Going Back to the Well?
One of the things I struggle with when planning sessions is going back to the well again. What I mean is inviting the same people back to lead sessions. For a while I was really trying to avoid this since folks may look at the session leaders and say, 'Well nothing new here, he/she had a session last year....'
Then I thought about it some more and realized it doesn't really matter that much. Why? Well the format is generally a discussion and not a 'presentation'. In that sense the topic really is driven by the room. The session leader's job is to keep things going and provide some inspiration. It's not the same person giving the same powerpoint you've seen three times before.
With that said I want people leading sessions that can do a good job of this. A great example is the hyperlocal session. For the past two years I've always had Tommy Duncan be one of the leaders. Last year's session was great and really was an open discussion that went in a number of different directions.
If I was overly-concerned about 'going back to the well' then I'd look for somebody else to lead that session this year. Buy you know what, Tommy and Chuck Welch are probably still some of the best choices and can lead discussions....so I'm asking them back.
Now look for a few 'repeat performances' from BlogOrlando past. If you don't like it, you can have your money back :-)
Comments
Thanks for the kind words, Josh.
Just to add my $.02, there is no doubt that new perspectives can be helpful, and using the unconference format nearly guarantees that the session cannot be duplicated. Like with blogging, it really is a great way to reach for new ideas, reinvigorate all of us, and learn some stuff, too.
Posted by: tommyduncn | July 11, 2008 02:51 PM
Two thoughts. First, you are absolutely right about T-Dunk. His session and experience about what he's done in T-Bay is very inspiring and generated a great deal of discussion. In fact, if it weren't for those pesky attendees of the next session banging down the door, we'd easily have gone another hour or two.
Second, the tragic fact that we must all face when attending these type of track-oriented events is the agonizing of choosing which of the four (now five!) places we want to be at what time. So, dipping into the well is, in many ways, a good thing since we have a chance this year to visit last year's missed opps.
So carry on, fearless leader.
But it wouldn't hurt to see if Bill Gates wants to drop by now that he's retired and all. Not that he knows anything about blogging, but I'd like to get his autograph on my Win95 CD.
Posted by: Lawrence Salberg | July 13, 2008 01:09 PM