There are so many conferences. Seems like every major hotel is packed with attendees who are there to learn, share, make deals, make new friends and see old friends. Even though the Internet has made it possible to find almost anything and also to communicate in a myriad of ways — including realistic live video — people still go to conferences. I don’t see the appeal for real live in-person conferences diminishing anytime soon. Maybe never. Aside from the many benefits to the attendees, there is quite a good business in running conferences. Companies such as Jupitermedia have an "events" business and companies like IBM run conferences to keep customers up to date on strategy and product and service developments. With the related food services, audio/visual, and travel, the conference " industry" is non-trivial..
For the last dozen years or so I have been attending an average of three to five conferences per month. I don’t play golf or tennis and I really like the opportunity to meet new people and learn new things. At most of the conferences I attend, I am also a speaker or panelist or moderator. The engagement calendar is here. The "in the news" section is also updated.
This week is "IBM Week" with the IBM IT Analyst Conference yesterday and today and the IBM/Forbes Executive Conference today through Friday. Next week Knovel Corporation is hosting a keynote at the the Nylink 2005 Annual Meeting, which will be held in historic Saratoga Springs, New York. Nylink is a not-for-profit membership organization for all types of libraries and information organizations throughout New York State and surrounding areas. I am looking forward to speaking with them about the "Future of the Internet". The next morning, after an early trike ride from upstate New York to Danbury, Connecticut will be a similar discussion with school superintendents and then the following Monday with students and faculty at Western Connecticut State University.