Yesterday I participated in day 2 of the Local Government Improvement & Development's Local by Social online conference that started on 3rd November and wraps up on 9th.I was privileged to be asked to facilitate one of the 30 conference themes on the subject 'Leaving but not Lost' - the impact of knowledge loss to the public sector as a result of the cuts.
I was bowled over by the event. This is, apparently, one of the biggest virtual events of its kind, ever. The stats alone after just 2 of the 6 days are impressive. Wembley Conference Centre would have been pleased with 955 people registered for the conference.
- 455 visitors yesterday alone
- 6140 page views yesterday
- 189 individuals posted a contribution
That last figure is the most impressive. As Michael Norton, the driving force behind the conference, says "Most online discussions follow the 1% rule. This states that 1% of people create content, 9% edit or modify that content, and 90% view the content without contributing. So 19% contributing is a huge amount".
The experience was excellent too. The was a real buzz as discussions were underway. At one point I couldn't keep up with all the postings and great ideas flying in. I really wasn't sure what to expect, but was struck by how much like a real conference it was, but better. I loved the fact that that I could dip in and out of conference rooms without missing anything. At one point I think I was in three conference rooms simultaneously.
Of course there is also a valuable record of all every idea and contribution posted, for others to see and use at a future time. I'd love to know what the total travel, time and venue savings over a traditional conference were. I'd guess hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The best thing of all - I didn't have to small talk to over a luke-warm cup of urn stewed tea.
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