Communication Nation: Mapping the future of conferences
What is the future of conferences? What is the future of church services? The current model for conferences and church is to provide information. Do people really need more information? Most information is already available 24/7 on the Internet. Is there a new purpose for people to gather? Dave Gray at Xplane pointed out a visual map of the future of conferences that was created by Eileen Clegg at Visual Insight. You can click on the image to hear dialogue around the ideas. Here are some thoughts that were discussed:
-Increasingly, people will go to a conference for a new purpose. No longer will people be looking for a conference to collect information. The purpose for a conference of the future will be to co-create new information.
-In order to keep everyone engaged in the conference experience, a conference of the future will give people many options happening simultaneously so that no one has the same experience. This was described as a 30 ring circus.
-“Learning is a process not an event.” Conferences have traditionally been an event. What would a conference look like if it was a process?
-Visuals are a great way to capture emergent learning.
-Innovation is at a new intersection of ideas rather than new ideas running in parallel.
-Staying in silos inhibits innovation. Conferences need outsiders and even "heretics" to enable fresh thinking.
4 comments:
Lucas,
Could not agree more. I have learned to love mind-mapping approaches to teaching and learning. The visual map seems to be a version of that approach by very visual people.
The old and new conference model seems to be related to the between "coordinating" and truely "collaborating."
Coordination assumes that expert know the right end toward which we "need" to move. That is, the results are decided and the task is to get others to move together.
Collaboration does not assume that the best "end" is priviledged knowledge for anyone but that creating an enviornment out of which many ideas and avenues may come. It is messy, less "oragnized" and drives controlling people crazy.
Joe Myers, in his book Organic Community, does a great job in describing this difference. Where we let go of knowing the end goal and focus on creating what we want people to experience in the process of the journey.
OLF is very postioned to create just such a new model. It requires scrapping the old model of "knowing the will of God" to control people and shape them into what we think needs to be accomplished. It is a model that invites people to co-create the future with God - an "open theology model."
I look forward to getting to know you better.
Hey Dr. Paul - Your comment to my blog post is better than my blog post...ha, ha. Thanks for your insightful input.
Lucas
Dr. Paul, great stuff! I agree with Lucas, your comment was way better then his blog! Ha! Ha!
I'm all about "co-creating"! Engaging and enjoying the journey. Evolving. Allows for real ownership and creative dreaming.
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