an excellent UnSummit. I was most pleased with the number of people moving beyond “Social Media” in their discussions. The “What’s next?” theme really helped, as Tony Saucier might say, “move the ball forward”.
October 15th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Great post Steve, I have a few comments I want to add about both the UNSummit and MIMA.
This was my first year attending the MIMA conference and I was impressed with the organization, the number of people who attended, and especially with the keynote speech and lunch with Seth Godin.
The individual sessions I attended were pretty basic, and I felt with at least one of them–the content session–it was pretty rote stuff. We have several people in town who could have given the same session only better. We need to apply more thought about who speaks and what the sessions are about. Certainly one strategy is an aggressive campaign for proposals from people who want to speak.
My biggest gripe is that the MIMA conference attracts 1,000 people almost none of whom are on the client side at the VP level or above. This means that the decision-makers on projects aren’t part of the discussion. It’s always been an issue for MIMA events that they are better attended by agency people (and now job seekers) than by client-side people.
Unfortunately I have no constructive ideas about how to change this central issue for MIMA, other than perhaps inviting even more big name speakers to attract the senior client executives.
My experience with UNSummit was great, and not just because I had the chance to present and moderate a discussion with Joe Reukert about the future of agencies.
Someone said to me that perhaps the reason for the success of UNSummit was that people were attending more for themselves, to genuinely learn than the MIMA Summit which is attended more on behalf of companies. Why people don’t come to the MIMA event to learn I believe is that the MIMA event is organized as traditional speaker/panel presentation sessions, rather than moderated group discussions like UNSummit. I think MIMA could learn from the UNSummit model.
I attended the Museums and the Web annual conference in Indianapolis this past April, with 1,200 Museum internet professionals from around the world. Even the formal presentations had lively discussions for at least half the allotted time.
Also, there was a big chunk of time in one afternoon that was assigned as “UN Discussions.” Everyone at the conference was at the luncheon, which closed with nominations from the floor for potential sessions. These were listed on the video screens in the ballroom, and then people voted on which they wanted to attend. Top fifteen sessions were allotted meeting rooms, and away we went.
I have no experience or understanding of any alleged ill will between MIMA and UNSummit and I suggest respectfully that we drop that meme right now before it has a chance to grow.
There’s room for a range of models, and I think both can learn from each other, as well as from the Social Media Breakfast, which is equally successful.
Finally, I would like to suggest that given the relatively low-cost and the high value of the UnSummit self-organizing conferences, that we should consider holding these quarterly through the year. I would also suggest that some part of the UNSummit include opportunities to split off by area of expertise—planners, programmers, content strategists, designers, etc–for some sessions specific to our disciplines.
As last Saturday proved there is a lot of value exchanged from a wide range of people with expertise in different areas.
October 15th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Sorry Phil—I just saw it was your byline, not Steve! I clicked in from a RT by Steve on my Twitterdeck. One more lesson learned about this darn social media. Great post, Phil!
October 15th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Thanks for the post and the video compilation, Phil! And thanks as well to all of you who have offered constructive feedback.
Of course, anyone who attended my session knows that UnSummit is not perfect! There’s always room to improve.
In keeping with some of the comments collected here and elsewhere, I see a lot of room to embrace the “un”-ness of the UnSummit. I’m very interested in how we keep the event open and flexible and maybe even go further in that direction. To give you one example, we’re thinking about how we can somehow incorporate Open Space into the overall format. Also, I’m lobbying hard for having a totally unstructured lounge experience (complete with an espresso bar!) at the next event. It’ll be an opium den of ideas, if you will, where you could spend the whole day caffeinating and debating, if you wish.
But truth be told, there is no grand strategy behind UnSummit, other than to pique the curiosity and channel the positive energy of the online startup/developer/marketing community. Whatever that means as the local scene evolves.
Personally, I think it’s silly to compare UnSummit with Mima Summit or any other event. They all have their place and serve different needs. In the end, I’m glad we have multiple outlets for building entrepreneurial momentum in these fair towns. And I think we have room for a bunch more. So, who wants to host the next one?