[Strategic] 2010 might be the last SOTM

Frederik Ramm frederik at remote.org
Thu Jun 17 08:11:33 BST 2010


Hi,

    I've chosen a provocative subject on purpose, one that I wouldn't 
dare to use in the broader public. And "strategic" is not, I believe, 
directly responsible for SOTM, but as we're supposed to deal with 
funding, I am sure SOTM will be a factor.

It is the natural thing for everyone to assume that SOTM is an idea here 
to stay. You organise the conference and of course you want many people 
to come, so you create a lot of hype around it. When it's over, you want 
to thank those who did all the work, so you applaud them for the great 
conference they put together. And amid all this greatness, it is a given 
that someone will say "hope to see you again next year", or usually even 
"and next year is going to be even greater, brighter, better, more!"

With all this, one creates an environment where *not* holding a SOTM in 
any given year would be perceived as nothing less than a failure; 
something that neither OSMF nor anyone who is commercially involved with 
SOTM would want. Thus, the engine chugs on...

But at the same time, there is the possibility - likelihood even, if you 
ask me - that SOTM in its present form is not the kind of conference 
that delivers the best value-for-money for the project. In my opinion 
and - very limited, I admit - experience, the cost per visitor for such 
a conference, in terms of money and hours spent, has a low point 
somewhere around 100 to 200 visitors (a size where you have a wide range 
of budget facilities available, e.g. universities), and rises 
thereafter. At the same time, I believe there is also a peak of 
usefulness for the individual participant, also somewhere in the lower 
100s - after that, you tend to miss a lot, and the conference breaks up 
into lots of parallel mini-conferences while retaining the disadvantages 
of a large one.

The only thing that goes up constantly with conference size is the 
"glamour factor", i.e. the amount of superlatives you can thrash around 
in the public. But that is not a goal I find important.

As I said, this is not a discussion I want to have publicly right now 
because I do not want to be seen as a spoil-sport for those who in these 
days devote lots of time & energy to SOTM 2010, where I will of course 
be and which will of course be a nice opportunity to meet people. But we 
should not take SOTM for granted, we should think outside of this box 
and ask whether or not we want to continue holding this kind of 
conference, or maybe do something else.

You may wonder if I have something specific in mind. I haven't. I can 
think of a number of things one could do; diversify regionally, or 
diversify thematically (with DevCons, international mapper meets, and a 
business day as separate events), virtualise (something like SOTM but 
with much more involvement by those staying at home) or simply have more 
and smaller conferences, whatever. It is even possible that after close 
inspection, the SOTM format is still the best overall format and worth 
continuing.

All I'm saying is that we should be careful not to trap ourselves in a 
kind of SOTM perpetuity where nobody even thinks about alternatives.

Bye
Frederik




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