I've been doing this for a while and have done events with shorter and longer timeslots. I spend most of my year speaking and I've run some pretty well received events.
it's not about one talk, it's about 2 full days. some people can do great 40 minute talks, most can't, but that is irrelevant when the talks are framed in the scope an entire day of curated content with a stated purpose. it means there is a larger goal for the day that can't be achieved by just one or two talks. I can remember lots of great talks at 40 minutes, but there was also the rest of the day that I forgot about quickly. my goal is to have two great DAYS, not a few great talks over two days you mostly forget. My goal isn't to have a good conference, it's to have the best conference anyone has ever attended :) -- Mikeal Rogers Sent with Sparrow (http://www.sparrowmailapp.com/?sig) On Friday, March 16, 2012 at 7:20 PM, Dean Landolt wrote: > > > On Fri, Mar 16, 2012 at 9:58 PM, Stewart Mckinney <[email protected] > (mailto:[email protected])> wrote: > > I'm really not sure about that; I've been to forty minute talks that kept > > me rapt from beginning to end. > > Same here. In fact, more often than not -- I've been pretty lucky (and pretty > selective) with the conferences I've attended. But I personally haven't seen > too much trouble with the 40 minute standard. That said... > > > I feel it would just support weaker subject matter. Granted the reverse > > nomination scheme would ease some of that pain but it's really easy for > > someone to stand in front of someone else and give a talk that sounds > > really exciting at first blush but there's really nothing to it after the > > first ten to twenty minutes. > > > > > Exactly. This format does a wonderful job of keeping that from happening :D > > > I think saying that forty minutes is a "lecture" is pretty unfair and > > overbearing. This isn't a two hour and fifty minute "session" class at a > > university... and I've even been to talks that were four hours long and > > incredibly engaging. > > > > > Is that the exception or the rule? I'm guessing the former -- let's not get > crazy ;) > > > Why not just focus on the content and then let the timing work itself out? > > Doesn't a arbitrary limit seem, well... arbitrary? > > > > > I tend to agree but I can't see how this could possibly work for scheduling > purposes. People need to know what they're getting into -- both speakers and > attendees. This isn't a local meetup we're talking about. > > > Don't you think you will be doing certain subjects/speakers injustice? I > > mean, some people just operate in "long form". I don't think there's > > anything wrong with short form, either, but to "each > > subject its own". > > > > > I agree with this sentiment as well, but as Nuno said, don't sign up to speak > if you arent up for it. Same goes for conference goers -- if you don't think > the format is for you you should probably stay home. What matters is that the > format is communicated clearly, especially if it's a little experimental. > It's hard to argue that Mikeal hasn't done that. > > I'm personally not sure how I feel about the short timeslots either but I'm > really curious to see how it turns out. If anything we need more > experimentation with conference formats, not less. > > -- > Job Board: http://jobs.nodejs.org/ > Posting guidelines: > https://github.com/joyent/node/wiki/Mailing-List-Posting-Guidelines > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "nodejs" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nodejs?hl=en?hl=en -- Job Board: http://jobs.nodejs.org/ Posting guidelines: https://github.com/joyent/node/wiki/Mailing-List-Posting-Guidelines You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "nodejs" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nodejs?hl=en?hl=en
